Acting Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia. | CDN Digital photo by Niña Mae Oliverio
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City government is looking at how they could incorporate the singing of the “Bagong Pilipinas” (“New Philippines”) hymn into their Monday morning flag ceremony at Plaza Sugbo.
Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said that he already gave instruction for the Human Resource and Development Office (HRDO) to “look at the directive” of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for government offices and public schools to include the singing of the ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ hymn and the reciting of the pledge during their flag ceremonies.
“I think daghan ni’g components. This is not only a hymn… I told them [HRDO] to study it and to report to the department heads meeting next week, which is Tuesday, unsaon nato pag incorporate or implement ang directive gikan sa Office of the President,” Garcia said.
Meanwhile, Garcia said that the President’s new directive was a “move towards the right direction.”
“Bagong Pilipinas man kaha ta. Di ba? For progress, development, for our beloved Pilipinas. So, ato ning i-encourage. Encourage, meaning ipatuman. But as I’ve said, ako panang gipa-study sa HRDO og unsa gyuy components ani iyang directive and then thereafter we will incorporate it in our operations here in the City of Cebu,” the acting mayor said.
READ MORE: Bagong Pilipinas hymn lyrics, pledge
Memorandum Circular No. 52 issued on June 4 mandates the promotion of the principles of the Bagong Pilipinas governance and leadership among state employees.
In the Memo Circular, all national government agencies, GOCCs (government-owned and -controlled corporations), and educational institutions, including state universities and colleges (SUCs), are directed to integrate the hymn and pledge into their weekly flag ceremonies.
Meanwhile, local government units (LGUs) are also encouraged to do the same, in accordance with existing laws and regulations. | with reports from Melvin Gascon, Inquirer.Net