Sen. Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. defends himself against detractors with tough conviction.

In a press conference held at the Imperial Palace Suites in Quezon City last March 16, the re-electionist solon stood tall while answering questions from the press. There was no sign of buckling due to an audio-recording scandal that recently hit his campaign.

An audio file posted in YouTube late last month, containing a recording of a voice that sounds like Revilla's voice, alleged that the Senator is involved in election fraud, that he uses police forces for electoral gain and enjoys Malacañang protection. (CLICK HERE to read related story)

"Yung mga paninira, sabi ko nga, sanay na tayo diyan," Revilla said. "Habang sinisiraan nila ako, lalo lang akong popogi nun. Dahil wala naman tayong ginawang masama sa bayan. Wala tayong atraso sa bayan. Di ba? Hindi tatalab sa atin yun."

Revilla added, "Lilipas din 'yan. Basta lulutang pa rin yung kung ano yung tama. Yung pinagdaanan natin sa pulitika, tagal ko na rin sa politics since 1995, 2010 na ngayon, so siguro naman sa tagal na yun, e, matatag na ko."

The Senator said issues like these are "normal" in every electoral campaign.

"Basta importante hindi totoo yung binabato nila at wala tayong kasalanan sa bayan," he said.

P40 MILLION. In the press conference, Revilla was asked how much he spent for his campaign. After a short pause, Revilla said he had already spent a total of P20 million, and that he expects to spend the same amount until the campaign period ends in May 8, for a total of P40 million pesos.

Revilla said the bulk of his spending went to the purchase of "expensive" TV spots.

A report from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism published on March 16 said Revilla had purchased "129 ad spots for the entire duration of the campaign (February 9 to May 8) with ABS-CBN 2 worth P34 million." (CLICK HERE to read related story.)

The cost paid to ABS-CBN, if added to the still undeclared cost paid to GMA-7, other TV networks, radio stations, newspapers, and other publications, could easily trump Revilla's estimated "P40 million."

Due to the costly campaign expenses, Revilla is asking TV networks to reduce fees for political ad spots.

"Kaya nga dapat talaga ibaba yung cost sa TV spot na yun. Talagang napakabigat para sa pulitiko. Yun yung dapat nating i-review. Why is it too expensive? Imagine yung Pacquiao fight, P7 million or P6 million, for one spot? Maglalagay ka ng isang ad na ganun? Sabi ko, never mind. Manonood na lang ako ng Pacquiao fight. Hindi na lang ako maglalagay ng spot."

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