Insiders from the Department of Tourism have indicated that former Undersecretary Theresa Ilagan Martinez had expressed happiness over the move of Congress to impeach Ombudsman Merceditas Guiterrez.
Martinez who was removed from Office by the Ombudsman for practicing Nepotism is currently appealing the decision and trying to reverse it with the help of her patron who seats as one of the Board Members of the Foundation of former President Fidel V. Ramos.
DOT employees feel that a return of Martinez to the Department will derail the reorganization moves to prepare the DOT for future campaigns. It will be noted that upon the assumption of Bertie Lim to the Office of Secretary of the Department of Tourism, he promoted Martinez to the rank of Undersecretary without looking into her background. Martinez on the other hand filled all the positions in the DOT with her allies and ensured that Lim would be surrounded by people loyal to her like Undersecretary Jasmin and the current Director of the DOT Special Concerns Office.
Martinez at the onset of Lim’s appointment was heard to claim that she had the full trust and confidence of Secretary Alberto Lim and nothing goes to him without her approval or being consulted.
Her removal from office was a result of the a case filed by the head of the DOT Employees Cooperative back in 2007 where it was found that she had a direct hand in having her brother Mario ILagan hired in the San Francisco Office of the Department. The employee who filed the case has since died.
Interested to learn more about this topic? Read our older posts!
It would seem that the hand of god was finally extended to Bertie Lim with a slap on the nape that made him come to his senses and make a right decision for a change. Appointing Danny Corpuz as Undersecretary by far is one of the best actions and decisions he has made since his approval by the CA. Daniel G. Corpuz is a tourism long timer with an astute mind that works to create the foundations and partnerships for a successful tourism platform. Yes platform and not just a campaign.
Corpuz who is the son of O.D. Corpuz, the national writer, used to head the Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation. He was the man behind the successful tourism plan that made Manila a mecca for the biggest conventions and activities in South East Asia. This man has no personal agenda and even avoids the limelight. Instead, as a loyal government employee, he attributes his achievements and success as opportunities only provided by the current Secretary he serves loyally. He says that he is only the tool and his success is the success of the Secretary. This is probably one of the most important aspects and characteristics that others have mostly lost in the service.
Danny was one of the first people to brief former Senator Dick Gordon when he assumed the position of DOT Secretary. Gordon was impressed with the briefing he got as Danny shelled out data and information during an impromptu presentation. No slides, no powerpoint, no preparations. Danny stood in front of a man who is probably one of the hardest people to impress. Gordon knew he was in front of a true specialist and Gordon’s only complaint was for Danny to speak with more confidence!
It was the same thing with Secretary Gemma Araneta who greatly depended on Danny and the PCVC to implement the hardest programs. At every point, Danny Corpuz delivered.
Danny may be a little older now and he is not perfect as someone reading this may arrive at as a conclusion. But by far, Corpuz brings to the DOT table, the insight, the knowledge and the support from the tourism private sector – elements that would make our tourism infrastructure more competitive.
With bad advisors as Rosvi Gaetos and corrupt officials like Undersecretary Theresa I. Martinez finally out of the DOT, Alberto Lim may finally get the right inputs from the right people and move tourism forward finally.
In a stunning decision lauded by the downtrodden employees of the Department of Tourism, the Ombudsman issued a decision that Undersecretary Theresa I Martinez was guilty of Nepotism based on a case filed against her in 2007 by the President of the employees association of the DOT.
The case stemmed from the hiring of Undersecretary Martinez’s brother, Mario Ilagan, in the San Francisco Office of the Department of Tourism. Finally some sense of justice from an Ombudsman who has been under fire for the Garcia fiasco.
The hands of Secretary Alberto Lim were tied based on the order from the Ombudsman which was executory immediately leaving him with no other option but to dispense with the corrupt Undersecretary Martinez. However, the DOT Secretary immediately stated that the Undersecretary was free to appeal the Ombudsman’s decision as is her right. But as of this date, there is no recourse but to follow the order and dismiss her from the service.
