Influence Ops Pages Top October Ad Spending in WV

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

Six Facebook pages previously linked to alleged influence operations in the Philippines and abroad emerged as the top ad spenders on the platform in October, according to Meta’s latest report.

The Facebook Ad Library report, covering Oct. 2 to 31, showed that the pages Pilipinas (₱142,319), Pilipinas Today Visayas (₱109,720), and Pilipinas Today (₱99,458) led ad spending. Pilipinas Today Radyo ranked sixth (₱67,980), Peoples Tonight ninth (₱33,262), and Peoples Tonight Radyo tenth (₱26,725).

While Pilipinas Today ranked second in Western Visayas spending, it holds the highest engagement with an estimated 1.2 million likes and 1.5 million followers.

As of Nov. 3, Pilipinas Today had 104 active ads, with the earliest launched on Oct. 3 and the latest on Oct. 31.

The ads featured various politicians, promoting Senator Francis Tolentino (36 ads), Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay (24 ads), House Speaker Martin Romualdez (6 ads), Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co (3 ads), and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (1 ad).

Several ads were critical, targeting former President Rodrigo Duterte (22 ads), Vice President Sara Duterte (7 ads), allies Senators Ronald Dela Rosa (4 ads) and Bong Go (2 ads), and former Senator Manny Pacquiao and Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar (1 ad each).

Tolentino, Dela Rosa, and Go are all running for re-election, while Pacquiao seeks to return to office, Binay and Villar aim for Senate seats, and Romualdez and Co are pursuing re-election in the House.

One ad that began running on Oct. 12 featured former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog discussing threats to his life under Duterte’s administration.

The top page, Pilipinas, with approximately 647,000 likes and 808,000 followers, had 48 active ads as of Nov. 3, running since Sept. 2.

Positive ads promoted Tolentino (17 ads), Binay (7 ads), Romualdez (2 ads), and Senator Loren Legarda (1 ad), while negative ads targeted Rodrigo Duterte (12 ads), Sara Duterte and Go (3 ads each), and Dela Rosa, Villar, and Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte (1 ad each).

Pilipinas Today Visayas, with 512,000 likes and 565,000 followers, had 34 active ads, all in Bisaya, focusing on Tolentino (16 ads), Binay (9 ads), and Romualdez (8 ads). Its earliest ad featured actress Janine Gutierrez in a Bench clothing brand promotion.

Pilipinas Today Radyo had 48 active ads similar to content from the other Pilipinas pages, with Tolentino in 20 ads, followed by Binay and Romualdez (14 ads each).

Peoples Tonight (192,000 likes) had seven active ads featuring Binay (3 ads), Tolentino (2 ads), Romualdez, and Sara Duterte. Sara Duterte’s ad highlighted a Commission on Audit report on school feeding issues during her tenure at the Department of Education.

Peoples Tonight Radyo (1.3 million likes) had four active ads as of Nov. 3, promoting Binay and Tolentino and running negative ads on Rodrigo and Sara Duterte.

The six pages shared a similar “pt” logo: Pilipinas, Pilipinas Today Visayas, Pilipinas Today, and Pilipinas Today Radyo used a black background, while Peoples Tonight and Peoples Tonight Radyo used red.

Most ads were funded by Wanna Fact PH (WFPH), except for Peoples Tonight Radyo. WFPH’s website appears to be a basic one-page site with limited content.

An April report by Davao City-based MindaNews linked WFPH-funded pages to Sartine IT Solutions, a firm allegedly involved in 2018 U.S. influence operations. Sartine’s website, listed in WFPH’s Instagram bio, indicated its office in Taguig City with the tagline, “We make dead brands famous again.”

POLITICIANS

Among individual politicians, re-electionist Roxas City Mayor Ronnie Dadivas ranked fourth in spending (₱90,811) in October, followed by Paolo Roxas, son of former senator Mar Roxas, running for Capiz’s 1st congressional district (₱86,375). Senators Risa Hontiveros (₱46,629) and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. (₱36,372) ranked seventh and eighth, respectively.

Hontiveros’s ads, sponsored by Rise with Risa, featured clips from an Oct. 28 Senate hearing on the drug war. Older ads promoted former senators Bam Aquino and Kiko Pangilinan, senatorial candidates running for party-list seats under Akbayan and Mamamayang Liberal, respectively.

Other political spenders included Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar and Aquino, with Villar’s ads funded by her brother, Manuel Paolo Villar.

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas and his daughter, Raisa Treñas-Chu, who aims to succeed him, ranked 12th and 14th in spending, respectively. Treñas previously denied funding troll accounts after numerous supportive comments appeared on his and local media pages.