DAVAO CITY- The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has launched its PAGCOR Photography Contest 2023 which aims to highlight the various tourist attractions in the regions.

“One of the mandates of PAGCOR is to promote Philippine tourism and this is one way of fulfilling the mandate and this is in consonance with the Department of Tourism’s mandate of promoting the lesser-known destinations, there are a lot of destinations in the Philippines that are worth visiting,” says Jing Arambulo, senior manager of PAGCOR’S Corporate Communications Department.

Arambulo said it is the mandate of championing tourism that PAGCOR is reviving the photo contest after six years of hiatus.

The photo contest will have the theme “Sa’n Tayo Next?” ( Where Do We Go Next?) The competition will have categories for conventional cameras (DSLRs, Mirrorless) and mobile devices.

PAGCOR will be picking 12 winners for the Conventional Category where each will receive P80,000. There will also be 12 winners for Mobile Category where each winner in that category will receive P35,000 in cash.

The 12 winning photos will grace PAGCOR’s 2024 calendar.

PAGCOR will choose 20 semifinalists for the conventional category and another 20 semifinalists for the mobile category. Out of the 20 (for each category) the jurors will pick out the winning 12. Those in the shortlisted 20 but were not named in the final 12 will get consolation prizes of  P25,000 each for the conventional category and P10,000 for the mobile category.

Any Filipino can join the contest, he or she must be 18 years old on Feb. 15, 2023, which is the official start of the photo contest. The deadline for the submission of entries is on July 31, 2023.

A participant can submit a maximum of two entries. Either a participant can submit two photos for a category or have one for conventional and one entry for mobile.

Participants should register under the regional group where they are residing (Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas, or Mindanao). They will be required to upload a valid ID with an address as proof of residency. Entries sent to the wrong group will be automatically disqualified.

Conventional category are those photos taken with Single Lens Reflex (SLR), Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras, compact, mirrorless, and the like. While the Mobile category are for those photos taken using mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, drone-mounted cameras, or action cameras.

For more details, interested participants can visit the website at www.pagcor.ph/photocon2023. (PIA/RG Alama, cover photo by Jerson Flores 2015 PAGCOR Photography Contest entry)