Partido Reporma standard-bearer Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Sunday debunked reports by Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) claiming he was the top spender on traditional media ads among presidential aspirants in 2021.
The PCIJ said it based the amounts it reported on published rate cards “before discounts were given to his campaign team.”
“No way we could have spent what we didn’t have,” Lacson said.
Lacson said he asked his campaign team, volunteers and supporters about the PCIJ report, which said he spent the most on advertisements on traditional media in 2021 among the presidential aspirants.
Citing a study by data company Nielsen, the PCIJ report said the senator spent nearly one billion or about P915.3 million last year on traditional media like television, radio, print and outdoor billboard advertisements. Lacson said he was informed by his staff that they never saw, much less had this much money.
“No way we could have spent what we didn’t have,” said Lacson.
“I asked them to check again – same answer,” he added.
Of the almost a billion spent, PCIJ said P496.68 million were used in November, a month after the filing of certificates of candidacy.
The report also said Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso came in as the second highest spender with P735.44 million spent, followed by Vice President Leni Robredo with P500.47 million expenses.
Former senator Bongbong Marcos was allegedly the fourth top spender with about P330 million.
PCIJ also reported that 94 percent or P310.6 million of the political ads spending of Marcos were used in December alone.
This made Marcos, who consistently top election surveys, as the top spender in the month of December.
The report further said Sen. Manny Pacquiao, the second richest senator, had the least expenses in traditional media ads at only P1.7 million.
According to the PCIJ, Nielsen looked at expenses based on published rate cards or before campaign discounts since it does not cover
negotiated rates. Social media expenses were also excluded.