Manny Pacquiao Says Bank Accounts Frozen in Philippines

Boxing champ says he can't pay his staff

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Manny Pacquiao said Tuesday that the Philippines had frozen his bank accounts over allegedly unpaid taxes.

“This is harassment,” Pacquiao, 34, told local media  just two days after his major boxing victory over American Brandon Rios in Macau. Before Pacquiao’s star performance against Rios, many wondered if he faced retirement. His victory uplifted people in his native Philippines after the devastation of Typoon Haiyan.

According to Pacquiao, the Philippines’ tax agency froze his accounts over allegations he avoided paying $50.2 million in taxes stemming from lucrative fights in the U.S. in 2008 and 2009, AFP reports. Pacquiao is also a second-term congressman in the Philippines widely considered a possible contender for the presidency.

Pacquiao said he had complied with the law.

[AFP]