Once a person is dismissed from the service for cause, most specially one as grave as nepotism, all accrued benefits from government service are cancelled – retirement etc. Likewise, the individual is banned from further government service either appointive or by election. This prevents corrupt individuals from further peddling their “special talents” elsewhere.
Undersecretary Theresa I. Martinez is a protege of Narzalina Lim who recommended her highly to Secretary Alberto Lim. Martinez was an Assistant Secretary overseeing the Administrative Services of the DOT which controlled the contracting of parties and employees, financial operations and the purchasing of equipment and rental of facilities. She also controlled the legal office and the administrative liaison office of the DOT which conducted direct negotiations with Senators and Congressmen for tourism related bills, issues and their usual tours to countries they visit.
She has only been found guilty for NEPOTISM as regards the issue of her brother Mario Ilagan being hired at the SF DOT office as stated earlier. But other issues hound this government official as tourism insiders would put it. Here are some.
1. The hiring of security services where one particular person assigned to her is transferred from agency to agency in exchange for a contract in the DOT. This means that this same security personnel is adopted by the new security agency that has been granted a contract by Martinez.
2. The hiring of her daughter, Trixie Martinez, in the New York DOT office.
3. Unwarranted use of facilities (such as the coconut palace when it was under the DOT) and services by relatives and close associates in the guise of tourism related activities.
4. Position peddling in exchange for loyalty and other gratuities.
5. Undermining the higher authorities on the implementation of directives.
6. The use of official government vehicles for personal activities. It is rumored that 5 vehicles were assigned to this official. Yes 5. And not all have been returned as of this report.
With the temporary departure of Undersecretary Martinez, employees of the DOT are given a window to introspectively look into their own actions and performance. Those who have been identified closely with the corrupt official must do the same twice over and see whether they themselves would be subject to investigation. They may be more worried now as Undersecretary Martinez might spill the beans or much more just pass the buck to them in mounting her defense.
This would be worth watching, much like Secretary Alberto Lim is doing while smoking his pipe and wondering…Now who do I trust?
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In a stunning move that echoed the sentiments of the general public, the appointment of Alberto Lim as Secretary of Tourism was deferred by the powerful Commission of Appointments. This after the CA conducted a public hearing that saw opponents of the beleaguered DOT Secretary hurl insults and accusations at him on his poor performance at the post for the last 6 months. Opponents cited his lack of action on the massacre of Hong Kong residents last 02 August at the grandstand and belittling the HK and China tourist market; his favoring the open skies; firing of tourism officials both from the DOT and the Tourism Board of the Philippines; and, the Pilipinas Kay Ganda debacle which he has denied having had anything to do with from its onset.
Robert Lim Joseph, Chair of the Travel Cooperative of the Philippines, did not hold back and called Alberto Lim an “idiot,” a “liar,” and an “incompetent”.
Tourism bodies who also opposed the confirmation were present to include representatives of Cebu Interline Operators, Chamber of Real Estate Builders Association, Davao Association of Tour Operators, Davao Tourism Association, Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu to name a few.
Alberto Lim sat bewildered but unmoved during the whole process as the majority of tourism bodies rejected his appointment for the causes mentioned.
Malacanang has stood beside Lim despite his efforts to involve the President in the Pilipinas Kay Ganda Polska plagiarism issue where Lim identified the President as suggesting changes to the campaign logo with the inclusion of the smiling sun and the tarsier.
The question remains whether the President will continue to insist on the appointment of Lim as the DOT Chief and re-submit his appointment papers. This maybe after further back room negotiations are conducted by the DOT Legislative Liaison Office of Theresa I. Martinez on the travel requirements and junkets of CA staffers and officers.
Let’s see if the PNOY campaign slogan still holds true -“Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap”! Let’s see if the Commission of Appointment members have the integrity to uphold national interest and the interest of the tourism industry as a whole by not confirming Alberto Lim.
