Singing of Philippine National Anthem during Manny Pacquaio's bouts

I know that the NHI has been talking about the proper way to sing the lupang hinirang in our country...it's but normal for them to deal with this because it is their job to preserve the original version of our well respected national anthem. I understand their predicament regarding this issue and I totally respect if they file cases on several artists who sang our lupang hinirang in accordance to their own version of it. No offense intended to the very talented artists who sang the lupang hinirang during the Manny Pacquiao fight, I love your own renditions of our national anthem but I just do hope you guys would respect the originality of our lupang hinirang in which was intended and made to be sang only the exact way that Julian Felipo had done it. Besides it is our national anthem and a reflection of our country's history so it can never be altered and sang in any different way possible...somehow it is more powerful if it is never altered in its own way. For the singers who have sang the national anthem and the NHI didn't like it because somehow it was altered...i do understand their point of view as artists who expresses his/her feelings in different ways possible. I totally respect your artistic expression in your manner of singing but at the same time...as a true filipino individual who is true to his country's history...i do hope that next time you sing the lupang hinirang try to research on how to sing it properly in accordance to the standards of our country. I do respect both parties and hopefully there will never be another problems in singing our lupang hinirang.

Yeah that is being watch every time our national anthem is sang over Manny Pacquiao's fight. I really do not know if it is the same in other countries. As for US I guess they can always alter the original tone, melody and other things they do not have laws like ours that protect the original tone of the song. Let us just wait what would be the outcome of the cases they filed against this artist. You know justice system works in here, I have seen them saying they will file cases against these artists but I do not know how the cases are going on.

hi there Enslin Porter, Arnel Pineda's version was better than martin, personally I dont really like the way martin sang the national anthem, the original tune was really ruined. For arnel penada, he is better than martin, thought he made some changes but the tone is still there, haller its not easy to sing in front of many people.. Once an for all if what agency is against the singer on how they sing the national anthem I suggest they should audition anyone who sings.. thanks and happy mylotting..

That's why they are called artists. They want to be creative and unique. I really don't like the rendition of arnel pineda.He got lots of flat notes.I was wondering if the NHI is just doing it just to earn money.LOL.just expressin'.

Maybe because they just want to brag how good they are as singers. But still there are limits to everything. I think the NHI is already too tired of reminding these singers not to violate the rules in singing the national anthem. The thing is that we have a law regarding that and we SHOULD follow it. Yes, they may say that their style in singing is their artistic freedom but like what I said, we still SHOULD follow the law. You can be creative in your singing by not overdoing a song - by not murdering it. Instead of being proud for our national anthem being sung in front of the whole world, we would feel ashame because it has been overdone.

The artist who happen to sing at Paquiao's fight never intended to make mistakes and I think they were always carried away by outpouring emotion of how proud they are which leads them to sang it incorrectly.

Yes, many singers have been doing it as if they are in a competition of singing the highest note at the end of the national anthem. Maybe because they have not seen someone being imprisoned for having sang the national anthem not in accordance with the law.Or maybe, this is just one of the laws that has problems in implementation. Or maybe we are just hard headed people that will not abide by the law unless we hear reports that someone has been apprehended for not following the law. As a solution to that, singers should consult the NHI before singing the national anthem in public gatherings. By the way,that was a funny youtube video.

Why do singers can't sing 'Lupang Hinirang' in a typical, traditional way. Isn't that hard enough?

They would always like to choose a well known artist or singer to sing our National Anthem and yet they keep on making mistake on the song. Why not choose some one who really knows how to sing the song. Mistakes would just keep on repeating until they choose the right person to sing, or maybe train this artist first before they allow them to sing in front of people around the world. This is just an embarrassment not just for the country but for themselves also. Didn't they practice before they sing? Next singer, should practice and listen to the original version before singing in front so they would avoid committing mistake. If every artist would just say sorry, and the people would just accept them, then nothing will change. Things will just happen over and over again.

I don't know what they making it a big issue even if some singers who sang the National Anthem of the US don't sing it very well. We have many issues here in our countries why they making it a big deal. If I were to him why not they are the one who going to sing it in the fight of Manny Pacquiao so they would not complaining.

I personally find those artists who try to validate and rationalize the way they make their own rendition to the 'Lupang Hinirang' by saying that they only sang the Philippine national anthem just as their patriotism and national pride dictated to them. Just a thought, if they really are proud of being a Filipino should they change the way the Lupang Hinirang is composed and how it's supposed to be sang? Is the martial tune of the Lupang Hinirang too passe or old fashioned to please the foreign ears? I just wonder if these artists are singing the national anthem the way they did just to fit in the popular culture. Pardon me, bu the Philippine national anthem is not something that can be categorized into cultures that are fit for music. The Lupang Hinirang is not just a patented SONG but a 'registered trademark' of the Filipinos.

