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Philippines national anthem abuse subject to new law
New penalties would punish misuse of the Philippines flag and "wrong" renditions of the national anthem
The Philippine House of Representatives has approved a bill criminalising the improper singing of the country's national anthem.
If the Senate passes the bill into law, performers who deviate from the official version could face a fine of more than $2,000 (£1,264).
The new bill, which is very precise, says offenders could face up to two years in jail.
It also outlines penalties for improper use or displaying of the national flag.
When one of the Philippines' most famous pop stars Charice Pempengco sings her country's national anthem, her rendition is deemed acceptable by the National Historical Institute.
But not all versions are so favourably received.
Other performers have been criticised for singing the anthem too slowly or with the wrong beat, or adding their own personal touches.
This new bill is very precise: the anthem should be sung to a marching tempo, within the range of 100 to 120 beats per minute.
When it is played at public gatherings and in cinemas, all citizens should stand to attention and sing with fervour, as a sign of respect.
The bill also tightens up the rules on the use of the national flag - but it is the anthem that has the biggest impact.
This is a country where people love to sing. Now - if people want to sing their national song, they need to make sure they do it properly.
While bureaucracy reigns in all levels of the government, people go hungry, injustices happen everywhere, the senate passes a bill about the Philippine anthem. As a Filipino, I abhor our system and our way of life. Everyone settles for our mediocre standards, our corrupt government and do not aim for anything higher. If this is what passes for laws these days, it's no wonder the Philippines is still a lagging Third World country despite the high literacy rate and rich resources in the land.
Us Filipinos must lead the way. It is but proper and right to sing our national anthem correctly.
The melody and lyrics of the Philippine national anthem are beautiful. As long as the artist remains true to both, I do not see how it can be offensive rendered in the artist's style. It should not label the person less patriotic. I think penalising anyone for this reason is absurd.
I am a 55 year old retired Brit who has lived on and off in the Philippines for the last eight years. From the sounds that come out of my karaoke machine I am not going to have many relatives left who have not been fined or jailed or both. They seem to work on the principle here of quantity over quality.
The national anthem and flag reflects the aspirations of the country's founding fathers, not the self-centered view of our present day artists and pop stars. They were set in the past and their interpretations are not open to the artistic freedom of the present.
The bill is, indeed, strict and it allows no room for artistic manoeuvres. Though such a bill is (really) needed, I think that there are more pressing issues that our honourable members of Congress should delve with.
It's just proper that the national anthem be sung properly in public. Many times have I heard a really bad rendition being excused with an "artistic license" response. In this way, our people will give more respect and pride to the country despite its recent setbacks.
This has got to be one of the stupidest laws we have in the country - an act of state-sponsored cultural terrorism. It is based on some archaic law that nobody cares about these days except for the Talibans of the Historical Institute and attention-starved control freaks in Congress. Our legislators ought to focus on more pressing issues like the Reproductive Healthcare Bill which has been languishing in their queue for the last 14 years - a proposed law with far-reaching effects in improving the lives of millions of the country's poor. So I wonder why progress is excruciatingly slow in almost every aspect of life, economy, and everything else in the Philippines? For one, we have a Congress with a wonderfully idiotic sense of priorities.
If penalising people is the only way, why not? save all those "for art's sake" arguments somewhere. We don't want to become the butt of the joke as we already are for something taught since grade school. Being artistic can be achieved without being disrespectful.
Some people are tone deaf and pitch-flawed. So the law discriminates against them? Seems rather harsh.
The jails are going to be filled up. I don't know who thought this one up, but the very thought is totally preposterous, whatever next!!!
I'd have expected this sort of nonsense from North Korea, but it's sad to see it happening in the Philippines. Someone should point out to them the the musical scale used on a piano or guitar is called Equal Temperament - and that all the notes are technically "out of tune". (Only the interval of an "octave" is in tune) - so everybody is playing the tune "improperly".
I am a Filipino working in Vietnam and my view is that, this bill will "foster oneness of the nation because the people will be singing the same tune." It will also "command higher respect to its original spirit and hard-fought aspirations for the Filipino people." However, the fine of $2,000 to me is too small, especially if the violation is committed at the international level.
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