Despite statements from no less than President Aquino that he will continue the WOW Philippines campaign, DOT Chief Alberto Lim is still adamant that the campaign should be changed. New viral marketing materials from the Department of Tourism has stricken the WOW word from the logo. See the DOT website at http://www.tourism.gov.ph
This defiance is creating brand confusion in the market according to an advertising executive. What he is doing is SUBTERFUGE where certain elements are taken out or added in a picture to trick the eye and train it to the adoption of an addition or elimination of a visual element. Taking out the word WOW is probably his way of saying that he still got his way. Unknowingly, taking out the WOW damages the current campaign in the long run because it now lacks an “invitation”.
He now calls the WOW Philippines campaign as one bereft of the beauty of Philippine Culture. This is his defense for the now defunct and plagiarized “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” campaign which President Aquino himself dumped. What is concerning here is the arrogance and determination of Alberto Lim to even go against the President whom he serves. PNOY campaign officials who are now holding crucial posts in the government have been steadfastly defending the beleaguered DOT Secretary and saying that Alberto Lim still has the confidence of the President and command responsibility ended with the resignation of Enteng Romano.
In the deliberations on the PKG, Lim refused to listen to the inputs from within the DOT such as that of Edwin Trompeta and other Regional Directors. He also refused inputs from the stakeholders – the hotels, travel agencies and tour providers. Alberto Lim should just follow the instructions of President Aquino NOW and have Manny Pacquiao promote the Philippines globally because he already has global appeal. Imagine Manny saying: “WOW Philippines! See my country!” and then have a series with Manny in many tourist sites saying – “WOW Beautiful Churches” – “WOW Beautiful People” – “WOW Best Beaches”. Manny Pacqiuao did this for VITWATER by just saying “YOU KNOW”.
The cost for launching Pilipinas Kay Ganda was small compared to what was stolen by past administrations! This is the latest statement from Secretary Alberto Lim of the Department of Tourism. He also passed “Total Responsibility” on the head of resigned Tourism Promotions Undersecretary Enteng Romano. I told him to slow down, he added.
All this despite the check which he signed last October 18 with vouchers fully attached describing the event and its components. Alberto Lim had total knowledge and even control of the Pilipinas Kay Ganda campaign because he was the one who instructed Enteng Romano to undertake studies for a new campaign to be launched. Several weeks before the actual launch and consequently after massive complaints were aired on all media, Alberto Lim continued to promote the logo and slogan which in fact was his baby. A tourism official who did not want to be identified said that the Secretary put pressure on Usec. Romano to produce something in time for the the Tour Operators event. Usec. Romano was just working under these instructions. Campaigns & Grey was also suggested by Secretary Lim as the Agency to call for assistance in the development of the new campaign.
Minimizing the wasting of millions of taxpayers money can never be accepted as an excuse by the general public one senatorial staff quipped after investigations were initiated on the high salaries of government officials. This administration makes it appear that being paid a high salary in government is a crime, but to waste a similar amount can just be written off like a corporate mistake. If Secretary Lim thinks this way, he will have a hard time being confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. Word has it that the legislative liaison office of the Department of Tourism has been working on the members of the powerful CA through constant negotiations with staffers of Commission. The LLO as it is known in the DOT makes sure that Congressmen and Senators are included in familiarization tours and provided other perks such as the exclusion from the payment of travel and airport taxes even when these officials are on private trip. This unit is directly under Theresa I. Martinez, the current righthand and strong arm of Alberto Lim.
According to Lim, there are certain limits to command responsibility. If I resign, then it goes all the way up to the President!
This kind of reasoning would have been appropriate in past administrations, but not in this one. Opinion makers have lauded Enteng Romano for his supreme sacrifice. Note the resignation only came after calls for Lim to resign were massively aired and improprieties like the involvement of family members in the production of the event arose. What adds insult to injury is that Alberto Lim has also lauded the resignation of Romano but at the same time has stated that investigations on the failed and botched launch will be initiated.
