MANILA (AFP) – Filipinos nationwide Sunday rejoiced over boxing hero Manny Pacquiao's latest victory, broadcast live from Texas after officials vowed that the Philippines would be spared its perennial blackouts.

Special live coverage of the 12-round fight between Pacquiao and Ghana’s Joshua Clottey was broadcast without a hitch after energy officials vowed to prevent power shortages interrupting the event.

“If people don’t get to watch Manny Pacquiao, it’s big trouble. That is a national catastrophe,” Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes was quoted as saying.

After the fight, there were no signs that Manila had suffered any of the daily outages that have afflicted the capital and the southern Philippines for several weeks.

Pacquiao, a national hero at home, easily defeated Clottey by a unanimous decision after 12 rounds to retain his World Boxing Organization welterweight title at the Cowboys Stadium.

In an interview with DZBB radio station after the fight, Pacquiao said: “I owe this to all my fellow Filipinos, most of all to my family.”

Pacquiao’s next bout will be even more of a challenge, when he runs for Congress in the May elections, seeking to represent a district on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.

Despite his fame, Pacquiao has tasted defeat in this arena before. In 2007 he lost his first bid for a seat in Congress, and faces an equally entrenched opponent this time around.

In his radio interview, live from Texas, a confident Pacquiao made no mention of the elections, instead talking about his plans to sing at a post-match concert just hours after his battle with Clottey.

As in previous Pacquiao fights, the streets in major towns and cities were empty as millions of fans were glued to television sets and radios to follow the fight live.