Correct errors about our flag
Gemma Cruz Araneta is one of the happy recipients of the good news bulletin straight out of the office of the President; the latest was about Flag Day, 28 May, which called all citizens to display the Philippine flag respectfully and proudly.
On AM radio stations, there were historical tidbits about the three patriotic ladies who sewed the first Philippine flag in Hong Kong, in March, 1898, at the request of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. Field reporters interviewed people and the consensus was that, the national emblem should always be on display to remind us of lives sacrificed in the struggle against colonialism.
Unwittingly, other broadcasters and local government officials perpetuated an error committed during the centennial (1996-1998) when a set of flags made up of ten battle standards of generals of the Katipunan and the Philippine Revolution were labeled “Evolution of the Philippine Flag.” It is about time the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (formerly National Historical Institute) rectify that error.
While we’re at it, the Commission should once and for all illuminate certain historical blind spots that concern the Philippine flag. For example, it would be good if Filipinos were to be reminded that in 1907, the American colonial government passed a Flag Law that strictly prohibited the display of our beloved flag anywhere in this archipelago, as well as the playing and singing of the National Anthem. That was bad news indeed; I can only imagine how my great-grandparents, children of the Revolution and First Republic, must have felt.
Some years ago, the House of Representatives, then led by Speaker Jose de Venecia, coopted as its foundation day the anniversary of that American creation called the 1907 Philippine Assembly.
Mr. De Venecia ignored the fact that the hottest issue then was immediate independence, the battle cry of most of those who ran and won a seat. During riotous victory parties, the Philippine Flag was unfurled and waved jubilantly, to the chagrin of American colonial authorities.
As a result, the Philippine Flag was proscribed the very next day by a harsh Flag Law. However, many Filipinos particularly those in the performing arts, defied that undemocratic ban in audacious and creative ways, suffering arrest and imprisonment. The law was finally lifted in 1919.
That is the flag story that no Filipino should be allowed to forget so I hope next year the President’s Office includes it in the Good News bulletin.
Source: Manila Bulletin
0 comments:
Post a Comment