By Jojo Malig, abs-cbnNEWS.com
Related article by Business Mirror’s Stella Arnaldo: DOT’s Romano quits over branding
He admitted that he was the one responsible for the controversial branding scheme.
Romano defended his decision to spend P4.8 million in state funds for the launching which he and Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim said was just a preview of the concept and logo.
“Palagay ko po para maipakita rin natin ‘yung ganda nung brand na aming gustong i-propose. ‘Yun ang inakala naming paraan na inaasahan namin na ‘yung mga dumalo roon ay matuwa po sa aming inilulunsad. Ang DOT naman ho ay nagi-stage sa iba’t ibang events na hindi naman po kalayuan ang ginagastos sa mga ganyang uri ng event dahil talaga naman pong kailangan mayroon talagang ipe-present ng maganda,” he said.
President Benigno Aquino III immediately accepted the resignation of Romano.
Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said: “Enteng offered his resignation, he admitted his mistake, it was honorable of him to offer his resignation and the president respects him for his act. And it is with reluctance that the president accepted his resignation.”
Last Saturday, Aquino ordered the “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” campaign shelved after it was marred by allegations of plagiarism and other issues.
The campaign’s logo was allegedly copied from Poland’s tourism campaign while articles on its short-lived website were reportedly sourced without proper attribution from treasure-hunting websites.
The tourism campaign website, beautifulpilipinas.com, was taken down less than 24 hours after its launch because a porn website also uses the same keywords.
Romano, in a press briefing at the DOT on Tuesday, said he was the chief architect of the Pilipinas Kay Ganda branding.
“In the last 7 days, there have been issues and criticisms raised against the branding. I have answered some of them in my Facebook page. But there are others left unanswered,” he said.
‘Inspiration’ from European logos
He revealed that he ordered Campaigns and Grey, an ad agency, “to take inspiration from the European logos” particularly that of Poland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and the Maldives “to project a visual impact of fun and natural beauty.”
“The final design had similarities with the Polska logo, but the design elements and the visual presentation are distinctive enough to be clearly differentiated. Getting inspiration from existing designs is not an uncommon practice,” Romano said.
He rejected allegations of plagiarism regarding the branding’s logo design.
“In one of the definitions of plagiarism, it is stated that, ‘While plagiarism is condemned in academia and journalism, in the arts it is often a major part of the creative process.’ I did not consider it plagiarism then. I’m sorry others don’t feel the same way,” he added.
“Neither the [DOT] nor Campaigns and Grey has done anything immoral, much less illegal. At worst, it might have offended the sensitivities of a people who take pride in its creative spirit. For that, I’m truly sorry. I hope this puts to rest the unfair criticisms being hurled against Campaigns and Grey. I am fully responsible for the final design,” he said.
Romano also defended the use of the Filipino language in the branding, with foreign tourists as a primary target. “I am still convinced it is a matter of execution. I honesty think a Manny Pacquiao saying ‘Pilipinas kay Ganda’ will make a world curious and try to find out what it means.”
‘Work in progress’
He sidestepped criticisms that the DOT failed to consult with tourism industry stakeholders before introducing the brand concept.
“We made it clear that the November 15 event was simply a preview, both in the invitation and in the opening speech of Secretary Bertie Lim. It was a ‘work in progress. And we marked the event with fanfare in the hope that we can excite the audience enough to get their support for the brand,” Romano said.
“I was, of course, wrong. I now realize a consultation process is long and arduous, 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 the streets clamoring for change. And when I joined, I wanted to spend every waking hour effecting that change. I’m in a hurry to have an advertising campaign going on by the first quarter of 2011. Because I am fully convinced that every day we do not run a campaign is a lost opportunity to boost our tourism arrivals. It is a lost opportunity to generate jobs and alleviate poverty,” he added.
Romano was one of the leaders of the Black and White Movement, which played an active role in the protests against the Arroyo administration. He joined the May 2010 presidential campaign of Senator Aquino.