His dilly dallying and lying is obviously apparent to the general public and tourism stakeholders. Malacanang however has put a period on the fiasco and has left the matter to the powerful Commission on Appointments on whether to reject the appointment of the lying secretary! What gives?
No amount is too small when it comes to Public funds and their use! Every peso counts most specially if they are wantonly and inappropriately spent for wine and dine activities as held to launch the logo and campaign which lasted a week – thank god! Malacanang has to move on this to save its image. Otherwise, it losses moral leverage on much larger issues.
After calling WOW Philippines a diffused brand and going on radio and TV hailing the launch of the now debunk Pilipinas Kay Ganda logo and thematic campaign, Alberto Lim now blames everybody but himself for the fiasco.
On radio and print interviews, he calls Usec Romano as a man from the streets! “Galing siya sa kalye”. I warned him not to rush it, but he (Lim) also signed a check last 18 Oct for the launch event amounting to 3.7 Million (see previous article). I only signed for the small expenses is his defense! Assuming that the amount spent for Pilipinas Kay Ganda is more than that was spent or budgeted for the event, say 5 Million, what he signed is well over 60% of the expenses.
Alberto Lim also blamed the President for his inputs on the logo as if the President himself was responsible for the total design or even the concept itself of PKG. It was the creative director of Campaigns & Grey who copied the elements fonts and layout.
He blames everybody but himself and now has the audacity to go on radio interviews and say that Enteng Romano got what he deserved for not heeding calls to slow down. Lucky for him that Enteng Romano has been towing the publicity line that it was his fault. But as far as government is concerned there needs to be a full accounting surrounding the fiasco in order that this not be repeated again.
His actions after the resignation of having an “I told him so” attitude is but a measure of this man’s character and penchant for self preservation. What does Noynoy Aquino owe him or the Ayala’s for that matter, that he can even go to the extent of blaming the President in his interviews as partly responsible for the botched, ill conceived and plagiarized logo and campaign tagline. This question begs and answer because we cannot have lunatics running around promoting our country.
He now denies any knowledge and anything to do with the campaign to save his own neck. He minimizes his participation in Pilipinas Kay Ganda as just signing small checks. Well, is this the same man during the event when the campaign was lavishly launched who boasted and proudly unveiled the copied logo to tourism stakeholders and his netizens. His lack of long term memory is evident and now requires some serious medication or just maybe long term confinement. Either he is seriously sick with amnesia, or a pathological liar, or just someone who does not know what he is doing. The last is the worst as there is no excuse or cure for stupidity in such a high stakes game as promoting a nation.
With all this coming out, and apparently still being staged managed by a PR firm, he would be better off just resigning. As for Romano, he has some time to enjoy and bask in the adulation of people for his integrity and supreme sacrifice. Obviously, he did not have the full trust of the DOT Chief and was given the ball and shackles and told to swim.
In Alberto Lim’s first few months in the DOT office, he has not managed to achieve any success, instead he has tried to undo all that his predecessors had achieved and established. Maybe because he listened too much to Narzalina Lim protege’ Usec. Theresa Martinez and her cabal of brown nosing directors.
The President would be well advised to stay away from this dangerously ill Secretary of Tourism. Otherwise, he might just be blamed by Lim for giving him the position of DOT Chief!
In TV and print interviews, Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim has continued to deny any knowledge on the expenses incurred for Pilipinas Kay Ganda. Instead he has pointed to resigned Usec. Enteng Romano as fully responsible for the major debacle that has recently rocked the Aquino administration. In an interview with QTV, he feigned all knowledge of the expenses that where incurred and used his recent US trip as an excuse. Lack of knowledge and feigning knowledge cannot be used in this case as there is an approval process involved in government before funds are released for projects previously approved and screened by no less than the head of Agency or Department. All government employees know the concept of Complete Staff Work or CSW, where nothing is signed or moved upwards for decision until one is sure that he/she has done everything within government guidelines. Most DOT officials have been mum on the topic of Pilipinas Kay Ganda and refuse to comment on the approval process involved. One would ask if anyone at the DOT has the gumption to even help their beleaguered Secretary correct himself on his comments.