My take on this issue is sing is as it is - whether those singers like it or not - there is a law covering this one. I was part of a choir and we sing it as it is. Singers seems to do the "birit" way - singing it too elaborately or forget the lyrics altogether. There is no doubt that we are proud of the honors it brings but it sort of "destroyed" the song in the process. We seem to imitate the Americans on how they sing their anthem.

Patriotism cannot be described by singing the exact tune of national anthem, for me being patriot to the country is how you love and respect your country men.why the hell NHI focus on the tune of the National Anthem and not the message on it.Do they mean singing national anthem should always in exact tune, what happen to our fellow country men who has no talent of exact tuning do they are not consider a patriot? Do their teacher condemn them in their school to sing the national anthem because they cannot sing the exact tune of the national anthem? I think NHI should focus on how the singer sing the national anthem not on the tune.do you know what I mean?

i don't really hate these singers for singing the Lupang Hinirang in their own version..i'm so proud of the fact that our national anthem is being heared all over the world so i can forgive them for that..of all the "tragedies" when it comes to singing the national anthem before boxing bouts, i was so horrified by Christian Bautista's case, its not a Pacquiao fight though, its just a small fight held in Waterfront Cebu but GOSH, he didn't only change the tune, he CUT it short..like he jumped from singing the middle lines to "ang mamatay ng dahil sa 'yo" and i was like "what the F.." i hated him for that..i'm not really nationalistic but he really looked like a fool on that one

I don't know this mistake keeps on repeating. Almost all singers who sang "Lupang Hinirang" in all Manny Pacquaio's bouts always ended up in controversy. But why such frequent mistakes?why seemed not prepared for such rendition? I guess, the next time they will sing the national anthem, they should consult first the national historical institute and let them correct the tune to avoid mistakes and controversies the next time around. I must agree that national anthem, under executive order no.8491, must be sang according to the original tune and lyrics as per composition of Julian Felipe. So if somebody sang it differently, it is really a serious offense.

It's a matter of choice between artistry and obeying the law, and there were lots of times laws are trounced for the sake of the "freedom of expression". Personally, on the singing of the national anthem, I cling a little bit more to artistry. I don't see anything wrong in rendering the anthem in different tempo or note. However, if this will be followed, the singers should make it a point to sing the song nationalistically and beautifully. Or else, the existing law should be fully implemented. My disappointment is that, most of the so called "artistic" renditions are not artistic at all. Take Arnel Pineda's singing. Oh gosh!!! What's the point in belting the last lines too high in a flat note! (Try to hear his version again.) And his tempo after the first stanza - he's unsure if he should follow the original marching cadence or what. Alanganin talaga! But it's not only Arnel who blundered. Take the cases of Josephine Bautista and Geneva Cruz who could have sung the anthem beautifully if they did not insist on incorporating their creativity. Other versions (e.g. Sarah G., Charice P.) are either too slow or too melodious that the patriotic sound of the song was lost. If there's a problem with artistic rendition, more so on the implementation of the law. What has NHI have done so far with all the blunders they are calling. They are praising one rendition of Lea Salonga (yes, I do agree that Lea has a very simple and yet very good rendition of the anthem) but they seem to forgot that it's Lea who actually started incorporating some changes in the singing of our anthem. The NHI wanted to penalize Martin Nievera, but what have they accomplished so far? And one basic question that NHI have to answer, do they have jurisdiction if the aberrant singing is done in other country? The point is, if NHI really wanted "legal" rendition of the anthem,they should start applying the law and apply it strictly. And if they claim that they can't impose the law, well, it's about time the law has to be modified.

The national anthem is a boring song if you follow its beat according to how Julian Felipe composed the song. Singing it alone sounds even more boring not unless you have musical accompaniment. I can't blame artists for coming up with their own rendition not because they want to break the rule but as artists it's their shot at giving the world an impression of their personal capability as singers. They could be hiding in the guise of being patriotic but we can't deny the fact the need attention too. It's a once in a lifetime chance, so they try to make a lasting impression. A mediocre performance is not acceptable since people forget about it as soon as singer is through singing the song. On the other hand, i can't blame the NHI for raising a howl, the national anthem is the national anthem and if it's in the law that that's how it should be sang then it should be followed. If artists wants to burst an artery to impress people of their singing prowess then they should look for other songs that are more fitting. maybe it's about time that ring singers are given the chance to sing two songs before the fight. Its the only way that they're going to sing the national anthem the right way and they can do what ever they want with other song.

I don't see what is wrong with it. Songs can be sang in a slightly different tune. We can be really sing it the way we can sing it and not try to follow the original singer :)