Pro-Duterte senatorial candidates who ran in the midterm elections had no money or campaign machinery, a Facebook page claimed. This is false.
On May 14, the FB page posted screenshots from a BBC article stating that the administration slate Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas underperformed in the recent elections, grabbing only six out of 12 senatorial seats that needed to be filled.
Lauding Vice President Sara Duterte and her allies, the caption read:
“GL Card lang gamit ni Inday.
Walang pera, walang makinarya, walang goons.”
(Inday only used a GL card. No money, no machinery, no goons.)
GL refers to a Guarantee Letter, issued by the social welfare department for its social programs for poor, marginalized, vulnerable or disadvantaged members of the society. It does not come in the form of a cash card.
Re-electionist senators Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa and Christopher “Bong” Go were among the top spenders for advertisements on TV, radio, print and billboards, according to a Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) report.
As of March 2025, Dela Rosa already spent over P1.5 billion for ads in traditional media, while Go followed with P1 billion, ranking as fifth and eighth top spenders, respectively.
The two were frontrunners of the Sara Duterte-endorsed senatorial slate dubbed as ‘DuterTen’ — mostly composed of Partido ng Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan candidates.
Though not part of the coalition, Duterte announced last-minute alliances with Sen. Imee Marcos and Alyansa bet Rep. Camille Villar.
The same report put Villar as top spender at over P3.5 billion. Marcos trails in second place with more than P2.8 billion.
Go, Dela Rosa and Marcos will begin their new terms in the 20th Congress with Villar as a neophyte senator.
Go received the most votes and finished his senate bid at first place, Dela Rosa at third, Villar at 10th and Marcos trailing at 12th.
Facebook page Joie De Vivre Every Other Day (created Jan. 4, 2024) has 140,000 followers. The false post garnered over 1,700 engagements.
