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What can you do with P500M Pesos? You can invent two words…

Then you can waste the money. I find the whole idea of re-branding the Philippine Tourism mantra of WOW Philippines (active for 8 years ’til last Nov 15, 2010) to “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” as laughable. I’m tired right now from weeks of non-stop work, so I’ll just present in bullet form why I think this is so:
– “Kay Ganda” is not part of my vocabulary. Here in Batangas, we say “kaganda” or “ang ganda,” but never “kay ganda.”
– People have yet to discover the real meaning of WOW in WOW Philippines, and I believe that’s because of the frequent change in government policy( by our new leaders). If I remember correctly, the last DOT Secretary did not even endorse fully the WOW slogan.
– They say you would greet tourists with it. Can you imagine greeting somebody with “Pilipinas Kay Ganda?” I even find the “Umagang Kay Ganda”
‘of Channel 2 as a forced greeting, something people would immediately forget once the producers come to their senses and change the name of the show.
– New does not always mean better. They can make it look better just because it’s new, but everything looks better with more money. Not everything that looks better though is really better. Hence, new does not always mean better. (Don’t you lecture me with the flaw in my logic. It doesn’t matter. Hehe.)
– I really liked “WOW”. Three letters and yet I believed it’s the best word that can describe the Philippines. Every place you visit is a new discovery, giving you that exhilarating feeling that for the first time you’ve really been to your own country. (Dito nga sa Batangas eh, every day of meeting a new person or visiting a new town is a wow experience.)
– To tell you the truth, I do not think that the Philippines is “kay ganda” in its fullest sense. Have you been to the poorest parts of your neighborhood? Have you seen the news lately? Supporters might say that you can treat it as a goal. But I’ll tell them there’s a difference between a goal which may or may not be achieved, and a goal which is just impossible.
– Masyadong panglabas ang “kay ganda.” All for show ika nga. For me, beautiful is used for outside beauty. Kung may sasabihin akong “magandang” pangloob para sa isang tao, I won’t say maganda. I’d say mabuti.

P.S.
I bought the domain pilipinaskayganda.ph, thinking if our government will roll out this new campaign seriously, then at least with the Internet Filipinos will be given the chance to say and interpret exactly what “kay ganda” means for them. I felt bad when I heard about the news on this new campaign, but I guess all we can do if that happens is give our support.

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