Nation branding

1. What specific policies or programs have been implemented to promote the Philippine image?
May you please elaborate on these policies?

Following are the instruments of public diplomacy that is implemented by PH government agencies:

 Advocacy. The Department of Foreign Affairs implemented a nation-wide and global campaign
to raise the public consciousness on the West Philippine Sea issue. Key officials spoke at local
forums, as well in international meetings, to promote the Philippine message of “right is might”
and “rule of law.” Visit gov.ph and dfa.gov.ph (see DFA releases) for the Philippine positions on
various issues.
 Media relations. The media is a stakeholder of the Philippine government in promoting its
advocacy.
 International Broadcasting. Radio TV Malacanang, the Philippine Television Network, Inc., and
the Intercontinental Broadcast Corporation (IBC 13) Services are the broadcast communication
channels of the Philippine government. The other government agencies involved in
communications are the Presidential Communications Office, Philippine Information Agency,
News and Information Bureau, Bureau of Broadcast Services, Bureau of Communication
Services, APO Production Unit Services, and the National Printing Office Services. Visit their
websites for more information.
 International Exchanges. Visit cfo.gov.ph (see box on “programs.”)
 Cultural Diplomacy. Philippine embassies and consulates general regularly promote the
Philippine culture through film, culinary, literary, dance, singing, and various other cultural
festivals. Visit dfa.gov.ph (see News from Philippine embassies, consulates, and missions).
 Sports Diplomacy. Philippine embassies and consulates general also conduct various sports
activities to promote camaraderie among Filipino community members and the diplomatic and
consular corps. These activities include intramurals, bowling tournaments, basketball
tournaments and walkathon/marathons, and the like. In San Francisco, the Philippine Consulate
General supported the Philippine Heritage Games organized by the Golden Gate Warriors
(basketball), SF Giants (softball), Oakland raiders (football) and other sports teams. During these
“heritage games,” fans wore Philippine-themed shirts and were entertained by a Philippine
cultural performance. It’s a way to promote Philippine pride among the Philippine community
and the mainstream audience, and for the sports teams to promote themselves to the Philippine
community.
 Foreign Aid. In partnership with international organization, the Philippines, through the
Technical Cooperation Council of the Philippines (TCCP), conducts training programs for least
developed countries from Africa and Asia.
 International PR. See nation branding.
 Nation branding. The current marketing brand promoted by the Philippines is “It’s more fun in
the Philippines.” It’s a campaign designed to involve the community, to provide their
interpretation of how and why it is more fun in the Philippines.
 Corporate/Business Public Diplomacy. Marketing and business missions to and from the
Philippines are coordinated by the Philippine embassies and consulates general. The objectives
 of these mission are generally to promote business matching projects with the Philippines, and
open up business opportunities for Philippine companies.
 Diaspora Public Diplomacy. Overseas Filipinos are key partners in the Philippines’
development. Various programs are implemented by the Commission on Filipinos overseas, in
partnership with Philippine embassies and consulates general. Visit cfo.gov.ph (see box on
“programs.”)
 NGOs. The Philippines has been known to encourage the vibrancy of the NGO community.
NGOs are regularly involved in local and national consultations and participate in the
governance processes of the country. Apart from this, the government benefits from Track II
Diplomacy, referring to non-governmental, informal and unofficial contacts between private
citizens or groups of individuals. Track II Diplomacy allowed for people-to-people contacts, and
provided space for contentious issues to be discussed, and for Philippine interests to be
promoted by private individuals.
 International Law. With the landmark case of the Philippines filed in the Arbitral Tribunal, the
country has used international law to its advantage, to send the message to the international
community of the importance of the rule of law.
 E-image, Digital Public Diplomacy. The “It’s more fun in the Philippines” campaign was
successful as it made full use of social media in making the message viral. For other advocacies,
the PH government regularly use its website and social media tools (Facebook, Twitter).
 Scientific, academic public diplomacy. The academe and the scientific community are also
partners in public diplomacy, i.e., promoting the Philippines and its interests. In San Francisco,
for example, the Philippine Consulate General supported California Academy of Sciences (CAS)
with its permanent coral reef exhibit from the Philippines, which served as a tourism promotion
tool for the Philippines at the one of the most-visited museums in California. The CAS also
conducted research expeditions to the Philippines which promoted the country as “center of the
center” of biodiversity. Aside from the scientific breakthroughs in its research on the
Philippines, CAS’ work has encouraged documentaries on the Philippines which was aired by
mainstream media in the US.

2. To where were these efforts to promote the Philippine image presented to? Which countries
in particular? What does the DFA consider as key factors that contribute to a successful
nation brand? Are there any other countries with a successful nation brand that take these
factors into considerations?
3. What does the DFA consider as key institutions or groups that contribute to a successful
nation brand? Are there any other countries with a successful nation brand that take these
actors into consideration? What qualifies a group or institution to be significant in the process
of crafting a positive image?

Refer to the Nations Brands Index for key findings on successful nation brands.

4. Are there any future programs which intend to promote further the image of the Philippines?

The PH government will continue its current programs and policies to promote the image of the
Philippines.
The PH government will benefit from this research on the nation brand of the Philippines and what
strategies should be implemented to promote this.

