Rasonable, Beatriz Helaena – H11C

A Critique Paper on Jehovah’s Witnesses and The Philippine Flag

Freedom – noun

free·dom | \ ˈfrē-dəm

: a political right

1The court case called Gerona v. Secretary of Education performed on the Supreme
Court of Manila in the year 1955 is a case where the good old Church vs. The State
topic was heavily talked about. The case is about a few students refusing or not
participating in a flag ceremony which sparked a big controversy over the people or
perhaps the whole nation, a case in which the church and the state were mainly
involved.

(UCA News, 1993) “In 1990, 68 elementary pupils, who are Jehovah's Witnesses, were
expelled after refusing to take part in the daily flag-raising ceremonies, which include
the recitation of an oath of allegiance to the Philippine Constitution.” The main reason
that was given why there was immediate action was because this was an act against
the law. Any act of ridicule or casting dishonor towards the flag is considered prohibited
by the law and the kids not saluting or showing respect to it were made known, which
then led to the case.

To properly discuss both sides, this paper will define the teachings and beliefs of
Jehovah’s Witnesses and explain the decision of the state.

1
https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1959/aug1959/gr_l-13954_1959.html
Jehovah’s Witnesses are known to follow the same virtues and beliefs as Christians,
however, they are not protestants and not Catholics. They believe in the bible as well
but (Chery, 2021) stated that “The Jehovah’s Witnesses insist that there is one
translation that is faithful to the Word of God: The New World Translation..” They follow
the same teachings of Christ and do not believe in deities and images, unlike Catholics.
I think it is safe to say they heavily rely on the bible to support their views biblically.

Their beliefs do not permit them to perform or participate in activities such as acts of
worship, well they do but only to their god. Matthew 4:10 and Acts 5:29 are given
examples as to why they do not idolize, “Worship to your Lord your God and serve Him
only.”, “We must obey God rather than human beings!”. At this point, we can see where
the conflict started.

Showing respect to our National Flag, we must follow certain actions or a form of salute
provided by the state itself, “As a sign of respect, all persons shall stand at attention and
face the Philippine flag, if there is one displayed. If none, they shall face the band or
conductor. At the first note, all persons shall execute a salute by placing their right
palms over their left chests.” (Mata-Perez, 2020). Under obligation to obey the laws of
the nation, the students were punished and brought forward to the Secretary of
Education. Seeing how it was immediately looked at it was no wonder that the incident
was big, not showing respect or honor to the flag is considered against the law.

Their first choice was to expel the students for committing such an act but the Supreme
Court decided to reverse the decision. Knowing that punishing the students will also be
an act against the Bill of Rights which allows them free speech and freedom of worship.
“Since they do not engage in disruptive behavior, there is no warrant for their
expulsion.” An acceptable decision, well it is the right thing to do; there were no bad
motives behind the students’ actions and you can consider standing still for the national
anthem an acceptable exemption. The students were only practicing their beliefs and
showed good behavior, they were granted an exemption.
(Englund, 2017) says “If you salute your country’s flag, are you personally ascribing
salvation to the State? Of course not.” You can acknowledge and honor a flag without
making it your salvation, it does not hinder the facts that one believes in. Nevertheless,
they still need to follow the rules, not forgetting that it is also one of the teachings of
Christ and is mentioned in the bible.

Conclusion

Agreeing with the state’s decision, it was the right thing to do. No law prohibits people to
practice their religion, because the state cannot interpret these ancient transcripts for
these people it has no competence in the matter. It is really hard to separate the state
and the church because for some they consider it as their basis of morals. Still, I think
no one was at fault and the state handled it the right way.

“To believe that patriotism will not flourish if patriotic ceremonies are voluntary instead a
compulsory routine is to make an unflattering estimate of the appeal of our institution to
free minds… Freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter much. That
would be a mere shadow of freedom. The test of its substance is the right to differ as to
be things that touch the heart of the existing order.”

- Justice Robert Jackson

References

Chery, F. (2021, July 6). BIBLE REASONS . Retrieved from Christianity Vs Jehovah
Witness: https://biblereasons.com/christianity-vs-jehovah-witness/

Englund, D. (2017, July 4). Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Flag. Retrieved from Getting
Through Jehovah's WItnesses: http://daenglund.com/jehovahs-witnesses-and-the-flag/

Mata-Perez, E. M. (2020, June 11). Respect for the Philippine flag and national
anthem. Retrieved from The Manila Times :
https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/06/11/business/columnists-business/respect-for-the-
philippine-flag-and-national-anthem/730953/

UCA News. (1993, March 15). RIGHT NOT TO SALUTE FLAG FOR RELIGIOUS
REASONS UPHELD. Retrieved from UCA News: https://www.ucanews.com/story-
archive/?post_name=/1993/03/16/right-not-to-salute-flag-for-religious-reasons-
upheld&post_id=42974#