NO one imposed on the leadership of the House of Representatives to abide by Malacañang’s order for government agencies to recite the “Bagong Pilipinas” hymn and pledge, Secretary General Reginald Velasco said yesterday.
Velasco said the House’s order for employees to recite the hymn and pledge during its monthly flag-raising ceremony is solely the decision of the House leadership.
“Well, we have decided, we will make it (Bagong Pilipinas pledge and hymn) a regular feature of our flag ceremony because we share the same values, the same objectives, the same goals in the case of the House of Representatives,” Velasco told reporters after the Bagong Pilipinas pledge and hymn were recited for the first time at the House.
“So, nobody imposed this to us but it was the decision of the House of Representatives to adopt both the hymn and the pledge of the Bagong Pilipinas,” he said.
Velasco, in a memorandum dated June 26, said the Marcos Jr. administration’s new campaign “aims to empower Filipinos to actively support and participate in comprehensive government initiatives, fostering profound fundamental social and economic transformation across all sectors of society and government.”
The Palace last month directed all government agencies, including state universities and colleges (SUCs), government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCSs) and local government units (LGUs) “to instill the principles of the Marcos administration among Filipinos.”
Senate President Francis Escudero earlier said the Palace directive applies only to the Executive branch. He said the Senate, the House, Supreme Court, and other constitutional commissions are not required to follow the order.
Escudero, however, said last Sunday that he does not see any problem in including the hymn and pledge in the flag ceremony “but we are still in the process of having it studied by the Secretariat.”
Bagong Pilipinas is the brand of governance and leadership launched by President Marcos Jr. in 2023. It is characterized by a principled, accountable and dependable government, reinforced by unified institutions of society and envisioned to empower Filipinos to support and participate in all government efforts in an all-inclusive plan towards deep and fundamental social and economic transformation in all sectors of society and government;
The directive is the gist of Memorandum Circular 52 signed on June 4 by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.
Section 18 of Republic Act (RA) No. 8491, or the “Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines,” directs all government offices, including LGUs, to conduct a flag raising ceremony every Monday morning and flag lowering ceremony every Friday afternoon.
