MANILA, February 8, 2012 (AFP) - Philippine superstar Manny Pacquiao swapped his boxing gloves for golf clubs Wednesday in a charity event that raised funds for storm victims in the country's south.
The 33-year-old, rated the world's top pound-for-pound fighter, played alongside Filipino golfing ace Frankie Minoza in the ICTSI Philippine Open pro-am, a prelude to the Asian Tour's $300,000 tournament.
After hitting the greens, the sports icon signed boxing gloves at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Manila which were then sold to fans, raising about 105,960 pesos (2,464 dollars), organisers said.
"I'm happy as there are a lot of good people who are helping the victims," Pacquiao said. "This will be a big help."
The funds raised would go to victims of tropical storm Washi, which destroyed whole villages in the southern island of Mindanao in December and left 300,000 people displaced and needing urgent humanitarian help.
Pacquiao is considered a national treasure in his native Philippines, where he is also a politician and a television and movie celebrity.
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