DOT may drop new slogan; PNoy to meet tourism chief
Amid persistent criticisms over his agency's "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" tag, Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim on Friday hinted he may totally pull the plug on the slogan. Lim also said President Benigno Aquino III, who had ordered a study on the matter, has summoned him to a meeting over the controversy the tourism tag has drawn. "Meron kaming meeting mamaya (We will have a meeting today)… We are going to talk about it," he said in an interview on dwIZ radio. He did not say where and what time the meeting would be held. On Thursday, Aquino said the controversial "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" slogan is being studied in the wake of scathing criticisms against it. But Lim said the criticisms may already be taking their toll this early. "Sa dami ng batikos baka di na matuloy (With all these criticisms, we may drop this line)," he said. He also took a dig at critics, who he said are claiming to be more knowledgeable than the "researchers" who coined the slogan. "Kung talagang ayaw ng tao, mas marunong pa sila sa research, e di baka umatras na lang kami (If people reject it because they think they know more than the researchers do, we will back off)," he said, adding that the slogan was a product of “research." Lim said they had planned to make "ganda (beautiful)" a household word just like "Sayonara" (Japan) and "Aloha" (Hawaii).