MANILA, Philippines -- Soon after Manny Pacquiao demolished Mexican legend
Erik Morales in three rounds in their November 2006 fight in Las Vegas,
councilors of Davao City raised a howl over Sarah Geronimo's rendition of
the National Anthem just before the fight began.
Councilor Nilo Abellera said Geronimo's slow, "kundiman-like" interpretation
was a bastardization of the national song. He filed a resolution reminding
the people of Davao how the anthem should be sung.
What is the proper way of singing the anthem?
According to Ambeth Ocampo, chair of the National Historical Institute
(NHI), guidelines on how the anthem should be sung are enshrined in the law.
Section 37 of Republic Act No. 8491 (An Act Prescribing the Code of the
National Flag, Anthem, Motto, Coat of Arms, and other Heraldic Items and
Devices of the Philippines) -- passed in 1998, the year of the Philippine
centennia -- says the "rendition of the National Anthem, whether played or
sung, shall be in accordance with the musical arrangement and composition of
Julian Felipe."
Felipe is the Cavite composer that President Emilio Aguinaldo commissioned
on June 5, 1898 to prepare a composition which would be played during
Independence ceremonies.
Originally titled Marcha Filipina Magdalo, the composition was adopted as
the official march of the Philippines.
The anthem remained without words until August 1899, when a young
poet-soldier named Jose Palma wrote the poem, Filipinas, which became the
anthem's lyrics.
Ocampo said that the anthem, when played, "must carry a brisk martial tone
and tempo."
Teodoro Atienza, heraldry section head of the NHI's Research, Publications
and Heraldry Division, said that when sung "at the proper pace," the
national anthem should last from only "53 seconds to less than a minute."
But national anthem boo-boos still abound.
Aside from Geronimo, singers Lani Misalucha, who sang in the first
Pacquiao-Morales bout on March 19, 2005, and Bituin Escalante (July 2, 2006,
Pacquiao vs. Larios at the Araneta Coliseum), also took vocal liberties in
their renditions of the National Anthem.
Jennifer Bautista, who sang in the Pacquiao-Morales rematch on Jan. 21,
2006, went off-key on the song's last word.
At the Sept. 16, 2007 match between reigning world bantamweight champion
Gerry Peñalosa and North American Boxing Federation bantamweight champion
Bernabe Concepcion in Alabang, Christian Bautista delivered an abbreviated
version of the song when he missed the lines, "Buhay ay langit sa piling mo
/ Aming ligaya na 'pag may mang-aapi. [In thine embrace 'tis rapture to
lie/But it is glory ever, when thou art wronged]"
Bautista apologized for the "memory lapse."
Pacquiao has chosen Kyla to sing the national anthem in his Oct. 6 rematch
with Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Atienza said the Institute had spoken to the GMA network to remind Kyla
about the proper way of singing the national song.
Singers who do not follow the rules can be fined P50,000 or be imprisoned
for a year, or both, he said.
"But our lawyer says we can't go after the singers because they sing
abroad," Atienza said. "Of course, that doesn't mean they should forget
their obligation to their country and their people."
By Eliza Victoria
Inquirer
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