Filipino director, actor, and singer Jeffrey Hidalgo who directed Puerto Princesa’s latest tourism AVP, “Amos Ta Ren sa Puerto Princesa”, responded to criticisms from netizens, stating he “would like to take full responsibility for the concept” that has been the talk of the town since its release on Feb. 5.
On his Facebook post a few hours after the video was launched, Hidalgo took notice of the netizens’ reactions to the “romantic” storyline he had conceptualized on purpose.
“Although it’s been generally getting positive feedback, siempre may mga netizens who feel it’s promoting ‘micro’-cheating. I would like to take full responsibility for the concept. I just wanted to insert a vague romantic angle in the video so that viewers will be engrossed to watch it till the end,” he said.
With a running time of four minutes, the video follows a guy named MJ as he visits Puerto Princesa without Candy, whose name appeared twice on his inbox, and meets Palaweña Jennifer upon his arrival.
MJ spent the rest of his stay with Jennifer and her two friends, discovering the beauty of the city’s beaches, rivers, wildlife, and fun activities, and got closer to her overtime.
Based on their text conversation shown in the video—MJ’s message, “Sana nandito ka kasama ko”, to Candy, and Candy’s message, “Kamusta dyan sa Puerto Princesa?”, to MJ—many netizens have speculated that Candy could be MJ’s significant other.
With this, many have expressed their rage on Hidalgo’s take on “promoting tourism” as the video paints a bad image on the city’s tourism and culture.
“Puerto princesa, where we promote cheating,” a netizen commented.
“Akala ko love affair with nature, love affair lang pala,” another netizen commented.
Many were also quick to critique the video’s concept, stating that the ad could have focused on other concepts that would proudly promote the city’s breathtaking views and landscape “without forcing a “vague romantic angle.””
“Next AVP po sana, mas mag-focus sa honest experiences na ma-o-offer ng tourism dito sa Puerto Princesa City, more exposure din sa mga locals especially those na nasa tourism industry. Also promotes agritourism, cultural tourism, food tourism, etc. na meron tayo dito. But still, nice algorithm to reach a wider audience,” a netizen said.
Aware of these, Hidalgo revealed that there is a sequel in which viewers can learn more about the characters stating, “Kung matuloy ang sequel to this, then you’ll know what the real story is and who and what Candy is in MJ’s life.”
“Sorry at marami palang madaling ma-trigger sa cheating issues which is not what this video is about, so apologies if it came out that way,” he added.
Despite the criticisms, Hidalgo expressed his gratitude to those who watched the video which has reached 566K views as of writing.
“Hopefully it becomes viral for more people to see the beauty of Puerto Princesa and all the wonders it has to offer. This is just the tip of the iceberg coz the beautiful city has so much more in store,” he concluded.
The ad has garnered 7.5K reactions and 1.4K comments on Puerto Princesa’s City Tourism Office (CTO) Facebook page.
