Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros said the controversial logo of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor)—worth P3 million—“is possibly worth an investigation.”
She said lawmakers in the minority “are fully aware of this issue.”
The gaming regulator drew flak for the rebranding of its logo which critics said could have been done “in-house” instead of hiring an outside firm to do the project.
The contract was awarded to Printplus Graphic Services, an entity enrolled in the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) just last June and registered in the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in March 2021 with “only a barangay scope for its business name.”
Hontiveros assured that the Minority Bloc in the Senate which also includes Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III will join a Senate probe that will look into the controversial logo.
Senator Grace Poe meanwhile said she wants to know if the creation of the new Pagcor logo underwent proper bidding.
The logo, which is worth P3 million, is being likened by many netizens to the logo of petroleum company Petron, and e-sabong, among others.
Pagcor chairperson and CEO Alejandro Tengco shared that the new logo is incorporated with the symbol of fire to represent “energy, inspiration, passion, and transformation” symbolizing the “flame that ignites change and drives progress.”
Pagcor unveiled the new logo during the regulator’s anniversary. The logo received negative feedback from internet users. The term ‘Pagcor’ quickly trended on Wednesday morning as netizens criticized the logo, claiming it resembled the logo of a gasoline brand and a local noodle brand.
The online community grew even more outraged upon learning about the cost of creating the logo, which amounted to P3,035,714.28. The project was awarded to Francisco Diplon of Printplus Graphic Services through a bidding process.
Despite the thorough explanations provided, netizens couldn’t help but continue to draw comparisons between the new Pagcor logo and the logos of ‘Lucky Me’ and ‘Petron.’
One netizen expressed disbelief, saying, “No way Pagcor just chose a logo that’s so similar to Lucky Me’s logo. Don’t tell us this cost a huge sum of money. The ‘designer’ doesn’t even seem to grasp basic color theory and how blue and red relate to gaming and amusement, resorting to a gradient instead.”
Another netizen questioned, “Why did they steal the design from Petron, Pagcor?” In a post, someone sarcastically remarked, “Three million pesos for a quotation, and this is the result? Even Canva would be ashamed of you.” With Angelica Villanueva
