Senator Manny Pacquiao Friday filed his certificate of candidacy for president in the 2022 national elections , while making a surprise choice for running mate in Buhay partylist Rep. Lito Atienza.

Accompanied by his wife, Jinkee, Pacquiao filed his candidacy with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) at the Sofitel Harbor Garden Tents in Pasay City after being nominated by three political parties.

These are the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), Probinsya Muna Development Initiative (Promdi), and the People's Champ Movement (PCM).

People filled Roxas Boulevard to greet Pacquiao who rode in a bus with his wife, Atienza and his close associates going to the CCP Complex. Upon reaching the area, Pacquiao was surrounded by people as he, his wife and Atienza went to a car which took them to the Comelec registration site.

In an interview, Pacquiao said problems faced by PDP-Laban forced him to seek an alliance with other political parties.

"Because we have a problem in the party, we opted to just use Promdi in our CONA (Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance)," said Pacquiao.

As for his chances of winning, Pacquiao said surveys are just numbers.

"In reality, a survey is just a number. It does not include the voices of the poor people, those that really need our care and love," said Pacquiao.

If heis elected, Pacquiao vowed to help people recover from poverty amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic by focusing on the economy, internet connectivity, and electricity, among others. DMS