The PAGCOR Photography Contest (Photocon) 2023 is a nationwide photography competition for amateur and professional photographers.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) began holding photo contests in 2013 and for four consecutive years, it provided a prestigious medium for lensmen from all over the country to showcase their photography skills and creativity while capturing images that underscore the Philippines’ beauty and the Filipinos’ diverse culture.

All winning entries were utilized for the PAGCOR calendars.

The 3rd PAGCOR National Photography Contest in 2015, which was themed: “Tatak Pinoy”, earned a Silver Anvil Award during the 51st Anvil Awards in 2016. The 4th staging of the competition in 2016 themed: “Throwback” featured time-honored practices, food traits, celebrations and historical sites.

Said competitions helped stoke renewed interest and appreciation of the country’s panoramic attractions and rich traditions among the participants, whose awe-inspiring images sought to generate awareness on cultural and environmental preservation. Adding prestige to the contests was the participation of several big names in local and international photography like Wig Tysmans, Raymund Isaac and Wawi Navarroza, among others, who served as jurors.

After a six-year break, PAGCOR is reviving the competition with bigger cash prizes at stake. Participants from past competitions as well as aspiring ones who are searching for a medium to show the images captured by their cameras and latest mobile devices are encouraged to join.

With the development of new gadgets as well as the advancement of camera features, PAGCOR opens this opportunity for renowned photographers and the naturally talented mobile users to share images captured by their lenses.

Photocon 2023 theme “Sa’n Tayo Next?” aims to highlight the unadulterated, yet equally beautiful places in the Philippines often visited and those with tourism potential. This project likewise hopes to pay homage to the talent of Filipino lensmen while inspiring more local and foreign tourists to explore some underrated destinations in the Philippines.

Photocon 2023 has two categories – (1) Conventional which is for photos taken using all types of traditional or conventional cameras like Single Lens Reflex or Digital SLR, compact cameras and the like; and (2) Mobile for photos taken using mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, drone-mounted cameras and action cameras.

Out of all the entries submitted and qualified, finalists will be chosen by an esteemed panel of judges and considered winners - 20 for conventional and 20 for mobile.

These will be narrowed down further to the grand winners - 12 for the conventional category who will each receive P80,000 cash, and 12 for the mobile category who will take home P35,000 cash each.

The 16 non-winning finalists will get consolation prizes - P25,000 each for the conventional while P10,000 each for the mobile category. A special cash prize of P10,000 will also be awarded to the “Most Liked” photos from each category.

Contest duration is from February 15 to July 31, 2023.