“I now realize that an idea as big as a new country brand needs time to germinate and blossom. There are no shortcuts. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincerest apologies to President Aquino, Secretary Lim, and the Filipino people for the controversy that this branding exercise has generated,” he said.
Aquino’s misgivings
He revealed that Aquino had “misgivings” about the brand. “[He] specifically instructed me to do a comprehensive market research before launching it. I assured him it was just a preview event and that we will do research after. Secretary Lim also asked me to postpone the event given the President’s concern, but I persisted. I thank both of them for trusting me enough to let me go ahead with the event,” Romano admitted.
“In the end, it is the trust of the people that really matters. I take the rejection of the brand by the people as a vote of ‘no confidence’ not just for the brand, but also for the person behind it. I take full responsibility for the branding controversy, and for this reason I am tendering my irrevocable resignation effective immediately. I hope this puts closure on the issue. I now appeal to the industry stakeholders, to media, and to the general public to put this behind us and rally behind Secretary Lim, whose only fault in this whole controversy is in trusting me completely,” he said.
The Palace, meanwhile, said Lim still enjoys the President’s confidence despite the mess.
P4.8 million for logo’s unveiling
The government spent almost P5 million for the presentation of the now-botched campaign’s logo, documents obtained by ABS-CBN News revealed.
Vouchers showed that P4.8 million was spent for a single night at an event held last week.
The money was spent for invitations, sound system, food, drinks, and public relations.
Romano reportedly approved the fund release.
Lim, meanwhile, said he was surprised with the amount spent.
He said he was overseas while the event was being held.
“Talagang over sya sa authorized budget. Nalaman ko na lang nung prinesent ang voucher,” he said.
Lim said he wanted Romano to explain how expenses ballooned after his return from the US.
Romano, however, resigned immediately after his return.
In an exclusive interview with Noli de Castro on TV Patrol Tuesday night, Romano said the money was spent at a preview event on November 15.
“Wala naman tayong nakitang TV advertisement, wala tayong nakitang print advertisement dahil talaga pong it was a preview. Gusto lang namin makuha ang feedback ng industriya,” he said.
Vice-President Jejomar Binay served as the event’s guest of honor.
“Lahat po ng mga officials bukod sa industriya at maging ‘yung mga business chambers ay inanyayahan po namin para makita namin ang feedback from a broad sector of society,” Romano said.
He defended his decision to spent P4.8 million in state funds for the occasion.
“Palagay ko po para maipakita rin natin ‘yung ganda nung brand na aming gustong i-propose. ‘Yun ang inakala naming paraan na inaasahan namin na ‘yung mga dumalo roon ay matuwa po sa aming inilulunsad. Ang DOT naman ho ay nagi-stage sa iba’t ibang events na hindi naman po kalayuan ang ginagastos sa mga ganyang uri ng event dahil talaga naman pong kailangan mayroon talagang ipe-present ng maganda,” he said.
Romano reiterated that he was the one responsible for the branding project.
“Palagay ko Kabayan, dahil ‘yung ‘Pilipinas Kay Ganda’ branding na inilunsad ng DOT ay aking ideya, at nagkaroon ng malaking negative reaction at nagbigay ng hindi magandang resulta para sa Presidente at kay Secretary Lim. Karapatdapat lang na akuin ko ang full responsibility at mag-resign kaagad,” he explained. – with reports from Henry Omaga-Diaz, ABS-CBN News; ANC
“President Benigno Aquino III immediately accepted the resignation of Romano.
…And it is with reluctance that the president accepted his resignation.”
__
“immediately” tapos “reluctant”…. may mali yata ano?
Si Lim, hindi magre-resign for command responsibility?
Enteng Romano, unlike Lim, does not enjoy “the President’s confidence…”.
Enteng Romano, the first to got balls in PNoy’s government. Hindi gaya ni Puno at Mislang na kapalmuks at nakadikit sa trono!
alamg malisya but i think enteng romano did the right thing. More power to you for doing the right thing at this time when many looks for delikadesa na wala ang marami sa gobyerno.
