Pacquiao was defeated in his first attempt at public office, in 2007, falling to the heiress of a political dynasty from his home region. But he seems adamant about pursuing his quest. He does not shrink from being seen donating huge amounts of money to build schools or, as he did during the series of storms that battered Manila in 2009, taking a motorcade from his mountain-resort training camp to distribute relief to typhoon victims.