The Department of Tourism (DOT) expresses its profound gratitude for the overwhelming response of the Filipino people in support of the enhanced tourism campaign, Love the Philippines. Truly, there is so much more to love about our country than what we have so far articulated to the world. The public’s adoption and localization of the Love the Philippines tagline and logo to their own experiences, destinations, and offerings reflect our collective love of country and pride of place as Filipinos.
As one of the many other forthcoming components of the launch of the enhanced tourism campaign, the DOT’s contracted agency, DDB Philippines, prepared and published an audio visual presentation (AVP) which has recently been the subject of scrutiny on the alleged use of non-original shots in certain parts of the AVP. The DOT is currently conducting an exhaustive investigation to determine the veracity of, and to gather the full faculty of facts on, these allegations.
During the various meetings and consultations held relative to the tourism brand enhancement, the DOT, for its part, repeatedly sought confirmation from DDB on the originality and ownership of all materials contained in the AVPs and key visuals presented to the Department. In ALL these occasions, DDB repeatedly assured the DOT that the originality and ownership of all materials are in order.
While no public funds have been paid for the AVP in question as this particular component of the launch was released on the account of DDB, the DOT holds the responsibility of promoting the country to the highest standard. Therefore, it will not hesitate to exact accountability and take the necessary action to protect the interest of the country even as it continues to exhaust all efforts to develop and promote the Philippine tourism industry.