The National Historical Commission of the Philippines on Tuesday, April 28, expressed concern over a viral short-form video showing partygoers singing the Philippine National Anthem in a loud and rowdy manner during what appeared to be an outdoor rave.
The video circulated over the weekend also showed a remix version of “Lupang Hinirang,” drawing criticisms online.
“Hindi namatay ang mga bayani para sa ganto. Have some decency and pride on what they fought for,” a Threads user wrote.
“Kailan pa naging ‘party song’ ang National anthem???” Klasik Titos and Titas of Manila’s page asked.
“My issue is not that the National Anthem was remixed. Rather, it’s that it was treated as entertainment when it shouldn’t be.
“But to everyone saying this should be reported, etc.: RA8491 is a poorly written law and Section 37 (where it says we have to play it the way Julián Felipe composed it) should be repealed.
A National Anthem dance remix can be made reverent. The State has no business dictating to us how we should show our patriotism,” the Threads user added.
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Following the circulation of the video, the NHCP said it had received numerous complaints over the weekend, noting that the video may have been taken in the United States around December 2025.
The agency, however, said it is constrained from taking legal action.
“Considering that Philippine domestic laws cannot be applied extraterritorially, we are technically constrained from taking appropriate legal action on the incident,” the NHCP said.
It reminded overseas Filipinos that national symbols are protected under Republic Act No. 8491, or the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines, which requires that the anthem be performed according to its official arrangement and not for entertainment purposes.
“Sections 37 and 38 of RA 8491 in particular states that the National Anthem (1) ‘𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘍𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘦” and (2) “𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴,'” it wrote.
The commission added that while expressions of patriotism may be well-intentioned, these must be exercised “with discretion and circumspection,” and in line with existing laws and cultural sensitivity.
—With Rosette Adel and John Marwin Elao