Boxing great Manny Pacquiao appears to have won a seat in the Philippine Senate, according to unofficial results.

Mr Pacquiao has garnered more than 15 million votes, with about 93% of precincts reporting.

That places him eighth among candidates for 12 Senate seats, and nearly 3 million votes ahead of the candidate in 13th place. Official results are days away.

He cast his vote on Monday in his home area of southern Sarangani province. He had bounced back in polls after losing support in February over remarks he made about same-sex marriage.

Mr Pacquiao had said people in same-sex relations are “worse than animals”.

He apologised to people hurt by his comments, but made clear he opposed gay marriage.