How to Sing the National Anthem

Comes now a new controversy over Martin Nievera's singing of the National Anthem at the Pacquiao fight.



Of course, there's an obscure law that mandates the singing a certain way - but don't we have more important things to worry about? Do we really need to get our already overburdened courts involved in something as trivial as this?

Amando Doronila says it's a reflection of the "people’s ultrasensitivity to nationalistic issues." The "anthem is march music borne out of a revolutionary struggle," he says, and "singers who fail to capture this rhythm are isolated and are out of step with history."

It's interesting how some people (only a few like Mr. Doronila) can get worked up over something like this. Is it crab mentality? Is it ka-OA-yan? Or is it really a called-for defense of nationalism and patriotism.

If you ask us, we think it's really much ado over not so much.

You can like Martin Nievera's version or you may hate it. But that's that. In the end, Pacquiao won, everyone was happy and nothing about the singing of the National Anthem did anything to increase or decrease the value of the victory.

At the most, we would agree with Ambeth Ocampo who was the first to criticize Nievera's version (perfectly within his right and qualifications as Chair of the National Historical Institute), and who says that the "Nievera episode is also a way for us to reflect on both flag and anthem, to rethink the law and seek revisions or amendments if necessary."

Now that's a level-headed response. Let's keep it at that and move on.

Mayweather awaits!