Executive Order No. 99




MALACAÑAN PALACE MANILA BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES [ Executive Order No. 99, June 12, 1993 ] PRESCRIBING GUIDELINES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF THE NATIONAL ANTHEM WHEREAS, the musical arrangement and composition of the Philippine National Anthem as set by its author, Julian Felipe, was adopted under Commonwealth Act No. 382 approved by the First National Assembly on September 5, 1938, which was reiterated in Section 13, Book I of the Administrative Code of 1987; WHEREAS, Commonwealth Act No. 634, approved on June 10, 1941 by the Second National Assembly, amending Commonwealth Act No. 382, imposed a penalty of a fine of not less than twenty five nor more than one thousand pesos, or by imprisonment for not more than one year, for the first offense, and both fine and imprisonment for the second and additional offense, for disrespect to the Philippine National Anthem by utterance in speech, writing or drawing, and any act or omission casting dishonor, ridicule, and contempt upon the Philippine National Anthem as well as its use in places of ill-repute or for purposes involving disrespect; WHEREAS, there is at present a proliferation of inappropriate renditions of the National Anthem with different tempos, melodies, harmonies, embellishments, or syllabication of specific words, and thus, there is a felt need to preserve the arrangement and composition of the Philippine National Anthem as set by its author, Julian Felipe, and to attain uniform performance thereof in the Philippines as a manifestation of national unity, cohesion, nationalism, patriotism, and pride of country and people; and WHEREAS, there is an imperative need to reinforce and expand upon the prescribed rules and guidelines on the performance of the Philippine National Anthem. NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order: Section 1. The performance of the Philippine National Anthem, whether played or sung, shall be in accordance with the musical arrangement and composition of Julian Felipe, as adopted under Commonwealth Act No. 382, and reiterated in Section 13 of Book I of the Administrative Code of 1987, and as made available and distributed by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports. Section 2. Whenever the National Anthem is played at a public gathering, whether by a band or by singing or both, or reproduced through a sound system, the attending public shall be enjoined to sing the National Anthem with feeling and fervor. As a sign of respect, all persons shall be enjoined to stand at attention and face the Philippine flag, if there is one displayed, and at the first note, execute a salute by placing their right palms over their left chests. Those in military, scouting, citizens military training and security guard uniforms shall give the salute prescribed by their regulations. The salute shall be completed upon the last note of the National Anthem. The National Anthem shall not be played and sung for mere recreation, amusement or entertainment purposes. Section 3. All officials and employees of the Government, and any subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations and government institutions of learning are hereby directed to comply strictly with the rules prescribed herein for the performance of the Philippine National Anthem, during the opening or start of all state celebrations or gatherings and during other public acts of official or semi-official character and formal ceremonies of civic nature. All heads of said offices are further directed to circularize this Executive Order within their respective areas of influence. Any official or employee who fails to perform his duties under this Executive Order shall be administratively dealt with in accordance with law. Section 4. The Department of Education, Culture and Sports shall ensure that the National Anthem, as adopted by law, shall be committed to memory by all elementary school pupils, public and private, and performed during the flag ceremony conducted in accordance with the rules and regulations issued by the Department. In addition, it shall make available the vocal, piano or band scores of the National Anthem, as adopted by law, to all private and public schools, as well as the general public and concerned entities. Section 5. The playing of the National Anthem for sign-on and sign-off purposes in radio and television broadcasting shall be the joint responsibility of the Office of the Press Secretary under the Office of the President and the Kagawaran ng mga Brodkasters sa Pilipinas, while that for cinema houses shall be the joint responsibility of the Motion Picture and Television Review and Classification Board and the Movie Producers and Distributors Association of the Philippines.1aшphi1 Section 6. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately. All executive orders, rules and regulations or portions thereof inconsistent with this Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. DONE in the City of Manila, this 12th day of June in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Three. (Sgd.) FIDEL V. RAMOS President of the Philippines By the President: (Sgd.) ANTONIO T. CARPIO Chief Presidential Legal Counsel The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation