Different government agencies and military personnel attend the flag-raising ceremony at Rizal Park in celebration of National Flag Day on May 28, 2024.MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang has ordered all national government agencies and instrumentalities to include the recital of the Bagong Pilipinas hymn and pledge in their weekly flag ceremonies – a move reminiscent of a similar requirement to sing the Bagong Lipunan anthem during martial law.
The memorandum directed all national government agencies and instrumentalities and encouraged local governments to “integrate the recital of the Bagong Pilipinas hymn and pledge in the conduct of weekly flag ceremonies, subject to existing laws and rules and regulations.” It aims “to further instill the principles of the Bagong Pilipinas brand of governance and leadership among Filipinos.”
A similar directive was issued during the time of the President’s late father and namesake Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who put forward a vision for a “new society” or bagong lipunan. “To those whose overheated imagination has been poisoned by toxic politics, Bagong Plipinas is no Trojan horse. It conceals no agenda. It is a program of many workhorses driven by the love of country,” the President said.
“It is yet another way to deodorize the Marcos name brand and revise history. We should just stick with the Lupang Hinirang and Panatang Makabayan,” she said.