Ad Congress to proceed as scheduled in Subic with more participants

ORGANIZERS of this year’s Philippine Advertising Congress (PAC) are expecting more participants to the event as it expanded the theme to include not just the economic crisis but also climate change and finding ways to help the victims of the twin typhoons that devastated parts of the country.

Margot Torres, chair of the 21st edition of the PAC, said the congress will proceed as scheduled from November 18 to 21, although Subic will be serving as the host, instead of Baguio City.

“We are expecting that there will be more delegates because of the slant we are going to take. If they realize it is for a cause, that proceeds will to go to the calamity fund, it would encourage more sign-ups in the last four weeks [leading to the event],” she said in a press briefing on Monday at the Advertising Board office in Makati City.

Torres said organizers have tripled the number of minutes for speakers who will talk about corporate social responsibility and global warming. Somebody from the advertising industry will also discuss the “brand-aid” campaign that is geared toward helping the calamity victims.

Organizers will also invite the recently appointed chair of the reconstruction commission, Manny V. Pangilinan, to talk about the road map that will be pursued for the rehabilitation and recovery.

To top it all, the proceeds of the PAC will go to the International Red Cross and other foundations that are doing relief and rehabilitation efforts for the calamity victims.

The organizers will still keep the original theme, which is centered on the crisis, as there are probably some delegates who decided to confirm their attendance to the congress with the original topic in mind.

Torres said postponing the event was not an option, although the organizers decided to move the venue from Baguio to Subic for the safety and convenience of the expected over 3,000 delegates.

Torres said the roads leading to Baguio, including the Marcos Highway, and the major thoroughfares in Pangasinan, are still undergoing repair.

It also happened that the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) agreed to move its anniversary celebration slated in the same week of the PAC so it could serve as the venue of the event that it hosted two years ago.

Torres said the SBMA will not have difficulty in hosting the event even in such a short notice, as it only needs to duplicate what it did before.

“Having the Congress as planned is necessary to get the group together and see how we can help. So postponement was not an option,” she said. Written by Max de Leon - businessmirror.com.ph