If one is to prepare a timeline on all the events surrounding the amateur thematic campaign Pilipinas Kay Ganda, it could be said that this is the “baby” of Secretary Lim and Enteng Romano was just the “implementor” in view of his position as DOT promotions Usec.
1. Secretary Lim was already negative about the previous WOW thematic campaign and Awesome tactical campaign when he assumed office as head of the DOT. He said that he would focus in concentrating on product development and that WOW as a word that defines the Philippines is an after thought of the Philippine experience. In effect he already wanted to change the message at the onset.
2. Secretary Lim, upon seeing the studies made by Campaigns and Grey instructed Usec. Enteng Romano to “take inspiration” from the Polska, Maldives and Espana logo.
3. Pilipinas Kay Ganda tagline was submitted by Campaigns & Grey based on the marketing data that the Agency was provided by Usec. Romano. This data shows that filipinos are still the most dominant “tourists” amongst the 3 Million foreign visitors to the Philippines. This marketing data is flawed because the DOT insists on recording filipinos residing abroad as tourists and count them as such. They also record foreigners who study and work here as tourists. So if I were an EXPAT and I go on a business trip to HK twice a year, everytime I come back to the Philippines, I am recorded as a tourist. The Agency used this data as a basis for using Tagalog.
3. The DOT wanted to stem the decline in visitor arrivals brought about by the loss of the HK and China markets. It was also affected by the negative tourist advisories.
4. Philippine Tourism Promotions Board (PTPB), formerly the Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation (PCVC) the prime marketing arm of the DOT was defanged and basically relegated to a secondary sideline role because its COO is a GMA appointee.
5. Secretary Lim presented the Pilipinas Kay Ganda to President Aquino in a cabinet meeting where it was already received negatively.
6. It is true that some elements were the idea of Usec. Romano like using Manny Pacqiuao. It is also true that Usec. Romano fast tracked the launching of the logo despite warnings from the Agency, but these were instructions from Secretary Lim because he already liked the idea and saw it fit to be launched ASAP to placate tourism stakeholders he had been ignoring -The resorts, travel agencies, tour organizers and tourist transport industry who have been clamoring for clear cut tourism marketing direction and presence in the global market.
7. It is also true that the website was the responsibility of Usec Romano, but it was previewed and approved by Secretary Lim.
Secretary Alberto Lim knows about Pilipinas Kay Ganda! In fact he mentioned that one of the main reasons for the new campaign is: Bago kasi ang Presidente so dapat may bago din tayong ipakita. This came out on DZRH and other news outlets.
His PR Agency and Bloggers worked double time to promote the launch event which VP Binay graced and which in his speech (Alberto Lim) cited as the new direction that will bring the tourist back to the Philippines.
Based on the instances and events above, Secretary Alberto Lim cannot deny that money was already spent and ready to be spent. Unless he has some form of Amnesia, he signed the CHECK which only comes after a proposal is approved and vouchers are prepared and signed (a tedious and slow process).
His excuse that he didn’t know after the fact that millions were spent for Pilipinas Kay Ganda is a total lie! Continuing to deny knowledge after having pushed for the campaign and passing the buck totally to Romano is a measure of the character of Secretary Lim.
In the private sector and big corporations, a marketing mistake can usually be written off as a bad management decision. In government, it cannot just be written off because of government rules and regulations. If heads are to roll, it should not just be that of Romano who continuously covers for Secretary Alberto Lim or Lim’s Chief of Staff. It should be Lim himself not waiting to be axed, but graciously and irrevocably resigning for his failure and lies.
Here is the check signed October 18, 2010. Vouchers are always attached to checks that details its purpose.
He denies signing this check and approving the release of funds.
In light of the logo and slogan controversy and the revelation of financial documents detailing the initial expenses of the Pilipinas Kay Ganda launch, despite the denials of any expenditures on the program by no less than Secretary Alberto Lim himself, President Aquino has issued an official statement that he will personally review Philippine Tourism Plans and Programs.
