DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 4 April) – Senatorial bet Teddy Casiño said the Makabayan Coalition Party spent P3.77 million for his 15.5-minute TV ads composed of 8 spots in national and 23 spots in provincial TV stations.
Casiño said in a press statement that he released his TV ad spending report “for the sake of transparency” as he called on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to release the advertisement logs of all senatorial candidates.
He pointed out that there is a “a large disparity in cost and reach” of TV ads between national and provincial television.
For instance, “a 30-second national ad in ABS-CBN, which simultaneously airs in 36 provincial TV stations, is worth P538,592 while a 30-second ad airing in only one of its local stations is only worth P24,138, or 4.5 percent of the cost of a national TV ad spot,” he explained.
It is with such disparity that Casiño urged the Comelec to revise its “disproportionate” TV ad monitoring as he was identified as among the “big spenders.”
“I urge the Comelec to revise their monitoring method and to implement a weight system on the basis of the huge disparity (of cost and reach) between national and provincial TV ads,” he said.
“In all honesty, I am surprised by reports that say I am among the top 5 candidates who have the longest TV airtime, leaving the impression that I am a big TV ad spender. That is farthest from the truth,” Casiño said.
In an article published in abs-cbnnews.com last Tuesday, Casino was preceded by only a few senatorial candidates in terms of TV ads spending – JV Ejercito (26 minutes TV ads), Loren Legarda (44 minutes radio ads), Richard Gordon and Ernesto Maceda (both 23 minutes TV ads), and Miguel Zubiri (19.25 minutes TV ads).
Stated in Comelec Resolution 9615, national candidates are allowed a total of 120 minutes airtime for TV ads and 180 minutes for radio ads. (Lorie Ann A. Cascaro / MindaNews)