Martin and the Lupang Hinirang

As I'm writing this, the Concert King, my greatest musical influence, Martin Ramon Razon-Nievera is under fire for his performance in Manny's last fight. They said that Martin sang the Lupang Hinirang wrongly. According to The National Historical Institute (NHI), "...the Philippine National Anthem should be sang like a marching song. And based on Republic Act 8491, Sec. 37: The rendition of the national anthem, whether played or sung, shall be in accordance with the musical arrangement and composition of Julian Felipe."

For his part, Martin said he will not apologize: "I have never had to explain a song so much, but obviously this needs to be explained for those who didn’t like it. And even after all of this explaining, they still won’t. It's gonna be hard for me to apologize for something that I am not sorry for. I did not ask to do the anthem. Manny Pacquiao himself asked me to sing the national anthem. It was my honor to be blessed with this awesome responsibility and I have no one to apologize to becaue Manny asked me to sing this song. Obviously, he wants me to sing it the way I would sing it. I didn't change any of the notes. I did not make R&B. I interpreted the song the way understood it. From the deepest part of my hear, I sang for my country."

Martin continued, "I was told many times by many ... most especially by Manny Pacquiao ... not to sing it slow. They wanted me to sing it like a march, the way it was written. Even the politicians I consulted the day before the fight said I should not sing it like an R&B ballad. So at the last minute I had an arranger do a simple, ethnic-inspired minus one that begins slow, because I believe one needs to walk before he marches ... The crowd ... cheered when the tempo picked up.”

“I have watched many of Manny’s fights, and whenever the national anthem is sung, I could never hear the most important line, ‘Ang mamatay nang dahil sa ’yo (To die for you)!’ So I elected to end the song big, the better to be heard over the usual screams and boos, and ... get the final message of the song across... It's not a crime to try to inspire a nation—which was all I tried to do. I sang it like it was the last song I would ever sing. I wanted to make my country proud and believed that if I could contribute to the inspiration factor by delivering the song properly, then my job was done.”

I totally agree with Martin, and not just because he's my idol. He did not destroy nor change the song. In fact, a lot were inspired by his version. And if you really listen to it, he did sing the song in a marching beat, in my opinion, in accordance with how Mr. Felipe arranged it in 1898. Yes, he started the song slow, and ended it with a sustained final note, but to me, that just added to the impact of the song. His version is one of the most beautiful versions I've ever heard.

If the NHI is so concerned with the correct version of the song, they should have released the perfect version and distributed it worldwide for everyone to know. They should educate everyone about it, and other things that their agency is concerned about. They should be proactive in educating the people, not just reacting every time something happens. I only hear about the NHI every time the Lupang Hinirang is sang publicly. Whenever there is an event (most of the time, Pacquiao's fights), they always come out after to criticize the singers of the Lupang Hinirang for singing the song "wrongly."

I stand by Martin and his rendition. If the NHI wants to punish him for "breaking the law," they should also punish everyone else for incorrectly singing the song. In my pre-school, elementary and high school years, we always sang the national anthem everyday, except rainy days, and never do I remember the song sung in a marching (the "correct") beat. It has been 12 years
since I graduated from high school, but I don't think the singing of the song in schools has changed.

People are just so inconsistent.