Nielsen: You need P2B for campaign ads alone

Five national candidates for the May 9 elections spent more than P2 billion each on campaign ads that were featured on television, radio, print and billboards over a period of a year and a half, including the official campaign period from Feb. 8 to May 7.

This was the finding of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) based on ad spending data from advertising monitor Nielsen Ad Intel that covered the months of January 2021 to May this year.

Reelected Sen. Joel Villanueva topped the list at P2.775 billion; followed closely by newly elected Sen. Mark Villar with P2.77 billion.

Next were returning Sen. Alan Cayetano with P2.28 billion; former Vice President and defeated presidential candidate Leni Robredo, P2.19 billion; and another defeated presidential candidate, former Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso with P2.02 billion.

The other top spenders were reelected Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian with P1.86 billion; elected President Marcos, P1.76 billion; defeated senatorial candidate Jejomar Binay, P1.46 billion; returning Sen. Loren Legarda, P1.42 billion; reelected Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, P1.18 billion; and returning Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, P1.09 billion.

Former Senators and losing presidential candidates Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao paid for ads worth P980 million and P84.5 million, respectively, according to PCIJ.

The other candidates were former Senate President and losing vice presidential candidate Vicente Sotto III, P843 million; elected Vice President Sara Duterte with P810 million; and former Sen. and defeated vice presidential candidate Francis Pangilinan, P598 million.

P211M worth of ads per day

The PCIJ said that during the official 90-day campaign period from Feb. 8 to May 7, 2022, an average of P211 million worth of ads by national candidates were aired daily.

“This demonstrated how expensive it has become to run for public office in the Philippines,” it said.During the said period, the top ad spenders among the senatorial candidates were Villar with P1.134 billion; Villanueva, P1.047 billion; and former Sen. Richard Gordon, P891.08 million.

Next were Cayetano, P801.46 million; Estrada, P799.69 million; Zubiri, P763.03 million; and Legarda, P757.90 million. They were followed by Binay, P697.55 million; Gatchalian, P662.16 million; and returning Sen. JV Ejercito, P632.82 million.

Bringing up the rear were former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, P623.86 million; reelected Sen. Risa Hontiveros, P562.30 million; and returning Sen. Francis Escudero with P514.17 million.

The PCIJ said it estimated the expenses for television, radio, print and billboard ads based on published rate cards from Nielsen, or before the candidates availed themselves of discounts.

While the ad expenses are way above the amounts declared by the candidates in their postelection statement of election contributions and expenses (Soce), PCIJ said it could not conclude that they violated the spending limits under the law.

According to PCIJ editorial content head Karol Ilagan, the Commission on Elections has yet to release the candidates’ full Soce, including the list of donors, or the reports filed by campaign suppliers and contractors.

Mr. Marcos declared in his Soce that he spent P623 million for his campaign, paid for entirely by contributions. PCIJ said he received the most donations among presidential candidates.

Robredo, meanwhile, reported that she spent P388 million, which was almost entirely shouldered by donations.

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