Insiders in the Department where non too happy that the President has finally intervened in the mishandling of the prime programs of the Department responsible for promoting the country. Many officials of the DOT and PTPB were forced to leave at the assumption of Secretary Lim. These include Undersecretaries, Directors and Staff who have served the Tourism department for well over 10 years. The revamp was undertaken using the first few Executive Orders emanating from Malacanang. Former Undersecretary Palabyab, an Attorney, was offered a consultancy position by the Secretary himself in exchange for stepping down and vacating his post. He was not a CESO, but by Civil Service Rules is equal to one and thus could not be fired or just changed. Several Directors were likewise threatened and forced to tow the line in the initial salvo of personnel replacement in the Department. Staff in the Office of the Secretary and the Office for Special Concerns were immediately presented to the Secretary and terminated without due and proper notice. Employees have pointed to Undersecretary Theresa Martinez for initiating the internal problems in the Department of Tourism and in turn having herself and people close to her promoted to choice positions in the Department and its attached agencies.
The initial revamp was defended by Alberto Lim saying that he wanted to institute changes and concentrate less on marketing but on product planning or simply concentrating on creating new destinations. Tourism Attaches’ even those who were performing and delivering were recalled and replaced wantonly without regard for any performance audits being conducted. Marketing units that were working so well as established by former Secretary Ace Durano were abolished. This sowed confusion within the travel industry and its counterparts abroad. The market fluctuated because of a lack of clear cut directions and the replacement of critical personalities mid stream. Then came the Manila Hostage Massacre which further aggravated the situation as the Secretary issued statements that strained relations between China and the Philippines when he said that Hong Kong and mainland tourism inflow can be easily replaced by other markets. Instead of placating the market and assuring the chinese travel industry which had contributed to the development of Northern Tourism destinations, he basically added to the decision of tour and travel providers in China and Hong Kong in canceling their bookings amounting to several millions of US dollars. Tourism inflow from china and HK remains stagnant and has seen Laoag and Vigan suffering from the lack of chinese tourists.
These negative moves directly affected tourism arrivals which were aired by the Hotel and Travel industries. The knee jerk reaction was the re-branding exercise as Campaigns & Grey would now term it in their justification and open letter of explanation to the Filipino public.
Pilipinas Kay Ganda is a knee jerk response to the lack of tourism inflow and the confusion caused by the revamp of the marketing strategies and personnel in the DOT. They had to look for an alternative to the China and Hong Kong Market initially, and the other markets lost due to the negative travel advisories issued by Western countries, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. The solution was to concentrate on the traditional market – Filipinos, because our tourists are largely Filipinos who have migrated (Balikbayans) and those who were already born abroad with foreign citizenships. The campaign that was thus developed is largely meant to target the Filipino market who live in other countries and again engage locals to see other destinations. Since we have no means to market to foreigners or these means have been lost due to the revamp and bungling moves of the DOT Secretary, the Department of Tourism looks once again internally and to the Filipino market for tourism revenues. Misled by data or otherwise, Campaigns & Grey should have had the gumption and better judgement to advice their client on the challenges of brand repositioning. The thematic campaign should have stayed on as WOW Philippines and tactical campaigns developed therein to attract the Philippine market if in fact that was the goal of the Department and Ad Agency as this article would surmise.
Indeed for the creative people responsible for this plagiaristic debacle and are cowering behind the coat tails of client direction and the management of Campaigns & Grey, the road to perdition would be sooner than later if they do not cut and cut clean by telling the truth. WHO, WHY, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN and HOW MUCH? Explain entries 2, 3 , 5 ,6 of the proposed budget and the supplemental budget. Explain how Campaigns & Grey were contacted by the DOT and then contracted by the PTPB in detail. Or should Cynthia Carrion, PTPB’s COO be left to explain this debacle because she is an Arroyo holdover?
