The Undersecretary for Tourism Planning and Promotion Vicente "Enteng" Romano III accepted full responsibility on the branding "Pilipinas, Kay Ganda" during the press conference held at Department of Tourism's auditorium, November 23, 2010. He also tendered his irrevocable resignation this day.

Usec. Romano considered the rejection of the brand as a vote of "no confidence" not just for the brand but also for him being the man behind it, the "preview" of which spewed a lot of controversies, like the absence of consultation with industry stakeholders, the alleged plagiarism of the logo being copied from Poland's travel logo, "Polska", and the amount spent for the Preview Event.

He ended his statement with "Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with a nation so beautiful. Pilipinas, kay ganda."

Philippines - The Pearl of the Orient

This is a private initiative to make the Philippines, the Pearl of the Orient, truly a "pearl" in all sides.

The objective of this blog is to support the Department of Tourism's international marketing campaign program by way of strengthening the culture of tourism in the country. No amount of millions of money shelled out and efforts exerted in coming up with marketing strategies will bring good results if local communities are not ready or ill fit to welcome the visitors, which, by the way, include both the domestic and the foreign tourists.

The first in line is about the basics of cleanliness.

Once, I was able to set on foot in the city of Davao, the most clean city I have ever visited , which may be rivaled by Puerto Princesa. I asked myself, "if in Davao they can do it why not in other cities?" Awed and absorbed by a man's initiative to pick a candy wrapper beside a tricycle, I missed the moment with my point-and-shoot camera. So, the word initiative is a key. I learned later on that the local officials passed an anti-littering law and that it is strictly implemented. And the combo words for that is political will. Initiative begins with the local governments--pass a law, implement the law. That is the role of governments--to govern, to bring about order. Something in between, of course, is communication. You've got to communicate the benefits and worse-case scenarios not just the law with all its penalties. As they say, the letter of the law kills but the spirit gives life. If and when the political will is present and greatly felt by the members of the community only then that their initiative will be spurred and become a culture as long as it is sustained by political will. That is as far as those in power are concerned.

Man or woman has the capacity to initiate change without being told. While waiting for such a law, let's put our acts together and begin small--little insignificant acts amount to something when put together. Don't litter your candy wrappers--keep them in your purses or pockets. Don't litter your cigarette butts--or better still, don't smoke--the best way to clean up your lungs and the-already-polluted city of yours. Oh, come on...we can do that.