It looks like former Senator Manny Pacquiao’s boxing comeback has inspired a potential fistfight in politics. Amid the recent devastation caused by Tropical Depression Crising and another storm approaching in the form of Typhoon Emong, acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte has challenged Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Nicolas Torre III to a “suntukan”, which Torre has accepted.
On Sunday, July 20, Duterte slammed the police chief for allegedly “harassing” him and “kidnapping” his father when former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested in March and brought to the International Criminal Court for a pending trial on charges of crimes against humanity.
“Do whatever you want. We still have two years until the filing of candidacy for 2027,” the younger Duterte said in his podcast Basta Dabawenyo. “Gusto mong harassin ako, harassin mo lang ako. Kasi matapang ka lang naman kasi we have the position. Pero kung suntukan tayo, alam ko naman kaya kita, kung ganun lang.”
On Wednesday, July 23, Torre accepted the challenge and joked that the proceeds from the boxing match should go to the victims of the recent storms.
A credible source told me last night, the CEO of a popular resort casino hotel, a well-known philanthropist is willing to open their ballroom for the “charity boxing match” between Nick Torre and Baste Duterte. For the sake the many poor flood victims, let’s do it!
— PING LACSON (@iampinglacson) July 23, 2025
Senator Ping Lacson also said on X that a “well-known philanthropist” and CEO of a resort casino is willing to host the proposed “charity boxing match,” according to a “credible source.”
“For the sake [of] the many poor flood victims, let’s do it!” Lacson said on his post.
On Thursday, July 24, videos of Torre training at Camp Crame began surfacing online. According to the Inquirer, he told reporters that Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Malate, Manila, was set to host the fight. “The Rizal Memorial Coliseum is already set. A ring is already being set up there for Sunday,” Torre said. His training session was halted after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. called for a meeting to discuss relief and rescue efforts amid the flooding in Metro Manila, according to the Manila Bulletin.
A few hours later, Duterte responded on his Facebook page by “laying out” his own conditions for the fight. “For the event, kung serious ka talaga ha, these are my conditions,” he said. “Pakiusapan mo yang amo mo na presidente, and let it come out of his mouth, that all elected officials undergo a hair follicle drug test.”
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