ILOILO City – All candidates in the recent May 12 midterm elections in this city stayed within the legally mandated campaign spending limit, with none exceeding the P991,887 cap based on the city’s 330,629 registered voters, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Comelec-Iloilo City Election Assistant II Jonathan Sayno confirmed that every candidate complied with the spending ceiling of P3 per registered voter.
“This process ensures transparency and accountability, and promotes fairness in electoral contests,” Sayno said.
Mayor-elect Raisa Treñas-Chu topped the list of campaign spenders, declaring P716,200 in total expenses — still nearly P275,000 below the maximum limit.
Her opponent, Roland Magahin, spent just P29,562.
Cong. Julienne Baronda reported P472,989.23 in expenses, followed by Councilor Rex Marcus Sarabia with P351,798.62.
Vice Mayor-elect Lady Julie Grace “Love-Love” Baronda declared P264,539.
Other significant filers included Councilor Romel Duron (P253,713), Councilor-elect Lyndon Acap (P158,686), and Danilo Purzuelo (P128,265.84).
Outgoing Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon reported P84,270.73, while defeated candidate for congressman Mel Carreon declared P20,801.75.
The candidate with the most modest campaign budget was Ryan Dave Estrella, whose Statement of Contributions and Expenses (SOCE) showed only P3,000 in expenses.
According to Sayno, all submitted SOCEs are forwarded to Comelec’s central office for validation by its Campaign Finance Division./PN