That’s mighty decent of him… Bravo.
splendid! i hope this sets the tone to follow for other government officials in the same predicament. there is no shame in owning up to one’s errors and blunders.
Buti pa kay Ka Enteng may delicadeza pero si Usec. Rico Puno kapit-tuko.
Kahanga hanga talaga si Enteng for acknowledging his mistakes and moving on kesa kay Puno na sobrang kapal muks at si Mislang na hindi man lang marunong mag-apologize. Enteng would have learned a big lesson and he will be an asset in his next gig.
Tokayong Enteng, Congrats!!!
now, this delicadeza thing should go viral…
wow, Pilipinas kay ganda na uli…
Pity, Enteng needn’t have explained himself nor justified his action… it went against the grain of his resignation. It merely exposed further the fact that Aquino appointed unqualified people.
But never mind…
but this still doesn’t solve our tourism industry problems…i hope we are all as empowered to vigorously support/help in developments or contributions as we are in wanting people to resign from their jobs…or some of us can volunteer to take their place and show them how its done…
What can I say except “Enteng, Kay Ganda” ng ginawa mong move. It took a large dose of humility (which is sorely lacking in the government sector, elected man o appointed) owning up to the boo-boo – a mark of a true professional. I am almost sure that you are a certified PMP who just became a victim of poor staff work and unreasonable pressure to deliver from the higher ups who know nothing on project management. I am sure you had very pure intentions.
More power to you in your future pursuits.
It is not about just wanting people to resign it is about accountability. It just so happened DOT endeavor using a copied logo falls under Enteng Romano as he admitted it. In reality, people wanted accountability from the likes of Mercy at present, pandak and her goons before, but nothing had happened because we have a dysfunctional Congress and Judicial system. People did what they can and loud enough for these people in question to hear, to stop them from destroying the rule of law and our Democracy but Congress and the Judiciary, as well as, our Church step in our way to protect them, directly and indirectly.
Maybe because of bigayan situation cguro but I still hope that this government we have now will be a lot better than before! Imagine 15 million ang kalaban niya if ever na gumaya ito sa nakaraan.
actually, some people do resign when asked to do so…unfortunately, most of them could have been decent ones…as the kapalmuks will hold on to kingdom come…
take the case of erap, although i personally wanted him to do so, i never expected he would…in contrast, look at gloria…
…please help out out tourism industry however you can…choose boracay instead of maldives, there’s tagaytay, batangas, cebu, samal in davao, the terraces, etc…
and also please take PAL as much as possible, i know it pales in comparison with singapore airlines and the like but this is the time we must come together and support our local industries…
Seems to me that P-noy’s people are (most of them) bereft of creativity, imagination and originality. I’m sure there are thousands around who have these qualities. It’s just too bad that P-noy doesn’t know them.
I know Enteng as one of those in the IT industry who kept his integrity intact. He may have committed a mistake, but he kept his integrity unblemished by this supreme act of sacrifice because of his strong sense of delicadeza. Mabuhay kay Sir Enteng!
Jug I second your suggestion.
When I was covering Pinas for my work years and years ago, I insisted on taking return PAL flights (when PAL still flew the Europe route) despite corporate policy of flying Air France, not because I expected preferential treatment on PAL but because I wanted to show support for the national carrier (and this despite their being late for departure or arrival often.)
Actually, when you fly first class (which was corporate policy then but which, years later, was downgraded to business class for economic reason), for overseas missions, most airlies give the passenger preferential treatment anyway, so to me then, flying PAL was purely for “altruistic reason. Besides I was asleep most of the time (PAL then had real beds on B-747) so “preferential treatment” was no big deal to me; in fact, after flying round trip so often (almost once a month), I noticed a downside to flying on PAL; I noticed that some of the cabin attendants had become too familiar — familiar in the wrong sense of the term, which bordered on almost being nonchalant — “lacklustre” would be an understatement, in their service, something I thought was not quite right. I then decided to switch to my company’s official flyer and left PAL. A couple of years later, I learned that PAL had stopped their Europe route.
