ILOILO CITY – Reelected Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. was the highest spender in Iloilo during the May 2022 elections.
Defensor expressed shock over this fact. “I’m the highest spender? Really?” Defensor said in response to questions from the Iloilo Capitol Press Corps.
Defensor declared more than P1 million in expenditures in his Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) submitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
He was reelected to his second consecutive term with an overwhelming 891,980 votes. His opponent was an independent candidate who only garnered more than 25,000 votes.
Defensor admitted that he did not spend much for the campaign since there was no major opponent as well as the restrictions posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Defensor, much of his spending was only for campaign staff.
Reelected Vice Gov. Christine “Tingting” Garin was second with more than P700,000 spent.
In Iloilo City, reelected Mayor Jerry Treñas is the biggest spender. He submitted a SOCE to the Comelec-Iloilo City showing he spent P325,999.
Treñas is serving his second consecutive term as mayor. He also served as mayor from 2001-2010.