LOVE PHILIPPINES
A Letter to Sass Sasot
July 3, 2023
Dearest Sass Rogando Sasot,
How nice to hear from you! It’s been years since we last saw each other, here in Cebu City. That was when I had the privilege to meet you in person, someone I had always had the greatest respect and admiration for.
You had always impressed me as one who would rather engage in erudite discourse rather than resort to crass name calling.
You ask if “Kayo po ba dyaan sa Cebu Province eh mahilig magkumpuni ng mga bagay na hindi naman sira?”
Hmmm. A quick written answer will not suffice for someone of your intellectual calibre.
As they say, words are cheap. It’s action that counts. And again, as they say, to see is to believe.
And so, I would like to invite you to come and visit Cebu again, this time, sa CEBU PROVINCE talaga, and not Cebu City.
For after all, it’s the 7 other cities (including Mandaue City) and 44 municipalities that I, as Governor, am responsible for.
If you would be so kind as to accept our invitation, I will personally accompany you around the Province of Cebu, to show you what we’ve managed to accomplish so far, and the many more that need to be done.
But I will leave it to your discerning eye to see and judge for yourself if we are “mahilig magkumpuni”.
Who knows? I might even elicit valuable inputs from you from which the Province of Cebu could greatly benefit.
Oh, and about those “It’s more fun in Switzerland” and “Love Cyprus” slogans? Surely, we digress?
The point of my post was about wrong video shots allegedly copied from other countries.
Thank you for pointing that out, prompting an investigation by the DOT of the ad company hired for the Love the Philippines campaign. And surely, the persons responsible for this (as yet, unpaid) blunder should be made accountable. (Your quick action might ultimately save a lot of money for government. Kudos!)
But the ensuing and continuing brouhaha is, to my mind, a bit too much. Given that we’ve indeed copied an entire tourism slogan in the past (copyright or no copyright).
And the Love Cyprus thing?
Dearest Sass, I love my daughter very much and will always stand up and speak out for her, if and when I believe she has been treated quite unfairly.
I guess that’s what all mothers will do for their own children.
But let me assure you, dearest Sass, that I do not meddle with her work. So, whether it’s Love Cyprus or Love the Philippines - that’s DOT’s arena, not the Province of Cebu’s.
This I can tell you, though. Switzerland or Cyprus notwithstanding, IT’S MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES! And most certainly, together with this Governor, CEBU and the CEBUANOS - LOVE THE PHILIPPINES.❤️
Affectionately yours,
Gwen Garcia
P.S. I look forward to seeing you soon in the Province of Cebu.😊
