71.“... Ang Mamatay Ng Dahil Sa ‘Yo. ”

“... Ang Mamatay Ng Dahil Sa ‘Yo. ”

Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano

19 September 2018

As an enthusiast of our country’s annals, culture and the arts, it is normal for me to react on the statement of the Senate President regarding the revision of the lyrics of the “Lupang Hinirang”. In his speech this afternoon, during the plenary debates on the proposed amendment to Republic Act (RA) 8491 or the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines, Senate President Vicente Sotto III talked about changing the last line of the national anthem because it is “defeatist.” Instead of singing "Aming ligaya na 'pag may mang-aapi, ang mamatay nang dahil sa 'yo” (Our desire is to die for you in the face of oppression), he suggested to change the last phrase to "ang ipaglaban ang kalayaan mo.” (our desire is to fight for your freedom in the face of oppression). "Parang defeatist 'yung last line sapagkat na imbis lumaban, mamatay…dapat laban, hindi patay” (The last line seems defeatist since instead of fighting, we should die. We should fight, not die.)”, Sotto stated. Netizens were quick to react negatively to the former comedian and Eat Bulaga host’s proposal. Some said the revision is irrelevant compared to pressing issues in the country such as inflation.

Looking back when I was still teaching Philippine Constitution at the University of La Salette (ULS) in Santiago City and in the Isabela State University (ISU) Cauayan City Campus, I remembered Article 16 Section 2 of the present 1987 Constitution which states that “The congress may by law adopt a new name for the country, a national anthem, or a national seal, which shall all be truly reflective and symbolic of the ideals, history, and traditions of the people. Such law such take effect only by its ratification of the people in a national referendum.” Part of the subject was RA 8491 and part of the law was the background of the flag and the national anthem.

I browsed the net on the lyricist of our national anthem, José Palma y Velásquez. A poet and a soldier, he was born in Tondo, Manila on June 3, 1876 to Don Hermogenes Palma, a clerk at the Intendencia Office and Hilária Velasquez. His older brother was the politician, intellectual and journalist Rafael Palma (1874-1939). After finishing his primera enseñanza (first studies) in Tondo, Palma continued his studies at the Ateneo Municipal where he gradually honed his skills by composing verses. One of his earliest works was La cruz de Sampaguitas (The Cross of Jasmines) in 1893. As underground revolutionary activities intensified, Palma devoted his time to composing more poems. In 1894, he joined the Katipunan but did not enter battle when the Philippine Revolution of 1896 broke out. He eventually joined the revolutionary forces of Colonel Rosendo Simón in 1899 when the Philippine-American War erupted and fought under the command of Colonel Servillano Aquino in the encounters in Ángeles in Pampanga and Bambang in Pangasinan. Since he could not physically cope with the difficulties of war, he often stayed in camps and entertained the soldiers with kundiman, a traditional Filipino poetic and musical art. He eventually joined the staff of the Tagalog-language section of the revolutionary newspaper, La Independencia, to fight against the Americans as he could not on the battlefield. Palma and his colleagues in the newspaper often amused themselves with songs and poems while resting in camps or other places during their marches away from the pursuing American forces. It was during on break of the newspaper staff in Bautista, Pangasinan, when Palma’s poetic spirit produced the Spanish ode Filipinas. Palma wrote Filipinas in the house of Doña Romana G. vda de Favis at Sitio Estación in Barrio Nibaliw, Bayambang (today Barangay Población West, Bautista, Pangasinan). The words were fit and eventually set to composer Julian Felipe's instrumental tune, “Marcha Nacional Filipina”, which was composed as incidental music a year earlier for the Declaration of Philippine Independence in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898. Filipinas was published in the first anniversary issue of La Independencia on September 3, 1899. José Palma died of tuberculosis on February 12, 1903.

In 1938, during the American period, the lyrics of our national anthem was first anglicized by Paz Marquez-Benitez (1894-1983) of the University of the Philippines followed by Camilo Osias (1889-1976, who would become twice Senate President in 1952 & 1953) together with American, Mary A. Lane. The English version was titled “Land of the Morning”.

In 1948, the second rephrasing and translation of the national anthem was made in the national language, Filipino (Tagalog based). “O, Sintang Lupa" (Oh Beloved Land) was crafted through the joint efforts of music giants Julian Cruz Balmaceda, Ildefonso Santos and Francisco Caballo and this became the adopted and official rewording of the anthem. During the term of President Ramon Magsaysay (1953-1957), another momentous revision of the lyrics was made by the commission formed by Secretary of Education, Gregorio Hernandez. On May 26, 1956, after all these significant evolutions of the Philippine National Anthem, the unique Filipino translation of the anthem was sung. Then after four years, some composers had made little rectifications of the national hymn. Up to this very day, the present version of the Philippine National Anthem was written and composed by Felipe Padilla de Leon (1912-1992), a classical music composer, conductor and scholar who received the Republic Cultural Heritage Award, Rizal Pro-Patria Award, Presidential Award of Merit, Patnubay ng Kalinangan Award, Composer of the Year in 1949, Musician of the Year in Manila in 1958, and a National Artist of the Philippines in 1997.

It was not Sotto who first proposed for a revision of the last lines of the Lupang Hinirang in recent years. In 2013, Filipino music icon Joey Ayala, tampered with the national anthem in a forum in U.P. Diliman, Quezon City by changing the last line to “ang magmahal ng dahil sayo" (to love for the country) and arranged the time signature from 4/4 to 6/8. Based on Ayala’s proposal, the Senate President suggested the now controversial line.

RA 8491 protects our national anthem. For over half a century, the lyrics, its time signature and tune were never amended. Though a number of times, many of our citizens forget the original lyrics and replace some words with similar-sounding ones. A number of our artists also tried changing the tune of the last line most especially during Manny Pacquiao’s fights. The Senate President’s proposal may be valid but very untimely since there are more pressing issues which need to be addressed by the Philippine Senate.