Mr. Martin Nievera might face prosecution, initiated by the National Historical Institute (NHI) for violating the Flag and Heraldic Code, or Republic Act 8491. He did this when he sang the National Anthem ?Lupang Hinirang? at the Pacquiao-Hatton fight on May 2.
Ryan Cayabyab is right. If Mr. Nievera had listened to his advice not to fool around with our National Anthem, he would not get into trouble. The Inquirer reported that despite Mr. Cayabyab?s advice, Mr. Nievera said he would go through with his plan because he would be ?doing it for the country.?
Mr. Cayabyab not only told Mr. Nievera that singing his planned rendition would violate the law, it would also not do right by the millions of Filipinos who would be singing along. The Inquirer report quoted Mr. Cayabyab telling Mr. Nievera, ?Martin, papatayin ka ng tao. Huwag mong papalitan yung huling part kasi delikado ka. [Martin, the public will kill you for that. Don?t change the last part or you?ll be in trouble].?
What did Martin Nievera do actually?
He sang the opening lines slowly like a ballad and repeated the lines in the manner of romantic crooners. Then he changed the notes and the pitch of the final lines, belting out high notes. And the tempo was not at all the march that Julian Felipe?s composition should be by tradition?and according to law.
What the law requires
Republic Act 8491?s Section 20 states: ?The rendition of the flag ceremony in official or civic gatherings shall be simple and dignified and shall include the playing or singing of the anthem in its original Filipino lyrics and march tempo.?
Section 37 states: ?The rendition of the National Anthem, whether played or sung, shall be in accordance with the musical arrangement and composition of Julian Felipe.?
The law prescribes punishment for a violator of a fine of at least P20,000, or imprisonment of not more than one year.
Mr. Nievera flouted the law.
He should be prosecuted. And, according to reports, the National Historical Institute is preparing to charge him.
ABS-CBN reported on Wednesday that the NHI, whose head is the historian Ambeth Ocampo, complained about Mr. Nievera?s rendition. The report quoted Mr. Teddy Atienza, head of the NHI?s Heraldry Section, saying, that a case could be filed against Mr. Nievera and that they at the NHI are studying the matter and completing the evidence. But he also expressed his hope that, as in the case of other singers who took liberties with the anthem, the matter now also ends with a dialogue (?pinag-usapan lang.?)
But Mr. Nievera appears to have also committed an abuse in the use of the NHI seal. In the video presentation, at the end of his rendition the NHI seal was flashed to show that the performance had the government agency?s approval.
The provincial board of Cebu, however, the ABS-CBN report said, passed a resolution on Monday condemning Martin Nievera?s ?Lupang Hinirang? rendition. The board said the singer violated Republic Act 8491 ?by ?murdering? the National Anthem.?
In his defense, Mr. Nievera said he sang not at a flag ceremony but in the Pacquiao fight. He also claimed as a creative artist in the world of music ?freedom of interpretation.? He found a defender in AKBAYAN party-list Rep. Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel, who urged that the law be amended to allow varied artistic renditions of the national hymn as long as these stir nationalism and pride in the Philippines. She thought Mr. Nievera?s rendition was ?very artistic.?
Majority critical of the rendition
From all over the world, most of those who saw and heard Mr. Nievera and wrote comments to newspapers and Internet blogs were appalled.
The greatest protests are about Mr. Nievera?s effort to make our National Anthem a pop song. These complainants?as the editors of this paper?want the anthem to be sung and rendered the way Julian Felipe wrote it, which is the way most Filipinos know how to sing it.
Some complaints attacked Mr. Nievera with the accusation that perhaps he was using the event, witnessed by millions including record label talent scouts, to advertise his abilities as an American-style singer.
Some noted that this fiasco is not going to help Mr. Nievera?s career as a singer because while he changed the notes and pitch of the anthem, the Filipinos continued to sing ?Lupang Hinirang? the proper way. So Mr. Nievera sounded out of tune!
Others bitterly question why people like Mr. Nievera are asked to sing our anthem at important events. They say there are superb traditional singers in a goodly number of schools and church choirs. They may not be famous and made glamorous by TV exposure. But they do a great job of singing our national hymn?and will never do the horrible desecration that Mr. Nievera and his ilk have done to satisfy their ego.
