Bayan ko

By Freddie Aguilar

Ang bayan kong Pilipinas

Lupain ng ginto't bulaklak
Pag-ibig na sa kanyang palad
Nag-alay ng ganda't dilag
At sa kanyang yumi at ganda
Dayuhan ay nahalina
Bayan ko, binihag ka
Nasadlak sa dusa
Ibon mang may layang lumipad
Kulungin mo at umiiyak
Bayan pa kayang sakdal-dilag
Ang 'di magnasang makaalpas
Pilipinas kong minumutya
Pugad ng luha at dalita
Aking adhika
Makita kang sakdal laya
Ibon mang may layang lumipad
Kulungin mo at umiiyak
Bayan pa kayang sakdal-dilag
Ang 'di magnasang makaalpas
Pilipinas kong minumutya
Pugad ng luha at dalita
Aking adhika
Makita kang sakdal laya

Jose Corazon de Jesus first wrote it as a poem in 1929, and Constancio de Guzman later adapted it to
music. Throughout Philippine history, it has been frequently performed at protest rallies and protests. It
was composed as a protest song during the American occupation of the Philippines.
On a related note, musing on banned literature leads me to think about the song “Bayan Ko,” a song that
enjoyed a lot of popularity at the time of the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution, and which had become
a sort of anthem for the struggle before the dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ ouster. The song was originally
written for a zarzuela, and the Filipino lyrics we now know were written by poet Jose Corazon de Jesus.
The song, with its patriotic sentiments against occupation, gained popularity among activists as a protest
song, and was banned from airplay during the Marcos regime; it continued to be sung underground and in
prisons and was later popularized by Freddie Aguilar. (Ceres P. Doyo talks about one such treasured
compilation of prison songs, “Ibong Malaya,” in “Songs of protest, songs of love,” Human Face,
9/27/12). Teresita Gimenez Maceda wrote in 2007: “It was the only kundiman sung with clenched fists
that had the affective power to consolidate protest marchers, and make them hold their lines in the face of
the water cannons, tear gas and truncheons used for violent dispersals.”
International acclaim for Philippine cinema formerly existed. How disadvantaged individuals from third-
world nations find optimism despite their miserable living conditions captivated the international
audience. Lino Brocka's films, which extensively emphasized the lives of the impoverished, unwittingly
served as a pioneer in this area. His movies shed emphasis on the problems that exist in ostensibly stable
third-world nations. He aimed to create patriotic and nationalistic films. Kapit sa Patalim was not an
exception, Bayan ko. It concerned a minimum-wage worker who asked his supervisor for a raise in order
to pay for his wife's medical expenses. The worker was required to sign a waiver promising not to join a
union in order to receive his raise, though. However, it backfired.