Oh Lord, here I am again feeling so tired... :’( huhu... I must have put myself to the limit... Please continue to guide me and give me strength as I go through life... Please remind me the very values and aspirations I have so I would not give up so easily... I just have so many desires in my heart: to learn, to earn, to help and to grow in various aspects... Help me know my priorities and be clearer with my goals in life... I thank you for the people you brought into my life to teach me, mold me, strengthen me and challenge me. They are indeed instruments for making me a better person. I thank you for the opportunities that come my way... Life is indeed full of lessons and I’m glad to have learned some... I know there is more to learn and cherish... Thank you for making me smile amidst seemingly unbearable trials... Thank you for my family who keeps on believing in me... They are my inspiration to face life with an open heart... Bless them and keep them safe wherever they are... Thank you also for my friends who are a source of joy and sense of empathy for each other.
Thank you for allowing me to teach students, I so miss teaching... I will soon be back to my beloved MSU... Guide me as I finish my MBM undertaking...
Thank you Lord. I know I can bear all these through you... Salamat...
Happy Mother's Day to you Nanay. Just want you to know how grateful I am to have you as my mother. I am still amazed how you and Tatay raised 8 of us despite challenges in life. I could still remember how you thrived in earning money to feed us. I wouldn't be what I am now and what I will become had it not for your perseverance and sacrifices.
My graduation in high school has been very challenging to you because I will pursue my college education. It remains fresh in my mind how eager I was to enroll but there were apprehensions on your part on how to support me financially. It brought me to tears because I know the economic situation we are in. After deciding that I will take the entrance exam at Mindanao State University, Marawi City (MSU), the problem intensified as to where can we have the money for my trip. Then, you helped Tatay decide to open his "alkansiya" (piggybank)so I could go to MSU. Thank God it was good enough for the trip, entrance exam fees, board and lodging and other expenses in 1 month. Those hard earned money brought me to MSU where my dreams were further shaped and strengthened. Thank God for the university with a very cheap tuition fee and a place where everything is highly affordable. It is for this reason that I admire you and Tatay the most. You were hopeful that my journey would be fruitful with the help of my brother and sister who were equally willing to support me throughout my student life. Thank God for my brother and sister. I had one goal then, to finish my course within four-year time so I could find a job and help our family.
As the youngest of the 8 siblings, "homesickness" was the greatest struggle I had to face and everytime I talk with you through PLDT, I burst into tears because I miss being with you and I was worried then who will accompany you at home. There was even an instance when you tried to fetch me at MSU and continue my studies near our place. Thanks to Brian - one of my best friends who convinced me not to go home prior to your arrival in MSU. More gratitude to you Nanay for heeding my decision of not going home with you. But tears further flooded when you returned home. huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu... This is just a parcel of everything I went through and I am just thankful for all the struggles. *
To you Nanay and Tatay, no words can express how happy and thankful I am to have you in my life. Continue your hopes for me and for our family that one day we will experience great happiness. I pray to God that He will give you both good health so I can share with you the achievement of my dreamed successes and let you experience how beautiful life is. From the depths of my heart, thank you so much whatever it is... You are loved...
I am praying that I can have you here in Iligan soon and bring you to my favorite places. I want to share with you the grandeur of Maria Cristina Falls, Tinago Falls and Mimbalot Falls. I also would love to bring you to Tita Fannies Liempo and Chicken Haus so you could taste the crispiest liempo in Iligan. Also, I will let you taste my favorite grilled tuna belly and pinakbet at Jacko’s Kan-anan. I will make it a goal to finish my MBM degree on March 2013 and together we will explore Iligan J
As I end this letter, tears joined me to express what I really feel. Salamat salamat salamat salamat...
Planning and implementing change comprise the core concepts of a fearless entrepreneurial undertaking. These define the parameters of what should be improved and how to support it. On November 15, 2010, the Department of Tourism took the challenge of innovation by changing the slogan of the Philippine Tourism Industry from WOW Philippines to PILIPINAS KAY GANDA. This move was scrutinized by millions of Filipinos consisting of the experts and the commoners.
As a marketing enthusiast, I commend the following:
1. The effort of the DOT to come up with a new tagline that goes PILIPINAS KAY GANDA. One of the characteristics of a good brand name is that it should be distinctive. The slogan meets this criterion and I simply like it. I would even agree to what Usec. Romano said that it would make us far different from our neighboring countries using English language as the medium for their slogans. It’s about time that we make use of Tagalog words in promoting our country across the globe. Manny Pacquiao, Venus Raj and Charice Pempengco are just some of our fellow Filipinos who made our country very popular and well recognized. Their international success must have influenced the decision to come up with the tagline because foreigners can mentally associate them with excellence and that Philippines must be a very nice country because of so many talented individuals. Promotion then to foreigners would be easier if these three will act as endorsers of the campaign. Also, if we have understood foreign brands termed in Latin, French, etc., foreigners will also learn ours. It’s just a matter of strengthening the brand awareness level by exploiting all the major media of marketing communications.
2. Having a bright colored brand mark depicting the country’s tropical nature, captivating beaches and exotic wildlife. I personally don’t consider it as a plagiarism no matter what clause could be people’s basis for saying it, be it legal or ethical. In the universal realm of art, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ORIGINAL, EVERY IDEA WORTH HAVING HAS BEEN HAD THOUSANDS OF TIMES ALREADY – the learning I have in my Humanities subject in college. Truly, it was not even a close imitation because of the variations in many aspects. It’s just that, it gave the artist an idea of how the logo of the Philippine tourism would look like. He then used his creativity to have his own unique version.
However, it was also very apparent that the team had major flaws on the following:
1. Creating a website with its domain name quite similar to a certain pornographic site. I really got upset because the IT professionals could have detected this immediately if they made a thorough research regarding the web address. It’s quite embarrassing that Philippines, a Christian nation is indirectly promoting pornography with that matter.
2. Launching a website with many typographical and grammatical errors. These could have been avoided if the editors worked religiously and conscientiously to make certain that every words and sentences appearing on the site are accurate. They were so negligent and it made me disappointed.
3. Introducing a new brand name without doing test marketing. If only they did pretesting of this very crucial marketing campaign, they could have identified problems and immediately make some changes before the final launching. This is done by making a survey on a limited scale how people would react to the brand, slogan, color and every single detail of the product. A careful analysis follows and after solving major problems, it would again be screened by the top management and even some calibers to make some refinements. If results of this process show that it is ready for commercialization, then comes the schedule of its grand launching. Php 5,000,000.00 could not have been wasted for this fatal mistake.
Nevertheless, the incident gave so many lessons learned.
First, the head of any project should be knowledgeable of what is being done and take hands on management to monitor closely the whole project. Highly competent individuals in the field of business as well as other critics should be sought to carefully review every process undertaken.
Second, branding takes time and focused efforts to make it more effective. It’s a challenging process that undergoes idea generation, screening it out, making a detailed plan, developing a prototype or sample, test marketing and finally commercialization or the final launching of the product. It is not an overnight activity that anyone would compromise.
Third, let’s be appreciative of our very own language. It’s indeed timely that we take pride with it and guide people across the globe to understand. Marketing communications will help us realize this specially these days when internet makes this world borderless. After all, we have world renowned tourist destinations that foreigners would love to visit regularly. Hence, my recommendation goes to PILIPINAS KAY GANDA as the fascinating and captivating tagline to amaze all the people in the world.
Truly, a successful and worthwhile endeavor lies in the concerted efforts of all the concerned. Creating and launching a new brand for instance requires everyone’s full participation and cooperation to make it a great success.