Malaysia Truly Asia has been constantly ringing in my mind ever since this stupid re-branding episode undertaken by the DOT to change a campaign that was not really doing bad, WOW Philippines. The secret behind creating recall is through repetition, yes with the root word being REPEAT and the practice thereof. Malaysia’s slogan has sunk in the mind of travelers because Malaysia massively supported this campaign in media and stayed with it for so many years. It has done them good in earning back their investment. Take note that they used English, because they were not talking to a Filipino market but to a much larger global market. 3 simple words, backed up by high quality Malaysian endorsing stars with global appeal like Michelle Yeoh and an appealing jingle built the brand up from nothing really to a destination that one wanted to explore. Regardless of whether it was urban Kuala Lumpur or their tropical islands, whether it was about eco-tourism or their tribal offers, in urban or rural settings, it was always Malaysia Truly Asia that was flaunted. The slogan stuck through all the elements that were fused together seamlessly to create and support one single compelling message for the traveler and the tourist alike…visit us and you see Asia.
WOW Philippines has the potential to compete with the Malaysian campaign as it had all the elements as well, except that it pails in execution compared to the Malaysian campaign. The initial commercials done by Guerrero BBDO which were dubbed “more than the usual” under the WOW Philippines campaign aimed to position the Philippine Brand in reply to the other Southeast Asian tourism campaigns…it positioned the Philippines as different! Exciting! WOW! These were aired in CNN and other channels worldwide which sparked renewed interest in the Philippines. When Richard Gordon left the DOT and transferred the reigns to Ace Durano, the latter explored other ways of enhancing the campaign by building the tourism promotion structure and putting a clear marketing foundation worldwide that would further promote the brand on ground with the WOW Philippines campaign. If we were really serious in promoting the Philippines, then we should have spent the 3.7 Million pesos used in launching this flawed and ill conceived campaign in buying airtime for the commercials that BBDO created. These were not dated and could be played again. Commercials could have been placed at TFC (The Filipino Channel) in the US considering that 30 seconds would have just been around $100. So doing the math, 3.7 Million pesos would be about $88,000 US, which would be translated to about 880 30 seconder spots that could have reached over a million Filipinos in the US alone. Note: DOT considers Filipinos living in the United States as Tourists and count them as such in arrival data! Another Flaw!
In other reports about the same topic, vouchers were released to show the breakdown of expenses and the signatories on the check. Note that in a previous report, a name of a corrupt DOT official was already mentioned. In the same photocopy of the documents, the signature of this official appears prominently beside that of Alberto Lim. After further looking into the documents, one can also note that it was paid to the PTPB or the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board formerly PCVC, a GOCC or Government Owned and Controlled Corporation that is tasked to market and promote the Philippines globally. Indeed Campaigns and Grey could claim that they had no contract with the DOT because DOT transferred the funds to PTPB and just maybe PTPB would be paying them. The documents as photocopied and can be seen in this link http://www.ellentordesillas.com/?p=13990 . And having reviewed the entries, it would be similar to a line-by-line breakdown that is usually submitted by Advertising agencies to their clients for events and campaigns. This needs to be followed if one is to get to the bottom of this mess. Why and how was Campaigns & Grey chosen? Was there any bidding conducted? Was there a shortlist? Who were the Agencies invited? Or was this just payback for the involvement of the same agency in the presidential campaign of PNOY? An ill conceived campaign coupled with a questionable transaction as this should be investigated.
Having listened to the excuses of the bumbling DOT Secretary in an interview with DZRH by Ruth Abao, he answered when queried on why they where changing the campaign: his reply not verbatim but the context of which says, “Since bago ang pangulo dapat bago din yung campaign”…in so many words. One brings to question now if we have the right person for the job. This is his 2nd mistake, the first one was his comments and inaction in the aftermath of the Manila Hostage Taking Incident. How many more excuses will be coming our way.
Lastly, as the adage goes: If it ain’t broke, why fix it?
San Lorenzo Village Monitor 