MANILA, Philippines — There was no intention to misrepresent the data, the Department of Tourism said Friday in response to criticisms online over the presentation of tourism revenue comparing the first 11 months of the Aquino and Duterte administrations.

“The graphic illustration merely intended to show the upward trend in international visitor arrivals, devoid of any intent to misrepresent data or mislead the public,” the DOT said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, the data was lost in transition from its written form to the graph, hence the decision to take down the original graph, to be replaced with an updated one,” it added.

The disputed graph showed an upward trend comparing tourism revenue in the first 11 months of the Aquino administration (P129.6 billion) against the collection in the first 11 months of the Duterte administration (P222.3 billion).

Netizens quickly pointed out the supposed problem of the graph, calling it misleading as it does not take into account the projects initiated by the Aquino administration.

The updated graph — which claimed to show the “sustained upward trajectory of tourism receipts” — now includes annual revenues from 2010 to 2016.

However, the focus is still on the difference between the revenues in the first years of the Aquino and Duterte administrations.

“We recognize the significant contribution of the previous administration until the end of its term in June 2016,” said the DOT.

“Nonetheless, we intended to present the gains in the period of July 2016 to May 2017, to accurately and fairly reflect our own accomplishments under the current administration, in conjunction with President Duterte’s recent State of the Nation Address,” it added.

The agency said the data is readily available to anyone who wishes to verify them.

The STAR requested the complete monthly revenue data from the time of the Aquino administration, but so far only those covered by the release (July 2010 to May 2011 and July 2016 to May 2017) have been released.

Even with the criticisms, the DOT stressed that tourism remains a bright spot in the Philippine economy.

“We also wish to note that with the efforts in the first six months of the current administration, the tourism industry maintained the positive trajectory of visitor receipts which amounted to P230.13 billion for 2016, a 1.1 percent increase from the 2015 total (of P227.62 billion),” said the agency.

Tourist arrivals in 2016, which logged at 5.9 million, fell short of the original six-million “realistic” target set the DOT.

Despite this, the DOT said the continuous upward trend can be attributed to the continuing support and cooperation among stakeholders to bolster the government's sustainable and inclusive tourism program.

“Furthermore, the state has embarked on massive tourism transportation infrastructure development, enhancement of connectivity and entry policies and renewed international and ASEAN tourism cooperation to achieve the mid-term goals contained in the National Tourism Development Plan,” it added.