The New Philippine Flag Law: Unconstitutional?

Congress last week, approved House Bill 6424 which amends Republic Act 8492 known as the “Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines” according to a newspaper report.

While this bill aims to strengthen respect to the Philippine flag in response to the many “blunders” made by celebrities in the singing of the National Anthem, the bill may suffer from unconstitutionality as it contains a provision which directly oppose a previous judicial pronouncement of the Philippine Supreme Court.

HB 6424, according to this report, provides that “Persons with religious beliefs prohibiting them from making pledge to the flag will also no longer be exempted from showing full respect for the flag and will be asked to stand at attention”.

On its face this may look innocent. But the phrase “showing full respect to the flag” is pregnant with meaning.

More than 30 years ago, the Supreme Court in the case of “Ebranilag v. The Division Superintendent of Schools of Cebu” already ruled that students, who were members of the religious sect Jehovah’s Witnesses, cannot be compelled to salute the flag and to sing the Philippine National Anthem as this would violate their right to Freedom of Religion.

The Supreme Court in this case said “The idea that one may be compelled to salute the flag, sing the national anthem, and recite the patriotic pledge, during a flag ceremony on pain of being dismissed from one’s job or of being expelled from school, is alien to the conscience of the present generation of Filipinos who cut their teeth on the Bill of Rights which guarantees their rights to free speech”.

Religious freedom, according to the Supreme Court is “a fundamental right which is entitled to the highest priority and the amplest protection among human rights, for it involves the relationship of man to his creator”. And that the only justification for its limitations would be the existence of grave and present danger.

Since the students in the case above, did not engage in any disruptive behavior, there was no grave and present danger to justify them to be expelled from school for not participating the singing of the national anthem.

But now, it seems that HB 6424 is seeking to “overturn” this judicial decision in violation of the doctrine of separation of powers, by compelling persons with religious beliefs mentioned above to “show full respect to the flag” whatever that means.

This seems bad news for the members of any religious sect, the Jehovah’s Witnesses in particular, whose religious beliefs consider “singing” the National Anthem or “any act” “showing full respect to the flag” as idolatry.