Philippine potentials

5. What are the strengths of the Philippines in comparison to other countries? Which of these
strengths contribute the most to a positive international image?
6. What weaknesses of the Philippines need to be addressed to make the Philippines more
appealing in the international area? Which of these weaknesses contribute the most to a
negative international image?

For the above questions on Philippine potentials, the researchers are invited to review the following
global indices, from which an analysis can be made on the strengths and weaknesses of the Philippines.
All of these indices are available on-line.

1. Good Country
2. Human Development
3. Global Competitiveness
4. Global Information Technology
5. Ease of Doing Business
6. Global Gender Gap
7. Global Opportunity
8. Human Capital Report
9. Global Age Watch
10. Democracy (The Economist)
11. Environmental Protection Index
12. Corruption Perceptions
13. Freedom of the Press (Freedom House)
14. Travel and Tourism
15. Moral Freedom

Below is a sample analysis on Ghana, with the indices as reference:

Global Indices
Key ranking Other statistics
-12th of 163 in international peace and security
contibutions;: global culture contributions (ranked
57th); contributions to world order (ranked 71st)global
contributions to science and tech (ranked 76th);
prosperity and equality (ranked 79th); planet and
climate (ranked 116th); health and wellbeing (ranked
158th) **Good Countries are not measured by
domestic policy/conditions, but by how they balance
domestic needs with their responsibility to the wider
1. Good Country 67 out of 163 countries world.

2. Human 2014: HDI value (0.579); life expectancy at birth

Development 140 out of 188 countries (61.4); expected years of schooling (11.5); mean
 years of schooling (7.0); Gross Nat Income per capita
($Purchasing Power Parity 3.852); mobile phone
subscriptions per 100 people (114.8); tonnes of CO2
emissions per capita (0.4); population (26.4 million);
homicide rate per 100,000 people (6.1)

2015-2016: GDP (US36 billion); GDP per capita

(US1340.42); (1) BASIC REQUIREMENTS (3.5 out of
7, 127 out of 140 countries): institutions (3.9 out of 7);
infrastructure (2.7 out of 7); macroeconomic (2.8 out
of 7); health and primary education (4.5 out of 7); (2)
EFFICIENCY ENHANCERS (3.8 out of 7, 95 out of
140 countries): higher ed and training (3.6 out of 7);
goods market efficiency (4.2 out of 7); labour market
efficiency (4.0 out of 7); financial market development
(3.8 out of 7); technological readiness (3.2 out of 7);
market size (3.7 out of 7); (3) INNOVATION &
SOPHISTICATION FACTORS (3.6 out of 7, 65 out of
140 countries): business sophistication (3.9 out of 7);
innovation (3.3 out of 7) **Measures "higher
3. Global productivity" under 3 main categories, rating
Competitiveness 119 out of 140 countries elementrs from 1 (worst) to 7 (best).

2015: overall rating 3.5 out of 7; (1) ENVIRONMENT

(71 out of 139 countries; 4.0 out of 7); (2)
4. Global READINESS (113 out of 139; 3.5 out of 7); (3)
Information USAGE (91 out of 139; 3.5 out of 7); (4) IMPACT
Technology 102 out of 139 countries (111 out of 139; 3.1)

Streamlined construction permitting process and

reduced processing time; strengthened transport/port
5. Ease of Doing infrastructure - particularly at port of Tema which
Business 70 out of 189 countries reduced vessel waiting times

Economic participation and opportunity (rank 13,

score: 0.808); Educational attainment (119, 0.924);
Health and survival (87, 0.973); Political
63 out of 145 countries; empowerment (96, 0.112). Note: In the African
6. Global Gender Score: .704 (0.00= inequality; Gender Awards (UN Economic Comission for Africa),
Gap 1.00 = equality) Ghana ranked top 1 in 2016.

Economic fundamentals (rank 115, score: 2.82); Ease

of doing business (81, 5.52); Quality of regulation (52,
6.00); Rule of Law (33, 6.3). Note: Neighbors in the
region who are in the top 50% of the index are
Mauritius, South Africa, Botswana, Rwanda, Namibia
77 out of 136 countries: and Zambia. Each 1 unit increase in index score is
7. Global Score: 5.16 (10 being the associated with 42% increase in FDI/capita and 55%
Opportunity highest) increase in international portfolio flows.
 0-14 age group (rank and score in terms of
enrollment in quality of education, incidence of child
labor: rank 93, score: 75.28); 15-24 age group
(enrollment in education, quality of education,
educational attainment, economic participation, skills:
rank 92, score 60.65); 25-54 age group (educational
attainment, workplace learning, economic
participation, skills: rank 74, score 60.77); 55-64 age
group (educational attainment, economic
participation: rank 77 score 65.64); 65 and up age
group (educational attainment, economic
participation: rank 75, score 52.42). In Sub-Saharan
Africa, a cluster of countries, including Mauritius (76),
Ghana (84), South Africa (88) and Zambia (90) score
in the 60–70% range — placing them ahead of the
Middle East and North Africa regional average and on
a par with the lower half of the Latin American and
East Asia and the Pacific regions. With an overall
8. Human Capital Rank 84 out of 130 countries; average score of 55.44, the Sub-Saharan African
Report Score: 64.26 (100 highest) region is the lowest-ranked region in the Index.

