Loveless in the Philippines?

Are there so many “loveless” Filipinos in the Philippines?

Why do we have to ask the world to “Love the Philippines?”

“A comma might have made a difference.”

“How can you ‘Love the Philippines’ if you have never met her, visited her, stayed with her and experienced her?”

“If we want people to ‘Love the Philippines’ then make sure they don’t arrive through NAIA or leave through NAIA or their first and last impression will declare: GOODBYE Philippines!”

In a matter of hours, it became very clear that many people were not loving the P49-million slogan of the Department of Tourism: “Love the Philippines.” Yes, that love telegram costs us P49,000,000. Netizens complained that it gave the impression that Pinoys were needy of “love.”Others called it lame, some said it was unnecessary. Others said it lacked the comma for emphasis.

One ballistic congressman from Albay province, namely Cong. Joey Salceda, could not get over the exclusion of Mayon Volcano from the graphics of tourist destinations, while others wondered why the modern windmills in Ilocos Norte were featured since they are only “local attractions” and not national gems or established tourist destinations compared to Mayon Volcano.

For some, “Love the Philippines” is so un-original and some netizens even suspected that it was a rehash of a similarly worded slogan for a place called Liloan, Cebu. Up to now, I can’t get over the reported P49 million that was spent to come up with the slogan, especially since no breakdown or accounting has so far been presented on how the P49 million was spent.

Was there a public bidding for the slogan development project? Who participated? Who or which company actually won and crafted the P49-million slogan? Was it a local or international company? How much research was done to determine the direction and messaging of the slogan? Who were the respondents, what made them representative of the intended target market of the DOT?

How did the slogan developers determine that using “Love” as the concept or key message would speak best to the DOT market? In terms of product marketing: What is there to love in the Philippines? All these questions are part of the many things that go into developing an international marketing campaign or slogan.

One observer correctly pointed out that the process should have been publicized from the start, the process very transparent and the development shared with the public instead of being presented like a plain cold dish after the cook has left the building.

Having been a resort developer/builder as well as operator many moons ago, I could come up with 49 ways to spend millions to improve tourism and not burn it all on a slogan that could have been better crafted by high school kids!

With P49 million, we could buy all the chairs needed for all four terminals at the NAIA so that locals as well as departing tourists don’t have to sit on the floor or stand for hours in line. With P49 million, I could personally build more women’s toilets at the four terminals — designed for Women by Women! With P49 million I’m sure we could improve the connectivity for mobile phones and tablets at all NAIA terminals.

With P49 million, we could produce directional signs for tourist spots or establish an online portal to guide local and foreign tourists on what bus or boat or train to take to what destination. With P49 million, we could create an app to register all transport companies, their routes, schedules and working email or contact details.

With P49 million, we might be able to start an actual tourist and airline passenger hotline to help the hundreds of passengers experiencing hell from flight delays, cancelations and overbookings. With P49 million we could launch an annual slogan writing contest with a P1-million prize for 49 years!

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“The power of PBBM compels you!”

Like spellbinders or magicians, certain lobbyists are allegedly pushing for the approval of the “unsolicited bid” of the Manila International Airport Consortium, relying solely on “the Power of BBM.” This brash and presumptuous behavior of “breakfast time lobbyists” at Malacañang is meant to pre-empt any and all efforts of DOTr Secretary Jimmy Bautista who, I am told, would rather have a public bidding to keep things above board.

It seems that if the “MIAC Unsolicited Bid” is allowed, the matter would essentially be a done deal because there are no other interested parties in rehabilitating the NAIA since all of them are already invested in the Clark Airport, San Miguel Bulacan Airport, etc. No other group might put up a Swiss challenge and the unsolicited bid would be a walk through Malacañang Park. There are many property developers eyeing the NAIA spread to build commercial centers and townships, but most of them want a straightforward transaction with government, and not a multi-layered means to lock down the property.

PBBM should really be very careful and watch how this whole scenario develops because it is one that may have serious consequences for government long after he is no longer President. Being blamed for a bad deal is one thing but being legally responsible for something this huge is another.

There are too many high-risk offerings being sent to PBBM right now. First is the Maharlika Investment Fund bill that could become a vehicle for economic plunder like that of Malaysia and now an “Unsolicited Bid” that critics say could be highly disadvantageous to the government.