Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (File photo from his Facebook page)
MANILA, Philippines — Another lawmaker — this time Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez — also wants an investigation into the new logo of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), which netizens have been poking fun at for its supposedly poor design despite a high budget.
“We should look into the issues of cost and copying. More importantly, on the need or lack of it of a new logo,” Rodriguez said in a statement issued on Monday.
“[The old green-and-yellow logo] was more pleasing to the eye than the new red-and-blue one, which looks like a rooster or an emblem of an energy company. I would like to know the rationale behind the unnecessary change and the expenditure of P3 million in taxpayer’s money.”
Pagcor recently became the target of social media users, including independent and freelance designers, who said that its new logo was done poorly. Some said it looked like the Petron logo. Others had their own funny explanations as to the origin of the logo — some of them even created parodies.
Then came protests after it was eventually revealed that the contract for the logo was worth a little over P3 million — prompting lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc to file a resolution asking for a congressional probe into the issue.
“If this is a public relations gimmick, it surely has failed, given the numerous criticisms against it,” Rodriguez said.
“The best PR is good performance. Instead of spending P3M for an unnecessary and allegedly plagiarized new logo, it should address its lack of action on and perceived complicity in the proliferation of illegal gambling and offshore gaming operators.”