P1M SPENT SINCE 2020: Treñas among Facebook’s top ad spenders — PCIJ report

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

An investigative report revealed that Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas is among the local politicians who are the biggest spenders on boosting their posts on Facebook.

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), a non-profit media organization specializing in investigative journalism, reported that Treñas invested over ₱200,000 in Facebook promotions between April 20 and July 18, 2024.

However, the PCIJ pointed out that most of his target users were from Tapaz town in nearby Capiz province.

Mayor Treñas’ official Facebook page has over 342,000 likes and approximately 475,000 followers. In its feature, the city mayor stated that the Facebook page is “featuring his values and advocacies that continue to bring Iloilo City to the next level.”

Daily Guardian reviewed the city mayor’s page performance in the Meta Ad Library during the same period, “a comprehensive, searchable database for ad transparency.”

A quick search revealed that during the said period, the city mayor boosted 830 posts to increase the visibility of his content.

Most of these posts included video messages from barangay officials, including Sangguniang Kabataan chairpersons, expressing their support for the city’s continuous economic progress under Treñas’ leadership.

Other posts highlighted various city government services and programs, such as tree-planting events, clean-up campaigns, infrastructure developments, and the resumption of international flights at Iloilo International Airport.

Some posts also included statements of gratitude from barangay officials to the city government for its projects, alluding to some that were made possible by his daughter and executive assistant, Raisa Treñas-Chu.

The city mayor endorsed his daughter to run for Congress in the midterm elections earlier this year.

The posts also referenced some of his bills and constituent programs from his tenure as Iloilo City’s lone district representative in the 15th, 16th, and 17th Congresses from 2010 to 2019.

The city has not yet categorically disclosed his plans for the upcoming elections, but earlier in June, he said that he was “tempted” to seek a seat in Congress, citing his heavy workload as mayor.

From August 4, 2020, to August 12, 2024, Meta’s Ad Library showed that Treñas spent over ₱1.05 million to enhance his social media presence, with funds coming from various sources.

The page’s ads since 2020 were contributed by Ma. Ruthmar Gabileo, a Tourist Receptionist II at the City Tourism Office who is assigned to the City Mayor’s Office as a social media copywriter, who shared ₱520,853; Iloilo-based digital marketing agency Dame Digital, which paid ₱55,600; and the city mayor himself, who covered ₱486,934.

Treñas’ son Paolo also chipped in ₱3,916, and Hernani Escullar Jr. contributed ₱1,600, likely when he was still employed with the Iloilo City government from September 16, 2020, to July 31, 2021.

Escullar is now an information officer with the Department of Education Western Visayas.

However, not all of these ads were transparent. Ads totaling ₱2,469 were posted without the required disclaimers, making it unclear who was responsible for the content, including any affiliations and the source of funding for the ad.

More specifically, Treñas’ page spent ₱316,561 on ads in the past 90 days, from May 16 to August 13, 2024. Of this amount, ₱150,250 was spent since July 15, with ₱37,087 allocated in just the last week, from August 7 to August 13.

In the most recent seven-day period, the ad spending was covered by Treñas himself, who contributed ₱36,621 for ads that included the required disclaimers.

MARKETING CITY ‘PART OF MY JOB’

Treñas, in a statement on Sunday, August 18, defended his use of Facebook ads, stating that marketing the city government’s programs and services is a key part of his responsibility as the city mayor.

He emphasized that his role includes communicating the achievements of his administration to ensure that Ilonggos can access the benefits and services provided by the local government.

“Part of my job as Mayor and leader of the city is to communicate what we’ve done for the city for our Ilonggos – so they can access the services and our benefits,” he said.

He also highlighted his efforts to promote Iloilo City beyond its borders to attract tourists and investors, noting that his promotional activities recently helped secure direct flights from Singapore to Iloilo.

Treñas pointed out that these promotional efforts have not only won awards and secured funding for infrastructure and services but have also led to other cities and provinces visiting Iloilo to benchmark their own initiatives.

“Other cities and provinces have also visited us to benchmark. Nakakatulong pa tayo with other cities because they’ve seen our projects through our promotions,” he added.

The mayor also mentioned that his Facebook page is currently being used to help combat dengue, illustrating the page’s role as a versatile communication tool.

“For my Facebook page, like any communication tool, like radio, print, national media, international media, I’ve used the communication tools available to market our city. That’s my responsibility,” he emphasized.

Treñas clarified that he has used his personal Facebook page and funds to carry out these promotional activities.

“I’ve been promoting our city for the past six years and even during my term as congressman, and I will continue to do that. That’s my responsibility as Mayor and leader of the city,” he said.

WHAT TROLLS?

Treñas also denied hiring online trolls to boost his leadership image and deliberately attack his political rivals.

“Waay ko ya trolls. Aton ya aton. Real person. They are organic,” he said in a press conference on Monday, August 19.

Treñas stressed that he should not be questioned about having troll accounts but hinted that he knows someone who engages in such activities. The city mayor refused to reveal the identity of the person he was alluding to.

“Ang iban yah may mga trolls. Indi mo ko pagmangkuton kung sin-o may trolls kay kabalo ko kung sin o but don’t ask me who,” he said.

Various academic studies define trolls as internet or social media users who deliberately try to offend, cause trouble, or directly attack people by posting derogatory comments on Facebook posts, blogs, YouTube videos, forums, and other social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram.

However, not every argument can be considered trolling; a difference of opinion can lead to healthy discussion, which can be invaluable on forums.