Balay : minus one.
Samar : ganun pa rin.
Don’t expect anytime soon to see PAL flying in Europe. Pilipinas still can’t get ICAO certification.
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“…I would like to inform you that due to operational concerns, we will need to postpone the ICVM(Icao validation mission). We will endeavor to work with you to re-schedule the mission for mutually agreed upon dates,” said Henri Gourdji, chief of Icao’s Continuous Monitoring and Oversight Section.
CAAP said such “operational concerns,” when clarified in a teleconference with Icao officers on November 17, “relate to the insecurity of Icao in the sustainability of the present reforms being undertaken by CAAP. … The present unclear political announcements of a change in senior management could create, in Icao’s opinion, an indeterminable future of professional processes within CAAP,” the Icao officers were quoted as saying in the teleconference.
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http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20101123-304873/Philippine-aviation-audit-postponed-due-to-operational-concerns#comment-101170258
From Mersole:
Personally, I do not think there is even a need for a new brand for Philippine tourism. All that should be done is to implement appropriate programs.
The new Philippines Kay Ganda brand sounds more ridiculous than inspiring and is nothing better than the cheapy “Wow Philippines” that it was supposed to replace. First and foremost, the phrase probably missed its intended purpose: the foreign tourists.
A very straightforward equation to promote Philippine tourism is quality support services (for example non-stinky toilets and clean hot food) and reliable transport (that means air, water, and land).
And by the way, what about advertising in the global media rather than rely on foot soldiers abroad who can only promote tourism as far as the availability of funds for their hotels, transport, and food expenses from their bases? The advantages of promoting through the broadcast media is all too obvious. Use whatever promotional funds that are available in the most efficient way, rather than continue an obsolescent practice of ineffective promotion.
One last note. The Tourism Secretary may instead toy with the idea of developing home-stay tourism. This way, the economic benefits of tourism will flow directly to the masses in the Philippine countryside.
dapat english at spanish ang gamitin natin sa pag promote ng tourism natin.at sa labas ng bansa,spanish Bayang Magiliw ang dapat kantahin natin,para mas lalong marami ang makaka intiende sa ating pinagmulan,mas lalo silang enteresado sa bansa natin.at magkaroon tayo ng Hispanic Filipinas Day.lahat tayo sa Pinas,nakasuot ng mga pormang noong araw na kilala tayo bilang Perla de Oriente.
importante rin ang malinis na CR. yong mrs. ko pumunta ng China,ang reklamo niya,mabahong CR at hindi naka flush.ayaw na niyang pumunta sa china,mas masarap pa raw pagkain sa ongpin sa atin.
I did not notice this before. Based on Secretary Lim’s claim, Romano spent ~P5M for the campaign without his approval. Does this mean that Romano can be charged with malversation of funds?
The documents say Lim approved on October 10, 2010.
There was no malversation. There was blatant lying through a Secretary’s teeth. That should be considered in the confirmation hearings.
RE: dapat english at spanish ang gamitin natin sa pag promote ng tourism natin.~patria adorada
Pasintabi Igan, high tech na ngayon…paanong maglalakas ng loob ang mga turistang banyaga e puro patayan, rapepan etc. etc. ang kanilang napapanood o nababasa sa balita sa Pinas.
Puro negatibo ang matutunghayan nila sa pahayagan, tv and cybermedia…kahit na anong ganda yong pagpromote upang mahikayat natin sila e sure magdadalawang-isip ang mga iyan.
Dapat magkaroon ng peace and order sa ating bansa at e neutralize ang lahat ng criminal elements sa ating bansa.
Dito magsisimula ang lahat…
Truly amazing.
How the Filipino’s heart quickly goes out in sympathy to and admiration for someone who truly apologizes and displays a high level of integrity, dignity, humility and respect for the public.
May there be more Enteng Romano’s.
Mr. Romano should have stayed put and toughed it out.