Female challenger knocks out boxing champ in poll arena

Manila: World champion pugilist Manny Pacquiao discovered he had more to do than carry a fight after his slender yet combative rival Darlene Antonino-Custodio sealed the issue in their congressional slugfest in a southern Philippines constituency.

Pro-administration candidate Pacquiao, an iconic 130-pound super featherweight champion was pitted against 90-pound Custodio in one of the most eagerly anticipated contests in the May 14 mid-term elections but early tabulation of votes showed a decisive lead for the latter.

Two days after the polls, Custodio, 32, led Pacquiao, 28, by more than 15,000 votes after the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) accounted for 75 per cent of the voting precincts in South Cotabato.

Custodio belongs to an established political family, the Antoninos having had the measure of political rivals over nearly half a century, observers said. Where she lost out in the popularity stakes to Pacquiao, Custodio more than made up with an impressive family-honed political machine and sustained an organised campaign, they added.

"The people voted for competence," said a resident, reflecting popular sentiment that the choice was never too taxing, with Pacquiao an administration candidate in an area where residents concur that the government has choked development.

The war chest of the well-landed Antoninos and Pacquiao matched. "He did not know how to dispense money to the right people," said a political handler.

Pacquiao complained that ballots with no watermarks marred the spirit of the contest.

- With inputs by Ulysses Israel, Correspondent, Mindanao