OUR ANTHEM IS A MARCH

Our anthem is not a ballad for the narcissist. It is a march. It draws emotion; it is lively and proud.

I remember, a couple of years ago at the university, there was a meeting for the organizations' officers. The Philippine national anthem was sung to signal the start of the session. The singer—probably hellbent on getting her 15 minutes of fame—sang the anthem like a heart-wrenching ballad. After her attempt, a professor approached the mic and said, "I would just like to remind everyone that the Philippine national anthem is a march; it should be sung fast."

Tell that to Martin Nievera, who sang the beginning and the end of Lupang Hinirang like it was one of his sappy love songs. Tell that to Manny Pacquiao, who—despite being touted as "The World's Best Pound for Pound Fighter", whatever that means—still did not have the right to authorize Nievera to alter the anthem according to his (Pacquiao's) preferences.

I do understand where they're coming from. No, I probably don't.

There are laws to be followed when you're dealing with something that belongs to every Filipino out there. The anthem wasn't just theirs to modify according to their personal inclinations. They say that they wanted to touch the hearts of the Filipinos by doing that (supposedly) stirring rendition. What it did was the total opposite. See, by doing a new rendition, they alienated those who knew how to sing the original version of the anthem.

The intention is noble, I admit, but it eventually sounds obtuse when they try to defend the action. The anthem is unlike every other song out there that can be reworked/remixed/ruined.

Singing the national anthem in front of a large crowd is an honor, because it is then that the singer represents the nation that's filled with so much pride. When one is given such task, the singer should drop unnecessary showmanship, even for just 53 seconds. It should not be a self-indulgent moment where the singer shows off his or her singing prowess (and lack thereof—yes, the last note was flat, Mr. Nievera). There are a handful of opportunities for such vocal stylistics; just let the national anthem be.