Love to ‘Love the Philippines’

Salceda asked: “Dear Sec. Frasco – why no Mayon in DOT Love the Philippines. And the whaleshark most likely in Oslob, Cebu, so no Bicol? Sino po may pakana nito – No love for Albay, no love for Bicol. Thank you na lang Albay tourists will thrive without you. LOVE ALBAY! (sic).” The reference to whaleshark, or “butanding” that Oslob lured away from its original habitat in Sorsogon (also in Bicol region) was obviously a dig at the DOT chief who was previously the Mayor of Liloan City in Cebu. Salceda and Frasco actually are common arch supporters of Vice President Sara Duterte. Frasco once served as the official spokesperson of the former Davao City Mayor during the run for VP elections last year. Salceda, on the other hand, supported fellow Bicolano presidential candidate ex-VP Leni Robredo and pushed for the Robredo-Sara (Ro-Sa) tandem. Quick to the rescue of his wife, Cebu Congressman Duke Frasco responded in his own Facebook account: “Dear Cong Salceda, if you look closely, the over 50 notable mountains and volcanos of the Philippines are represented in DOT LOVE logo. As well as whalesharks & surfs of the PH. Let’s CELEBRATE, not hate! LOVE the Philippines! (sic).”

Rep. Frasco rebutted: “The initial video promoting the PH gives the world a glimpse of the many reasons to Love the Philippines. Just like in any campaign, this ad campaign is not just for one day nor does it consist of just one singular video. Opening salvo pa ni, Bai. Dili pa ni ang miting de avance (added with a smiling emoji). More to come! Keep calm and LOVE the Philippines”.

In Facebook to Facebook exchanges, Salceda argued: “Mayon deserves better than a pixel in the logo where you need strained eyes to see it. Mayon has been a National Treasure. No Sec. Frasco, ask all your predecessors in DOT-Mayon deserved better treatment. You failed Albay.”

Joining in the fray, Rep. Edcel Lagman, fellow Congressman from the first district of Albay, made public last Friday, June 30 his support to Sec. Frasco. Lagman referred to the purported disenchantment of Salceda was “essentially political soundbite.”

In an open letter to the DOT chief, Lagman wrote: “The best argument against Rep. Salceda’s parochial view on the supposed low priority accorded to the Mayon Volcano is your resolve to address the lack of potable water supply to the Mayon Tourism Complex, including the newly renovated Mayon Skyline Hotel (formerly Mayon Rest House), which was funded upon my initiative.”

Salceda, who represents the second district of Albay countered: “No apologies for standing up for Albay, the people I represent.” For more accurate reference, Salceda added, “the location of said Mayon Tourism Complex is inside the sixkilometer permanent danger zone.”

It was no sheer coincidence the Filipino-British nurse May Richell Cestina-Parsons, who injected the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine, flew home last week and received a presidential citation from PBBM at Malacañang last Thursday, June 29. A year after receiving the prestigious George Cross award for gallantry during the pandemic, Parsons was featured in Philippine advertising blurb painted on London doubledecker buses: “We give the world our best. The Philippines.”

This was launched last

Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, and 15th among 190 as of December 2020 in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings. Among 63 economies assessed last year, Taiwan placed seventh in the World Competitiveness Yearbook. Its open society is reflected in its ranking in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index – 38th among 180 countries and territories, with the Philippines ranking 147th and China 175th (Hong Kong plummeted from 68th to 148th).

Unfortunately for democratic, prosperous Taiwan, if it suffers the same fate as Hong Kong, the world will likely just look away. * * *

CORRECTION: Due to travel rush, I inadvertently sent the unedited version of my previous column from Taiwan. My apologies. This portion should have read:

The media congress tends to pick venues with press freedom issues, such as Moscow in 2006 and South Africa under the controversial Jacob Zuma.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin was the keynote speaker. He made a show of being tolerant of dissent at the time, looking unfazed... (Philstar.com)

* * * The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.

May while PBBM attended in London the coronation of King Charles III. It was seen, however, in negative light as promoting Filipino professionals as labor exports. Initially, it was thought about as the new country branding of the DOT. But Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications Paul Soriano later claimed it was his brainchild project.

While our officials are fighting here over parochial issues of perceived slight or snub, our competitors in the region have been getting more tourists to go instead to their respective countries. As of end of June, the DOT estimated 2.67 million overseas tourists arrived in the country, 2.44 million of which were foreigners and the rest were returning overseas Filipinos. Can love to “Love the Philippines” be the magic potion to grow our tourism numbers? Hopefully, the post-pandemic “revenge travel” can kick up the numbers. (Philstar.com)

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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.