“Money in the Philippines is the No. 1 factor in winning elections,” Mr. Constantino, who is known as Bong, said. “Even though he is very popular, he would not have won without his money.”

Like many of Mr. Pacquiao’s constituents, Mr. Constantino said he hoped that the new congressman would now use his personal wealth to develop all of Sarangani, a province dominated by fishing and agriculture. “All of Sarangani will develop now because of Manny and because of Manny’s money,” he said.

MR. PACQUIAO’S black Hummer was finally spotted barreling down the one road from General Santos City, west of here. If there was any doubt that the Hummer was his, the absence of any license plates  a privilege often granted to the powerful here in Mindanao  confirmed it.

Dark clouds had been moving toward Alabel from the other direction and, as if on cue, rain began falling as Mr. Pacquiao took the microphone, nearly two hours late.

Speaking in Visayan, the region’s main language, he said he had been working hard to attract investors to Sarangani. He pledged to build a new hospital here and start other projects to improve people’s lives.

“I will not be an embarrassment to you,” he said.

Later, inside the mayor’s office, Mr. Pacquiao sat at a large desk behind a lechon, a roast suckling pig. People drifted in and out of the office to pick from a buffet. The governor, Miguel Rene Dominguez  the 33-year-old scion of two of the southern Philippines’ oldest and richest families  sat to his left.

The congressman and the governor spoke easily with each other. A conversation about Mr. Pacquiao’s knockout of Ricky Hatton, a British boxer, led to an exchange on the histories of England and Scotland. They talked of the importance of promoting a provincial tourist spot. The governor asked him what he was doing in Manila. Mr. Pacquiao talked about serving on the Millennium Development Goals committee.