IN celebration of Filipino’s strength of character, patience and hard work, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is bringing back its popular photography competition this year to provide photographers the opportunity to showcase their talents.
PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco said this year’s photo contest will feature a new category – drone – which has become very popular in photography because of its ability to capture breathtaking views from the air.
“As we promised last year during the awards ceremony for the 2023 PAGCOR Photo Contest, we also increased our cash prizes for this year’s winners in all categories,” Tengco said.
He said the contest will accept entries from February 15 to July 31, 2024 through the PAGCOR website, www.pagcor.ph/photocon2024.
Tengco said this year’s contest theme pays homage to crop and livestock farmers, flower and aquaculture growers, fishermen and others whose harvests help ensure food security not only for their families but also for the country.
“They are crucial to our country’s development and sustainability,” he said. “While our contest theme aims to capture the raw beauty of the countryside during harvest season, it also reflects our gratitude and support to farmers and fishers who are the real unsung heroes of our time.”
To further widen the scope of the competition, Chairman Tengco said PAGCOR likewise lowered the participants’ age eligibility from 18 to 16 years old so that students and younger people will be encouraged to take up photography as a creative hobby.
“While we want to recognize the talent of our professional and hobbyist photographers, we also want to hone the talent and creativity of our youth. We want to use this contest to showcase their skills and motivate them to develop their craft further,” the PAGCOR chief said.
Tengco said PAGCOR also increased total cash prizes for the contest from P1.6 million last year to P2.23 million this year.
The PAGCOR Photography Contest 2024 Conventional Category will feature photos taken using all types of digital cameras like Single Lens Reflex, compact, point and shoot, bridge, mirrorless and rugged.
The Mobile Category will cover entries taken using mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, action cameras, 360 cameras and the like, while the newly added Drone Category will cover aerial photos taken using drone-mounted cameras.
PAGCOR will select eight grand winners for each category, with the conventional category winners taking home P100,000 each plus trophy. Meanwhile, the eight grand winners for the mobile and drone categories will take home P50,000 each plus trophy.
There will also be 24 non-winning grand finalists who will get consolation prizes of P35,000 for the conventional category, while P20,000 will be awarded in the mobile and drone categories. A special cash prize of P10,000 per category will also be awarded.
