The President confirmed that his closed-door meeting with Lim on Friday afternoon sought to determine if the slogan, “Pilipinas Kay Ganda,” will be pushed through or not. The result of the meeting between the President and his tourism secretary at 4 p.m. on Friday was still unknown as of press time.

The President earlier directed the tourism department to hold “focus group discussions” on the tourism tag to ensure its acceptability by the public.

The review of the slogan, Pilipinas Kay Ganda, was triggered by a deluge of criticisms that it was dull and hackneyed as claimed by some groups.

Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Abigail Valte, meantime, said the Palace welcomes the lively debates on the country’s tourism slogan to encourage a more acceptable and credible program.

Valte noted that Secretary Lim has made it clear the tourism slogan, which was made in the Filipino language supposedly to have an edge over rival neighbors in the region, was not yet final and will undergo further market research and tests.

“We all have an interest in the national branding, especially in promoting the name of our country and it’s good that it’s being discussed and the thoughts of our citizens are being heard on the matter before it is finalized,” she told reporters in the Palace.

Valte said the proposed tourism slogan is undergoing continuous assessment that will take into consideration the inputs of the affected stakeholders. She acknowledged that the opinion of Filipinos on the national brand has a big factor in deciding the final slogan for the country.

Asked if the Palace is ready to revive the old slogan, Wow Philippines, Valte said this will depend on the results of the research that will be made by the tourism department.

“I understand there are stages as to market research and as to focus group discussions and the testing, so let’s see whether the effectivity of a brand has to be measured,” she said.

Meanwhile, Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez has called on the DoT to listen to the feedback of the people amid the flak received by its new “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” slogan, saying the public might have a better idea.

“They should listen to the feedback of the people and try to consider it,” Iñiguez said in an interview.

“The people might have other ideas and suggestions so they should be open to the public,” he added.

The head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Public Affairs Committee, however, admitted that he has yet to hear about the DoT’s new campaign.

“I haven’t heard it,” said Iniguez.

But, he said, since the purpose of a slogan is to promote the country then it should do exactly that.

Genalyn Kabiling, Manila Bulletin