Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao's son, Emmanuel Joseph "Eman" Bacosa Pacquiao, is speaking publicly about his childhood, his upbringing with his mother Joanna Rose Bacosa, and his decision to pursue professional boxing. The 21-year-old, who was recognized by Pacquiao in 2022, has become the focus of renewed public interest as he advances in the same sport that made his father a global figure.
Eman grew up in Tagum, Davao, where he said he always knew the identity of his father. "Since I was a child, I've always known that Manny Pacquiao is my father," he said in an interview with broadcast journalist Jessica Soho on Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho aired on November 9. He described that awareness as a source of both pride and difficulty.
Eman recounted being harassed because of his connection to Pacquiao. He recalled classmates confronting him because of his surname. "Because they said I was Manny Pacquiao's son. Sometimes they would say, 'Come on, let's fight.' But when I walked out the gate, they weren't there anymore - they'd already beaten me up. That happened every day," he said, adding that he sometimes fled through the back of the school to escape.
His emotional reflections focused on the absence of a consistent father figure growing up. "At first, it hurt. That's why when I was a child, I was often short-tempered," he said. "I used to envy other kids, especially during Father's Day, when I saw them with their dads." He added, "I've always longed for my father's love ever since I was a child. I barely knew him. I used to pray, 'Lord, I hope I could spend just one whole day with him - or even just a short moment.'"
That changed when his mother married Sultan Ramir Dino, who became a father figure and encouraged Eman's interest in boxing. Dino supported late-night training sessions and did so before knowing Pacquiao was the biological father.
In 2022, Eman received formal acknowledgment and permission to use the Pacquiao surname. He recalled his father telling him: "Son, I'll make you a Pacquiao. It will help you go up in boxing." Eman described the moment as restorative. "It felt like he was making it up to me. I said, 'Wow, thank you, Lord.'"
Eman has since pursued boxing professionally, winning a recent fight against Nico Salado by unanimous decision at Thrilla Manila 2. "I also want to become a world champion like my dad," he said. "If not an eight-division champion, then at least an undisputed champion."
Eman's mother, Joanna Rose Bacosa, first spoke publicly about her relationship with Pacquiao in 2006, later calling for acknowledgment of their son in 2011. She has described meeting Pacquiao while working as a staff member at a hotel. "I met Manny Pacquiao in 2003. I worked at City Square in Pan Pacific, and he was a regular customer who would often come there," she said. "That's where it all started."
Eman's story is now intertwined with a legacy he once could only observe from afar. His career is unfolding under the shadow and the possibility of the Pacquiao name - a name he now owns both legally and personally.
