Lawmakers call ‘Love the Philippines’ video lazy, shoddy work

Lawmakers on Monday decried the use of non-original footage in the new Department of Tourism (DOT) promotional video for the Philippines, saying such lazy work was detrimental to the country.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairperson Joey Salceda of Albay, who was the first to call out the new tourism footage due to the absence of Mayon Volcano, said the use of non-original content smacked of plagiarism if not incompetence.

“The whole mess with the contractor using stock footage in the promotional video proves my earliest point about the DOT either apologizing to Albay or firing the consultant. Clearly, the exclusion of Mayon and other tourist attractions intrinsic to the Philippine brand was just a symptom of lazy work that is now evident to everyone,” Salceda said in a statement.

“The first video was supposedly a 'mood video,' according to the contractor. For something as critical as an entire country's image, you don't 'set the mood' with plagiarism,” Salceda added.

Salceda was referring to the agency DDB Philippines, who earlier apologized for the use of stock videos for the DOT’s Love The Philippines campaign.

Salceda then said this incident proved that there were legitimate criticisms that authorities needed to hear.

“One lesson here is not to dismiss legitimate concerns as 'political soundbites' but to listen, consult, and discuss. The country's branding is reflective of our identity and aspirations as a people: what's wrong with wanting to be represented well in that?” Salceda said.

Senator Nancy Binay, said that DOT remained accountable for the incident given that they were the ones disbursing public funds for the initiative.

“We expect [Tourism] Secretary [Christina] Frasco to make right whatever went wrong, and ensure that the integrity of our brand will not be diminished due to an 'oversight'. The DOT should also be more discerning and critical of pegs, concepts, storyboards, and drafts that ad agencies present to them. May lapses din sa bahagi ng kliyente,” Binay said

“We are supposed to show authenticity, and this promotional anomaly directly affects the travelers’ decisions, and at the same time portrays a negative image of how we promote our destinations,” Binay added.

Given the situation, Binay said that any DOT project would now be suspect.

“The paramount task is to ensure that there will be no pause in promoting our destinations despite the snag. Baka pwede pa naman ibalik si 'Fun' dahil sa problema ni 'Love' ngayon,” she added, referring to the previous "It’s More Fun in the Philippines" slogan.

(Maybe we can bring back the “fun” due to the “love” problems right now.)

House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro of the ACT Teachers party-list and Senate Public Services Committee Chairperson Grace Poe, for their part, said the government should not be hoodwinked into such things in the first place.

"The use of deceptive stock footage by the DOT is not only a disservice to Filipinos but also to foreigners who may be misled into believing that these images represent the beauty and attractions of our country. This type of shoddy work undermines the credibility and integrity of our tourism industry,” Castro said.

"It is unacceptable for the Marcos government to resort to plagiarizing campaign slogans from other countries. We should be showcasing the unique culture, heritage, and natural wonders that make the Philippines truly remarkable. Hindi pwede ang ganyan na nambubudol ng mamamayan. We deserve better,” Castro added.

Poe, for her part, said there needed to be truth in advertising.

“It's frustrating to know that even the government can fall victim to blunders in a marketing campaign that supposedly aims to promote the Philippines' unique character, natural beauty and cultural attractions. Para tayong na-scam sa advertisement na ito,” Poe said.

“We expect the incident will not happen again, especially to government agencies like the DOT that our people trust,” Poe added.

The DOT has since terminated its contract with DDB Philippines for the said campaign.

“The DOT is in solidarity with our fellow Filipinos in expressing our outrage and extreme disappointment at the use of non-original/stock footage purporting to be scenes from the Philippines in the audiovisual presentation (AVP) prepared, produced, and published by DDB Philippines as a component of the launch of the enhanced tourism branding campaign for the country,” DOT Secretary Christina Frasco said.

“As DDB Philippines has publicly apologized, taken full responsibility, and admitted in no uncertain terms, that non-original materials were used in their AVP, reflecting an abject failure to comply with their obligation/s under the contract and a direct contravention with the DOT’s objectives for the enhanced tourism branding, the DOT hereby exercises its right to proceed with termination proceedings against its contract with DDB,” Frasco added. — DVM, GMA Integrated News