It ranks highest in the capability domain (23), with

higher than regional average employment (78.2%)
and educational attainment (35.6%) among older
people. It ranks moderately in the enabling
environment domain (56) with above the regional
average satisfaction of older people with safety (81%)
and civic freedom (85%). It ranks low in the health
domain (77) with for life expectancy at 60 (17) and
healthy life expectancy at 60 (14) near the regional
averages. It ranks lowest in the income security
domain (88), due to low pension income coverage
9. Global Age (8%) and high old age poverty rate (21.4%) that is the
Watch 81 out of 96 countries second highest in its region.

53 out of 167 countries;

Score: 6.86 ("Flawed
democracy"); Index is by
regime type: Full democracy
(score 8.01 to 10) / Flawed Electoral process and pluralism (score: 8.33 out of
democracy (6.01 to 8) / Hybrid 10); Functioning of government (5.71); Political
10. Democracy regime (4.01 to 6.0) / participation (6.67); Political culture (6.25); Civil
(The Economist) Authoritarian regime (0 to 4) liberties (7.35)

130th out of 180 countries

11. measured; 58.89/100 total
Environmental score; rising trend (up 22.46% high rank in nitrogen balance measurement (tied for
Protection Index: over 10 years) first with several other countries)

12. Corruption 56th out of 168 countries control of corruption: 60%; literacy rate 66.6%;
Perceptions measured (score: 47%) financial secrecy index: 44/71 (score: 79%); budget
 openness: "some" (54%); global competitiveness
index: 103/142; judicial independence: 59/142; rule of
law: 54%; human development index: "medium"
(135/187); press freedom index: 41/179; voice and
accountability: 63%

13. Freedom of
the Press
(Freedom House) "free" (score: 83) 52/199 political rights: 1; civil liberties: 2; freedom rating: 1.5

Factors: A) Enabling Environment, composed of five

pillars: 1. Business Environment, 2. Safety and
Security, 3. Health and Hygiene, 4.Human Resources
and Labour Market, 5. ICT Readiness; B) T&T Policy
and Enabling Conditions, composed of four pillars: 6.
Prioritization of Travel & Tourism, 7. International
Openness, 8. Price Competitiveness, 9.
Environmental sustainability; C) Infrastructure,
composed of three pillars: 10. Air Transport
Infrastructure, 11. Ground and Port Infrastructure, 12.
Tourist Service Infrastructure; and D) Natural and
14. Travel and 120th out of 141 countries Cultural Resources (2 pillars): 13. Natural Resources
Tourism measured (value: 3.01) and 14. Cultural Resources and Business Travel.

overall score: 49 ("insufficient moral freedom").

Breakdown: 100 (religious freedom), 31.25 (bioethical
15. Moral 68th out of 160 countries freedom), 22.5 (drugs freedom), 60 (sexual freedom),
Freedom measured 31.25 (gender and family freedom)

Other sources
75% of Ghanains said the
government performed "badly"
in providing reliable electricity;
18% cite economic
management as the most
pressing problem, 89%
perceive cops to be at least
Afrobarometer somewhat corrupt

Brand Ghana mandate: Tourism; brands; people and

Brand Ghana since 2009 with
former President Mills.
Slogans: "Uniquely
welcoming," "Come Alive With
Nation branding Our Homeland"
media; culture, heritage and sports; investment and
immigration; domestic and foreign governance
(http://www.brandghana.gov.gh/brand-ghana-
mandate/). Strong focus on democracy and place for
investment
Analysis
Seen as beacon of African
democracy (free press,
elections--peaceful transition
of power); seen as relatively
economically stable (44/71 in
financial secrecy--better than
many African countries) and
as portal for international
business into western Africa;
rich in natural resources (gold,
oil, gas, agriculture); leader in
the region in addressing
gender gap; no external
enemies; global actor (Kofi
Strengths Annan as recent UNSG)

Rampant corruption;
antiquated judicial system;
police don't have resources so
are suspectible to corruption;
poverty; still developing
tradition of civil liberties; not
Weaknesses attractive for doing business

Tradition vs. globalization--

how morally "free" is ok?;
economic openness vs.
protectionism; civil liberties vs.
control; combatting poverty;
Challenges increasing education level

Achievements

7. Have there been any significant milestones in promoting the Philippine government

Refer to SWS surveys on the public satisfaction with the government.

Refer to the Asian Barometer (www.asianbarometer.org) for surveys conducted on the Philippines.

Refer to media/content archives to analyze international media coverage on the Philippines. See
Internet TV archive (https://archive.org/details/tv), Tydall Report Broadcast News Archive
(http://tyndallreport.com/tyndallsearch), Vanderbilt TV News Archive (http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu),
and Media Tenor (http://us.mediatenor.edu/)

The PH government would also benefit from evaluation studies analyzing the Philippines’ public
diplomacy.