Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s introduction of a compulsory flag pledge has ignited a controversy in the country, with some supporting the move to help forge national unity and others arguing it would infringe on individual freedoms and has dubious links to the Japanese occupation era.
The new pledge and hymn called Bagong Pilipinas, or New Philippines, will be recited during weekly flag-raising ceremonies in schools and government agencies, according to a presidential memorandum dated June 4 and released on Saturday.
The memorandum said the pledge characterised a “principled, accountable and dependable government, reinforced by unified institutions of society”.
Marcos Jnr has previously called Bagong Pilipinas his “administration’s brand of governance and leadership”.
Political risk analyst Victor “Dindo” Manhit said there was no reason to oppose the requirement for government employees and students in state schools to recite the pledge.
Manhit, the founder and managing director of advisory and research consultancy group Stratbase, told ABS-CBN News Network on Monday that Bagong Pilipinas underscored Manila’s expectations for the public sector to be “accountable” and “principled”.
“I believe it is within the right of the government to define it for those who work [for it],” Manhit said.
Civil libertarians, however, oppose the pledge with former Far Eastern University law dean Mel Sta. Maria lambasting it on social media as “coercive”, “constitutionally repugnant” and “polarising”.
He said only congress could mandate such a move through Republic Act 8491, the law covering the proper use and display of national symbols.
Citing the memorandum, Sta. Maria pointed out that anyone who refused to recite the pledge could be fined up to 20,000 Philippine pesos (US$340) or jailed for up to one year.
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The pledge would apparently require Filipinos to support Marcos Jnr’s social and economic measures without questioning their merit, he said.
Citing the example of the Maharlika Investment Fund Act, under which state banks and government-run corporations would finance the sovereign investment fund, Sta. Maria asked about the potential repercussions faced by an academic who considered the regulation a conduit to “possible massive corruption”.
“If he will be reprimanded, this is a violation of his academic freedom,” he said.
Former congressman Barry Gutierrez agreed that the “ridiculous” pledge was a violation of Republic Act 8491.
Historian Ricardo Jose told This Week in Asia that Bagong Pilipinas was previously used by the Japanese authorities when they occupied the Philippines during World War II.
The Japanese aimed to convince Filipinos through the slogan that they were “different” from the previous American colonial government, said Jose, a professor emeritus of history at the University of the Philippines.
In a 2001 paper written for Sofia University in Japan, Jose traced the origin of Bagong Pilipinas to an association formed by the Japanese called Kapisanan sa Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas (Kalibapi), or Association for Service to the New Philippines.
The aim of Kalibapi was to root out “disunity” and “factionalism” in the Philippines, according to the paper.
Similarly, Marcos Jnr and his government wanted to eliminate “toxic politics” and unite Filipinos by introducing Bagong Pilipinas without realising its dark origins to the Japanese occupation, Jose said.
“Just a sign that history is not taught well and that [the Japanese] occupation in particular is not taught in schools now. It sounded good to them but I think they did not realise that that phrase was used during the Japanese occupation.”
