Happy Independence Day!!!

Every June, our nation’s flag is displayed in more places than usual. And every June, we see the national colors displayed erroneously by an alarming number of people and establishments. Last week when I was in Metro Manila, at a restaurant with some blogger friends, I saw a couple of waiters hanging the flag vertically… but they did it the wrong way. Same with a mall here in Davao.

The Flag of the Philippines, when being displayed vertically, must show the blue field on the left side during peacetime. Only in time of war is the red field of the flag shown on the left side.

To avoid confusion or point-of-view arguments, here’s the rule of thumb: the vertical flag must be considered facing the outside of the building when displayed on the latter’s facade. I’m bringing this up because someone remarked that the flag, which was installed on a glass wall at that restaurant in Ortigas last week, wasn’t displayed improperly since customers inside the establishment were looking at the flag the right way.

It’s rather embarrassing that there are Filipinos who do not appreciate the flag. It is our symbol of national pride, therefore we should know it and hold it in the highest regard. Some might think it’s superfluous to subscribe to such ideas — but many times, ideas can be the start of something big. Perhaps we should start paying more attention to the ideas of nationalism, and perhaps we’ll become a much better country for it.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!