Cayetano disputes report he’s top TV ad spender

“OVERSTATED” was how Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano described a Nielsen Philippines report saying he was the top television ad spender among the vice presidential aspirants.

“I believe that the amounts reported are overstated because Nielsen itself admitted that these are based on published rate cards, which in all cases are so much more than what was actually paid for,” Cayetano said in a statement Tuesday.

Nielsen’s monitoring from January 1 to November 30, 2015 showed that Cayetano spent P398,288,000 for TV ads. Nielsen said the figures were based on the 2015 rate cards of major television networks.

Cayetano said he had “always believed that the media [advertising] is the most effective way of communicating with our people.”

“Using media and advocacy advertising, we were able to communicate better to a broader audience amid the black propaganda mounted against us by those who were affected by my relentless anti-graft and corruption campaign,” the senator said.

He thanked the Filipinos for backing his “efforts to communicate our message of real change for the country.”

Cayetano is the running mate of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who is running under the platform of fighting crime and corruption.

“The continued support we have received is a testament of the people’s confidence in the change Mayor Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte and I want to bring to the entire country,” he said.

“I would like to again thank all of our supporters who continue to believe in what Mayor Duterte and I stand for and will work hard to deliver – real change in the lives of every Filipino,” he added.