Don't just play it, sing it

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus should be commended for his recent order to school officials to require students and pupils to sing the Philippine National Anthem at flag rites. At the same time, Lapus banned the practice of using “canned” versions of the anthem during the ceremonies. The secretary was referring to the recent practice of playing a tape recording of the national song instead of having the students and teachers sing it themselves.

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Perhaps Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno will come to the same thinking as Lapus. I have noticed that during official functions where the anthem is supposed to be sang, some government officials do not bother to sing, or are doing something else, which is a sign of disrespect for the country and its Flag. I do observe officials at such activities, you see. I doubt, too, if all of them can memorize it. But they should, if only to give a good example to young people.

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Recently, a big to-do was made over the radio and TV, and even in print media because a popular Filipino singer who was given the honor of singing the anthem at an international boxing event, could not memorize it and skipped several lines towards the end. It appalled the Pinoys who had come from various states just to watch the bout. During my trips abroad, I have noted that our countrymen in other countries, always get sentimental when they hear their country's National Anthem being sang. I confess I also get homesick when I do.

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So I hope school officials will comply strictly with the new order of Lapus. The guy seems to be getting into the groove as far as the administration of the Education Department is concerned. I hope it is not true that the President is thinking of replacing him (again) with former senator and defeated candidate in the last election, Teresa Aquino Oreta. She may be the sister of Ninoy and the aunt of Kris, but a high ranking government official who would dance a jig just because her group was able to thwart the opening of an envelope suspected to contain incriminating evidence, may not be the best role model for the young.

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Compared with what's happening in Kenya , our complaints about election cheating and the resulting feuds and, yes, even killings, are relatively tamer. Already about 700 people have died in the post election conflicts that resulted after the incumbent, Mwai Kibaki declared himself the winner and took his oath, while opposition leader Raila Odinga and his rabid supporters refuse to concede or recognize him. The two groups are still locked in deadly encounters, and no attempt of neighboring rulers to mediate has so far succeeded. And the street demonstrations and killings go on.

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Now, isn't Kenya the land of Barack Obama's immediate ancestors? What is he doing to help bring peace to the land of his grandparents' birth, and where they are still living? Reports say that, aside from human bloodshed, the country's economy is also bleeding because its tourism industry, on which it relies so much, has come to a standstill. The latest statistics say that 90 percent of tourist's reservations have been cancelled and this means a loss of about $1 billion already. Well, maybe Obama will prioritize aid to Kenya if he is able to beat Hillary and get the U.S. presidency.

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Trust it to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez to say just the thing to antagonize foreigners trying to do something for our country. Remember that United Nations observer, Philip Alston whom he had described with very demeaning words? Now that the internationally respected Committee to Protect Journalists has tried to help local media people by asking him to withdraw his very unpopular advisory, how does he respond? In a TV interview yesterday, he was heard saying, “Tell them to jump in the lake”.

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Abolish the pork barrel? Who would fight, struggle even kill to get to Congress without it? Only a handful, you can be sure. Former Senate president Frank Drilon is crying for the moon when he advocates for the removal of that privilege his former colleagues had arrogated unto themselves. But he is right, the billions of pesos our solons pocket every year to spend at their own discretion could have built thousands of schools, hundreds of hospitals and miles and miles of roads and highways, not just used to stroke their egos, buy patronage, and get themselves re-elected, to pocket more millions of the taxes we pay.*

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