LENI ROBREDO TOPS FACEBOOK AD SPENDING AMONG ALL CANDIDATES

 Vice President Leni Robredo topped the ad spending on Facebook with P14.1 million among all the candidates for the 2022 election, Facebook Ad Library record showed from August 4, 2020 up to December 31, 2021.

Although Facebook have accounted small percentages of election aspirant's spending to date, Nielsen data showed that candidates have so far still poured most of their money on traditional media.

“We have to maximize our online presence. The fact of the matter is we really have a lot of ground to make up for,” lawyer Barry Gutierrez, Robredo’s spokesperson, told the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) in a phone interview. 

Gutierrez added that ads were paid for by volunteers who had coordinated with the campaign team. 

"The campaign itself has not actually spent anything on ads. They were actually paid for by volunteers groups," he said.

Meanwhile, former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. who mentained zero FB ads showed ahead with 53% compared with Robredo's 20% in the December 2021 Pulse Asia presidential survey.

"In comparison, Marcos, the survey leader, has not recorded any ad spending on Facebook so far," PCIJ noted.

Facebook’s Ad Library is a public database of ads that ran on the social media platform owned by the company that now goes by the name Meta. It provides details such as the content of the ads, how much was spent to boost the ads, and who were targeted to see the ads. 

HERE ARE THE TOP FACEBOOK AD SPENDERS IN PESO

1. Leni Robredo       - 14.1 Million
2. Sherwin Gatchalian - 8.59 Million
3. Ping Lacson        - 5.36 Million
4. Loren Legarda      - 4.79 Million
5. Leila De Lima      - 2.08 Million 
6. Kiko Pangilinan    - 2.07 Million
7. Migz Villafuerte   - 1.34 Million
8. Lito Atienza       - 1.27 Million
9. Gibo Teodoro       - 1.17 Million
10. Lray Villafuerte   - 1.17 Million

However, the Ad Library does not detail how much candidates spent to produce the ads and payments to social media experts who managed their accounts. It also does not cover payments to “influencers” tapped to endorse candidates on Facebook.