New slogan of the Department of Tourism 鈥淟ove the Philippines.鈥� (Photo from DOT/Official Facebook Page)
MANILA, Philippines 鈥斅� The Department of Tourism (DOT) on Tuesday defended its move to feature alleged child sex trafficker Apollo Quiboloy on their Facebook page, explaining that the department merely 鈥渞eturning the love sent their way鈥� as it promoted the country鈥檚 newest tourism slogan.
To recall, the DOT in a series of posts on Facebook shared various tourism pages鈥� support for their controversial 鈥淟ove the Philippines鈥� slogan, including an interview with Quiboloy.
This particular move, however, garnered criticism from the public as from United States prosecutors who alleged that girls and young women were coerced to have sex with him.
When asked why the agency decided to still share Quiboloy鈥檚 sentiments, the DOT explained that it is merely appreciative of his support for their new tourism campaign.
鈥淎s you can see from the page, we returned the love to those who sent it our way. We wish you a pleasant day ahead,鈥� the DOT told reporters through Viber.
This isn鈥檛 the first time the DOT was embroiled in a controversy during their release of the brand new 鈥淟ove the Philippines鈥� slogan.
Just recently, DOT鈥檚 first 鈥淟ove the Philippines鈥� tourism promotion video received flak from locals who pointed out that it contained clips not from Philippines tourism sites but in Thailand, Indonesia, and United Arab Emirates.
The DOT has since terminated its contract with its partner advertising firm DDB Philippines, which, in turn, claimed that the promotion video the DOT uploaded was merely a 鈥渕ood video鈥� meant 鈥渢o excite internal stakeholders.鈥�
The agency has not yet explicitly stated whether it would rebrand the new tourism slogan, which had also received backlash from the public even prior to the stock footage controversy, or what its next move will be in its tourism drive, but assured the public that it would remain 鈥渇ully committed to developing and promoting the Philippines as a powerhouse of natural wonders, culture and heritage, and a fount of warmth and hospitality.鈥�
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