PHILIPPINE national anthem

The Philippine National Anthem was composed by Julian Felipe, a Filipino music teacher and composer of Cavite. He completed it on June 11, 1898, and showed it to General Aguinaldo, who right away liked it because of its inspiring melody. The following day the music band of San Francisco de Malabon performed it for the first time during the unfolding of the Filipino flag at Kawit during the Independence Day ceremony.

For more than a year the anthem remained without words. Towards the end of August of 1899, a young poet-soldier named Jose Palma wrote the poem entitled Filipinas. This poem expressed in elegant Spanish verses the devoted patriotism and fighting spirit of the Filipino people. It became the words of the anthem and today the anthem is sung in Pilipino, its official lyrics interpreted by Felipe de Leon, from the original Spanish lyrics in the early 1900s. There are also English translations, thought by many to be inaccurate, due to the fact that some English versions were translated from the Tagalog version, and other English versions were translated from the original Spanish. One version was translated by Camilo Osias and A. L. Lane.



"Lupang Hinirang"
Composed by Julian Felipe on June 12, 1898

Bayang magiliw, perlas ng silanganan.
Alab ng puso, sa dibdib mo'y buhay.
Lupang hinirang, duyan ka ng magiting
Sa manlulupig, di ka pasisiil.

Sa dagat at bundok, sa simoy at
sa langit mong bughaw,
may dilag ang tula at awit
sa paglayang minamahal.

Ang kislap ng watawat mo'y
tagumpay na nagniningning.
Ang bituin at araw niya
kailan pa may di magdidilim.

Lupa ng araw, ng lualhati't pagsinta,
buhay ay langit sa piling mo.
Aming ligaya na pag may mang-aapi,
ang mamatay ng dahil sa iyo.

Philippine Hymn
(English Version)
By Camilo Osias and A. L. Lang

> Land of the morning
Child of the sun returning
With fervor burning
Thee do our souls adore.

Land dear and holy,
Cradle of noble heroes,
Ne'er shall invaders
Trample thy sacred shores.

Ever within thy skies and through thy clouds
And o'er thy hills and seas;
Do we behold thy radiance, feel the throb
Of glorious liberty.

Thy banner dear to all hearts
Its sun and stars alight,
Oh, never shall its shining fields
Be dimmed by tyrant's might.

Beautiful land of love, O land of light,
In thine embrace 'tis rapture to lie;
But it is glory ever, when thou art wronged
For us, thy sons to suffer and die

Filipinas
(Spanish Version)
Por Jose Palma

Tierra adorada
Hija de sol Oriente,
Su fuego ardiente
En ti latiendo esta.

Patria de amores!
Del heroismo cuna,
Los invadores
No te hallaran jamas.

En tu azul cielo, en tus auras,
En tus montes y en tu mar
Esplende y late el poema
De tu amada libertad.

Tu pabellon, que en las lides
La victoria ilumino,
No vera nunca apagados
Sus estrellas y su sol.

Tierra de dichas, de sol y de amores,
En tu regazo dulce es vivir;
Es una gloria para tus hijos,
Cuando te ofenden por ti morir.

On June 12, Independence Day, 1996, Executive Order No. 343 was issued. This Executive Order approves Panunumpa ng Katapatan sa Watawat as the official pledge of allegiance to the Philippine National Flag. This pledge is recited after both the National Anthem and the Patriotic Pledge (Panatang Makabayan) at flag ceremonies. Below is the pledge in Filipino and the English translation.