Pilipinas Kong Mahal

Ang bayan ko'y tanging ikaw

Pilipinas kong mahal

Ang puso ko at buhay man

Sa iyo'y ibibigay

Tungkulin kong gagampanan

Na lagi kang paglingkuran

Ang laya mo'y babantayan

Pilipinas kong hirang

My classmates and I used to sing this back in elementary during our flag ceremony. We sang this 5 times a week every morning for 6 years. At first, I was in Grade 1 then, I just sang this out of routine because it was a must that we memorized it. It was only in 1987, I was in Grade 6, that the entirety of its meaning had dawned on me.

The EDSA Revolution occurred in 1986 and I was just 11 years old at that time. I was merely a child and couldn't understand what was really happening to our country back then. After a year however, I was a bit curious of what was going on. Little by little as the years come by and celebrations after celebrations happened, I began to understand what it meant to be a Filipino and the significance of the song we sang every flag raising/retreat ceremony. I would say I have become nationalistic in my own way. I became interested in the news, not simply watching the current events being reported but "looking after" the welfare or state of my country. In addition, I would always set a time to pray for the Philippines, knowing and believing that it is only the Lord who can guard, protect and bless my beloved nation.

Now that I am a mom, I still have that love for my country and I would like to impart that to my daughter in ways that she will understand. It could be as simple as standing straight and putting the right hand to the chest when we hear the national anthem being played. It may not be that radical but I believe that will do for now.

How about you, fellow mom? In what other ways would you like to demonstrate/teach your little ones the love for our country? I would love to hear from you.