"It's more fun in the Philippines" - it's the new slogan of the Philippines' Department of Tourism.  The slogan is intended to boost the number of foreign visitors in the country.  Way before it was officially launched, the slogan already had leaked to social networking sites.  This was considered as a free publicity by Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.

 

The leakage led to debates regarding if the slogan is catchy or a copycat.  Others said it was fine & emphasized more on the Filipino people.  Wherein when foreigners visit the Philippines, they would see that it's more fun to be with a Filipino rather than be with any other raise in the world.  Critics said, it was a copycat from several slogans of other countries.  The most noted was Switzerland's slogan "It's more fun in Switzerland" back in the 40's or 50's.

Seriously, if it's really a copycat or not, the important thing is it really shows the feeling of being here in the Philippines.  It focuses more on "the people" - "the Filipino people".  To whom the word "fun" refers to.

In all aspects of life, there will always be critics.  They're criticizing you because you're noticeable.  Same goes with the DOT's new slogan "It's more fun in the Philippines".

Unlike the previous DOT slogan "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" which received numerous criticism that it's an exact copy of Poland's tourism campaign, I think this new one will help in achieving the Philippines' goal in attracting 10 million tourists by 2016.

It really made an impact to the online world when it was officially launched last week.  It trended worldwide when it was launched in Twitter.

A DOT spokesperson stated that the DOT funded PhP500 million for the marketing and promotion of the "It's more fun in the Philippines" slogan this year.  The amount will be allotted for travel fairs, road shows, print production, audio-visual materials, development of the website (http://www.itsmorefuninthephilippines.com/).  It will also include traditional media including TV, brochures and maps.

At the moment, DOT is focusing in spreading the word through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.  Eventually, the 25 million or so Filipino Facebook users will hold a big role in advertising the said slogan.

So what's fun in the Philippines? - it's the PEOPLE.

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The Philippine National Police (PNP) is questioning the authenticity of the mug shots that made its way to various blogs & social networking sites.

In fact, the Philippine Daily Inquirer published the controversial mug shot of the former President both in its online & print versions.  However, they noted that it did not come from the Pasay City Regional Trial Court but was sent by someone who requested anonymity.

Chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome said there were discrepancies with the caption of the official mug shots and the published versions.

DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo released a statement saying that the published Arroyo mug shots on newspaper & on the internet are fake.

They might have been "photoshopped".

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Two party-list representatives on Tuesday urged former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign as Pampanga’s Second District representative after she was arrested last week for electoral sabotage.

Her arrest made Arroyo “unfit for public service," said ACT Teachers’ party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio.

“Since the electoral sabotage case is just the first of many charges that she will face as she is called to account for the numerous crimes against the people she committed during her presidency, it will become impossible for her to discharge her duties as representative," Tinio said in a text message to reporters.

Mrs. Arroyo is under hospital arrest at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) sued her Friday for electoral sabotage.

The former President is accused of giving orders to rig the 2007 poll results in favor of administration senatorial candidates.

Also, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño said Mrs. Arroyo should quit her congressional seat since “her continued membership further tarnishes the House’s honor."

“She has brought embarrassment and dishonor to the House. She should now do the House and her constituents a favor by resigning from Congress," he said in a separate text message to reporter.

Since July when she was diagnosed with a pinched nerve in her spine or multilevel cervical spondylosis, Mrs. Arroyo has not been attending congressional sessions, going went through a series of operations in the past months.

She was also diagnosed with bone mineral disorder and hypoparathyroidism.

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Two Indonesian football fans died in a stampede in Jakarta on Monday at the Southeast Asian Games final against Malaysia, according to a victim's brother and a report citing a paramedic.

"When we found the victims, they were already dead," paramedic Abdul Majid told the Detik.com news portal outside the stadium.

Local media reported that several other spectators had been taken to hospital, including a nine-year-old boy who had fallen into a coma.

The two fans wearing Indonesian red-and-white team T-shirts were reportedly taken to hospital at 8:30 pm, around 90 minutes after the stampede broke out, as thousands streamed into the game.

"As we were entering the stadium, the crowd of people pushed each other to make their way forward," Helmi, the brother of one of the victims, told AFP.

"My brother was pushed away from me and we were separated. I then heard that some people had fallen and that people had died. I rushed to check and found my brother dead."

The identity of the second victim was unknown.

Deadly stampedes at major sporting, music and religious events are common in Indonesia.

Violence at football games is also common, with disgruntled fans often throwing dangerous items onto the field after matches.

Earlier Monday, two men were arrested for burning down a ticket booth at the stadium upon learning the match had sold out, media reported.

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The Anti-Planking Act of 2011 which was filed to Congress by QC representative Winnie Castelo has been receiving lots of flak on social networking sites.


Planking, if you’ve been living under a rock, is a recent fad consisting of lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location for photograps. In planking, the participant’s hands must touch the sides of the body and having a photograph taken and posted on the internet is part of the game.


The bill by Rep. Winnie Castelo seeks not to prohibit “planking” per se, but when it becomes a form of protest which was demonstrated by a group of militant students called League of Filipino Students (LFS), it’s a no-no. The said students staged a “die-in” protest in the form of planking to block vehicles during a transport strike along a main street in Welcome Rotonda, Espana in Metro Manila yesterday, September 19, 2011.


“I was really worried as a parent. I have kids. I was also a UP student and I sympathize with them. It is normal to air their grievances and I welcome that as a lawmaker. However, as a parent, we have to see to it that their lives are protected as well,” Castelo told ABS-CBN.


Castelo pointed out that the proposed Anti-Planking Act of 2011 will not prohibit the constitutional right of freedom of expression. He proposed the creation of a universal Code of Student Conduct “where planking as a form of redress of grievance be strictly prohibited and appropriate sanctions be applied for violations thereof.”


He also urged schools and university officials to impose sanctions on students who conduct planking to air their grievances especially when it poses a danger to themselves or to the public.

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