Redesigned logos of other government agencies were once again talked about online following the criticisms against the new logo of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR).
PAGCOR on Tuesday, July 11 unveiled its new logo in line with its 40th anniversary. It featured a flame-like design in gradient hues of blue and red, thus replacing the green and yellow symbols that the gaming regulator was known for before.
The new design, however, gained flak because it is perceived as lackluster and unappealing for the staggering P3 million budget to create it.
Some Filipinos also deemed its resemblance with Petron Corporation’s 25-year-old “Wave of Change” logo.
READ: Petron copycat? Here’s what people say about PAGCOR’s new logo
Other social media users, meanwhile, brought up other logos from the government in recent years. These were also reportedly allocated with big budgets.
New BSP logo costed ₱52.5 MILLION.
New PAGCOR logo costed ₱3 MILLION.These new logos failing in design may be a divisive opinion, but one thing’s sure: these must be investigated for graft and corruption. pic.twitter.com/luXIE3OOxo
— Carwyn Candila (@Carwyn_Candila) July 12, 2023
Tourism rebrand
Last June 27, the Department of Tourism launched its rebranded tourism campaign with the slogan “Love the Philippines.”
It replaces the eleven-year-old tourism slogan “It’s More Fun in the Philippines.”
RELATED: Yay or nay?: Social media weigh in on ‘Love the Philippines’ new tourism campaign
The enhanced tourism campaign, however, was not received warmly by the public. Some Filipinos disliked both the slogan and the logo design. Others threw their support for it.
The promotional video, however, figured in controversy for containing stock footage clips of foreign tourism destinations. This issue later made international headlines.
Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said that the rebranding project costs P49 million.
DDB Philippines, the contracted agency for this campaign, later said that no public funds were released for the AVP in question.
The DOT has since terminated the contract with DDB Philippines following the video controversy.
RELATED: Issues hounding DOT’s ‘Love the Philippines’ tourism video earn global attention | DOT terminates tourism branding campaign contract with DDB Philippines after use of stock footage
BSP’s ‘golden eagle’ logo
In November 2020, amid the still increasing cases of COVID-19, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) retired its ten-year-old Philippine eagle seal with a new full-bodied and vibrant design.
The former features a 2d version of the Philippine eagle with three stars. The latter also has the same elements, but the eagle has more details and is rendered in gold.
Some Filipinos also found this unappealing. They described it as a “step backward” to the sleeker aesthetic of the old seal.
READ: A step back? Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ new logo does not look modern to some
BSP’s overall rebranding initiative was allocated a hefty P52.2 million, according to a report by the finance magazine Bilyonaryo.
It was not specifically stated, however, if the controversial logo was part of this budget.
Pami and the 2019 SEA logo
While not a redesign, the 2019 Southeast Asian Games logo was also mired in controversy.
The design featured eleven conjoined circles in different colors laid out to roughly resemble the Philippine archipelago.
Critics perceived it to be outright horrible. Other Filipino creatives posted on social media their own versions of what the SEA Games logo was supposed to look like.
The eleven-circle design also became the subject of a lot of memes, funny reactions and other social media posts.
RELATED: Lord of the Rings, hidden Mickeys? 2019 Southeast Asian Games logo has us going in circles
Despite being widely panned, the 2019 SEA Games logo became an inspiration for a mascot that organizers unveiled to promote the sports event.
The mascot was named “Pami.” The name was short for “pamilya,” which means “family” in English.
READ: It’s final: Panned logo of 2019 SEA Games spawns mascot
Reports said that the overall budget for the Philippines’ hosting of the SEA Games in 2019 was P6 billion.
RELATED: Probe sought into issues still hounding SEA Games 2019 facilities at New Clark City
House urged to probe PAGCOR logo
Based on public records, the P3-million contract to create a new logo design for PAGCOR was awarded to a printing firm called Printplus Graphic services.
An artist named Francisco Doplon was listed as its proprietor.
Doplon also happened to be the artist behind the University of Santo Tomas quadricentennial logo.
The Makabayan bloc lawmakers on July 14 filed a resolution to urge the House’s good government and public accountability panel to probe the possible anomalies of PAGCOR’s procurement process for this project.
READ: House panel probe into ‘possible anomalies’ behind PAGCOR’s P3M logo sought
