Manny Pacquiao says he's 'not afraid to die' to help Philippines battle coronavirus

Manny Pacquiao has said that he's "not afraid to die" to help the Philippines battle coronavirus.

The boxer began his political career a decade ago when he was elected to the Philippines' House of Representatives to represent the province of Sarangani. Then, in 2016, he was chosen to serve a six-year term as a senator.

In a lockdown Italy, army trucks filled with bodies are driving through the streets: 

Per Insider, Pacquiao revealed that he was willing to put his life on the line to the Manila Bulletin. He made the statement when discussing the possibility of people resorting to looting during the crisis.

"If you are a leader, you have to be a frontliner," Pacquiao said.

"You have to lead and let people see that you are with them," he said, adding: "I grew up poor. I know what they feel."

The US is bracing itself for things to get even worse with its outbreak this week:

As per ABS-CBN, Pacquiao donated 600,000 face masks to frontline workers battling the pandemic in the Philippines last week and joined forces with Alibaba's billionaire CEO, Jack Ma, to donate 50,000 COVID-19 testing kits.

On Sunday, Boxing Scene said that he has also made "numerous public appearances" to try to "reassure residents fearful of COVID-19 spreading even more."

This man describes his symptoms of the coronavirus: 

Pacquiao is a unique figure, having successfully juggled his political and boxing career to be named one of the best fighters on the planet by Insider earlier this month.

This statement about the coronavirus pandemic comes as John Hopkins University reports that there have been a total of 360,697 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally and 15,488 deaths at the time of writing.

There are currently 462 confirmed cases of the disease in the Philipines and there have been 33 deaths.