By Edward Chaykovsky
Eight division champion Manny Pacquiao is feeling the heat, now on the political end, after sparking outrage last month by saying gay people are "worse than animals."
The 37-year-old, who is running for a seat in the country's senate, made the remarks on a television program broadcast by Filipino station TV5.
Campaigning to secure one of 12 national seats he said: "It's common sense. Will you see any animals where male is to male and female is to female?
"The animals are better. They know how to distinguish male from female. If we approve [of] male on male, female on female, then man is worse than animals."
He first clarified his comments on his Instagram page, before later posting a video message on his Twitter account.
"I'm sorry for everyone who got hurt due to my comparison of gay people (homosexuals) to animals," he said."It was my mistake. Please forgive me for those who I've hurt. "But this does not change my position against same sex marriage. That's what I believe. My only mistake is comparing gay people to animals."
The first fighter to win world titles at eight different weight divisions, Pacquiao is set to retire after his trilogy bout with Timothy Bradley on April 9th.
The Filipino boxer's "super fight"in Las Vegas with Floyd Mayweather last year was the most lucrative in boxing history. Pacquiao lost a unanimous points decision.
According to the recent Pulse Asia survey, at least 12 out of the 15 top senatorial bets suffered drops in voter support from January to February. Pacquiao suffered the biggest drop: from 46.9% to 34.8% voter support from January to February - a drop of 12.1 percent.
ABS-CBN News spoke to Pulse Asia research director Ana Maria Tabunda, who said she does not know if the drop in voter support for Pacquiao is linked to the controversial statements against homosexuals.
"We still don't know what caused the drop," she said.
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