Flagged Down

When my neighbor displays the Philippine flag the wrong way, should I blame him for his ignorance when Malacañan officials themselves make the same mistake?

Much to its acute embarrassment, the Office of the President projected a country at war when it displayed in its website the Philippine Flag with the red field on top.

The “bright idea” was to comply with Section 26 of Republic Act No. 8491, known as the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines, requiring all offices, agencies and instrumentalities of government, business establishments, institutions of learning and private homes to display the flag from May 28 to June 12 of each year, known as Flag Days.

In so doing, it violated Section 10 of the Code, which states that … the blue field should be on top in time of peace the red field on top in time of war …

This is how the website appeared as captured via a screen shot and reported by GMA News Online:

The Philippines appears to be the only country wherein an inverted flag signals a state of war. For many countries, including the UK and the U.S., a flag flown upside down indicates a state of distress.

It was not the sole violation, although it was the most glaring.

Section 34 likewise prohibits display of the flag (1) under any painting or picture (in this instance, it is displayed under the Seal of the President, ergo projecting Pnoy as greater than the country he leads) and (f) to add any word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawings, advertisements, or imprints of any nature on the flag (in this instance the headline: National Flag Day May 28 – June 12).

What were they thinking?

When it comes to good intentions, I cannot fault whoever executed and approved the lay-out and design. But good intentions, as well as ignorance of the law, is a tralalala that got hushed and conveniently got swept, albeit quickly, under the rug.

Communication Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., in an interview with GMA News Online, took responsibility for the foul up “so as not to unduly affect the young employee who made an honest mistake that was committed in good faith,” adding that “there was no willful intent.”

Take your head out of your sorry ass Mr. Secretary!

Whoever executed and approved the lay-out and design and caused it to be placed on the website of the Office of the President are in violation of Republic Act No. 8491, otherwise known as the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines which provides penalties such as a fine of up to PhP20,000 and imprisonment of up to one year.

It appears that Communication Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. would rather communicate to the country and the whole world that we should not penalize those responsible for making the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines a laughing stock because it was an honest mistake that was committed in good faith and that there was no willful intent.

Communication Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. and his ilk are not the only ones who have violated Republic Act No. 8491. A television network also violated the provision of this Act which prohibits  wearing the flag in whole or in part as a costume or uniform when it fielded its news team across the country wearing their infamous Flag Shirts during the 2010 National Elections.

A German sports clothing manufacturer sold jackets designed unmistakably as the Philippine Flag and advertised as “Limited Edition Philippine Flag Sports Jacket”.

A Filipino pizza and pasta chain, touted as the largest in the country, created a Philippine-inspired giant pizza featuring the Philippine Flag.

The National Historical Institute was almost hysterical on hearing what it considered “an unofficial version” of Lupang Hinirang sang before a boxing bout but was not heard from when a giant Philippine flag was unfurled right on the ground in Baguio City during the 110^th Philippine Independence Day celebration. This was in violation of Section 17 of RA 8497 which states that the flag shall never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, flood, water or other objects.

I suddenly recall: this is not the first time that the Philippine Flag was displayed upside-down. It also happened in September of 2010 when leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met President Obama in New York.

Oh dear, my neighbor is in such illustrious company!

The Road Mishap

I learned how to drive at age six when I could barely see the road if not for the air-vent below the windshield of our Willys type jeep with dual power transmission.  Tatay named this jeep and all our succeeding jeeps “Edlouglen,” an acronym he created by combining our first names: Edgar, Louella and Glenn. 

As I drove in earnest, Tatay sat on my left side, literally barking instructions. This is one of my fondest memories of Tatay—affectionate—but fit to burst eardrums with his booming voice. I swear our neighbors could hear him whisper!

My driving lessons actually started way before, while still a toddler, when Tatay would make me sit on his lap as he drove, four hands on the wheel, his in the classic ten and two o’ clock position, mine both on the six o’ clock position, barely able to hang on but projecting a steadfast, impervious and smug mien.

I had my litmus test when Tatay allowed me to drive from Kalibo all the way to Libacao at age 9. By the time I applied for a driver’s license, I was shocked to hear him say to the examiner: “you’d better make sure he really knows how to drive or else …” Tatay used to be with the now defunct Board of Transportation. He passed on in 1995.

On Saturday, 02 June 2012, I had my very first accident on the Kalibo to Libacao road. It has been raining for several days and on the zigzag portion going down around a 30 degree elevation in Polo, Banga, the tires slipped and the van slid into a ditch on the right side of the road. There was no way for me to reverse out of the rut.

Fortunately, we were unhurt (I was with Baby, my sister Louella’s ever loyal Yaya who has been with my family even before I was born). The van suffered just a minor damage with its right front wheel bent out of shape because of the rut.

I am thankful I did not step on the gas and attempt a hard swerve to the left to avoid going into that rut because had I done so, I could have overcompensated and we could have jumped into a ravine or ended up sliding down the river had I missed the bridge just around 15 meters down on a hard right turn.

The stuff we had with us was a mess. The floral arrangements I ordered and picked up from a florist fell off from the seats and got mashed. Everything else came out of their perches. All these were for the offertorio of the funeral mass for our Dear Auntie Alice that my sister Louella offered. The late Alicia Inosanto Zonio-Isagan, (retired public school principal and former Vice Mayor of my hometown, Libacao, Aklan) was one of our favorite Aunts, which is why I had to go home to LA to pay my last respects.

So, with the van unable to go anywhere, we started hailing jeeps and mini-buses to get to Libacao. We were not even halfway there yet. Unfortunately, he had too much luggage that required seats as well, seats that were unfortunately not available as most of the public transport vehicles were filled to the rafters.

People who saw the abandoned van on a ditch by the roadside would invariably say: the driver must have been drunk. In fact, when we got to Libacao, I was told of this accident in Polo where a drunk driver ended up in a ditch. Their eyebrows inevitably shot up when I told them I was the driver.

How did we make it to Libacao in time for the funeral?

We hailed (shanghaied) the funeral car. The owner is a cousin on my father’s side. The personnel on board had to transfer to their support vehicle, a diminutive multicab where they were forced to stand at the back, in the rain. Our stuff was now safely ensconced in the area where the coffin goes. And yes, I did not ride lying down; Baby and I were sitting in front.

Now I can say, without batting an eyelash, that I was able to get somewhere on board a hearse.

Have you had that experience? Are you willing to give it a try?

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