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PRESS STATEMENT
Vincente R. Romano III – DOTNovember 23, 2010My name is Enteng Romano – Undersecretary for Planning andPromotions. And I’m responsible for the Pilipinas Kay Ganda Branding.In the last 7 days, there have been issues and criticisms raised against thebranding. I have answered some of them in my Facebook page. But thereare others left unanswered. Allow me to address them nowFirst, the issue on plagiarism. I instructed Campaigns & Grey to takeinspiration from the European logos – particularly that of Polska, Espana,Portugal, Italia, and Maldives in order to project a visual impact of fun andnatural beauty. The final design had similarities with the Polska logo, butthe design elements and the visual presentation are distinctive enough tobe clearly differentiated.Getting inspiration from existing designs is not an uncommon practice. Infact, in one of the definitions of plagiarism, it is stated that, “Whileplagiarism is condemned in academia and journalism, in the arts it is oftena major part of the creative process.”I did not consider it plagiarism then. I’m sorry others don’t feel the sameway.Neither the Department nor Campaigns & Grey has done anythingimmoral, much less illegal. At worst, it might have offended thesensitivities of a people who take pride in its creative spirit. For that I’mtruly sorry.I hope this puts to rest the unfair criticisms being hurled againstCampaigns & Grey. I am fully responsible for the final design.Second, there’s also a lot of criticism about using a Pilipino slogan incommunicating to the foreign market. I am still convinced it is a matter of execution.I honesty think a Manny Pacquiao saying “Pilipinas kay Ganda” will makea world curious and try to find out what it means. Third, the Department is being criticized for the lack of consultation withthe industry stakeholders before the introduction of the initial brandconcept.We made it clear that the November 15 event was simply a preview, bothin the invitation and in the Opening Speech of Sec. Bertie Lim. It was a“work in progress.” And we marked the event with fanfare in the hopethat we can excite the audience enough to get their support for the brand.
I was, of course, wrong. I now realize a consultation process is long andarduous, and my attempt to fast-track the consultation process is one of the reasons why it failed.My friends ask me, why the rush?Well, it’s because I’m in a hurry. Before I joined government, I was in thestreets clamoring for change. And when I joined, I wanted to spend everywaking hour effecting that change.I’m in a hurry to have an advertising campaign going on by the firstquarter of 2011. Because I am fully convinced that every day we do notrun a campaign is a lost opportunity to boost our tourism arrivals. It is alost opportunity to generate jobs and alleviate poverty.I now realize that an idea as big as a new country brand needs time togerminate and blossom. There are no shortcuts.I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincerest apologies toPresident Aquino, Secretary Lim, and the Filipino people for thecontroversy that this branding exercise has generated.When I presented the brand to the President, he had his own misgivingsabout the brand and specifically instructed me to do a comprehensivemarket research before launching it. I assured him it was just a previewevent and that we will do research after.Secretary Lim also asked me to postpone the event given the President’sconcern, but I persisted.I thank both of them for trusting me enough to let me go ahead with theevent.But in the end, it is the trust of the people that really matters. A publicoffice is a public trust. That’s why the President always says, “Kayo angboss ko.”I take the rejection of the brand by the people as a vote of “noconfidence” not just for the brand, but also for the person behind it.I take full responsibility for the branding controversy, and for this reason Iam tendering my irrevocable resignation effective immediately.I hope this puts closure on the issue. I now appeal to the industrystakeholders, to media, and to the general public to put this behind usand rally behind Secretary Lim, whose only fault in this whole controversyis in trusting me completely.
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