Land of Promise
Glorious Motherland,
Pearl of the Orient Seas,
the fire of our love for thee
pines for thy proud embracing.
Land of Promise,
Cradle of the Brave,
from the tyranny of oppression
thou shalt never yield.
Across thy shining seas
and verdant mountain peaks,
fair winds and thy native blue skies,
the splendor of this hymn and song
speaks of thy vaunted liberty!
The brightness of thy Banner
undiminished in triumph waves,
the glory of thy stars and sun
are lights that shall ne'er fade.
Land of the Morning,
worthy of honor and of love -
our home away from Home -
what happiness it is
should the enemy draw near
to die for thy liberty.
---<--@
Salutation #48
A FILIPINO is a Filipino is a Filipino. This is our national minimum.
(Soul of Country)
O my nation, who are you?
Why do we long to wear the image of other nations like a mask?
Why do we take comfort in being somebody we are not?
What have become of us, my people?
Why do we seek to imitate the way of other peoples?
Do we not have our own remembrance to honor and way to cherish?
Can we not see our own reflection in the timeless places and faces
contained in the spirit of our Country?
O where is the soul of my Filipino people?
Why should we love and honor those - wicked things -
that disrupt the peace and harm our common good?
Are we not a free Republic?
Do we not share common commitments
to look after each other's individual good
- in a true spirit of service -
laboring in hope and goodwill
- together as one -
to fulfill the promise of the present and of every present,
and be at peace with the living memory of our past
honoring our duty to all generations yet to come?
Do we not have recourse to the - strength and potential -
of our freedoms together?
Have we not learned from the pain of our martyred past
the high cost of these freedoms;
this present promise of liberty and self-determination?
Have we forgotten the native heart that - singularly beats -
for this, our beloved Motherland?
Have we forgotten the spirit of the nation
that provides for us a certain place between this one earth and sky?
How much more suffering,
how much more tears and sacred blood must be consumed
in the name of this present moment
before the dawn of the morning is come into our hearts
and the will of the one Filipino Republic
is made to shine like a bright sunrise in our souls?
We are a patient people.
But too long have we waited, too much have we suffered
- to high a price have our generations paid -
to let anything hold us back
from the promise of tomorrow that awaits us:
The vision of a united, free, peaceful and prosperous
- one and faithful Filipino Republic -
with liberty, equality, justice and opportunity
for all our citizens and our posterity
without distinction or prejudice
as to race, creed, sex, age, ethnicity or social class!
O when will I sing the victory songs of our Motherland?
When shall the troubles of my nation cease,
O LORD, and one Sovereign of All?
When shall the past end and tomorrow begin for my people?
When shall we be made again into one heart?
O my beloved people,
brothers and sisters of the Promise,
the captive soul of the Filipino nation must be set free!
We are the masters of our national destiny.
But until we realize - here and now -
who we are as a nation distinct but not apart
from all the other kindred nations
of the one Peace of the one Brotherhood of Mankind;
until we awaken again into ourselves
- and enter into the heart of this one nation -
as a people worthy of this free Republic, its mission and its sacred trust,
the dawn of our morning will seem so far away.
We, as one people, must awaken to the soul of Country.
It only takes an instant to realize - who we truly are -
together in each ourselves, citizens to each other,
and a lifetime to become for our Country - what we truly must -
faithful sons and daughters of a common Motherland;
the timeless, living community that has loved,
sheltered and sustained our generations
under the eternal vigilance of Almighty God
from the very beginning of the generations
of our one people.
---<--@
If you still want to know the name of the Angel of the Philippines, it is this - "Go and be a good citizen".
---<--@
Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.
Citizenship with Fidelity
The Peace of the Brotherhood of Mankind
Maiden of the Sea
How fare thee, dear nation,
my Pearl of the Orient Seas
standing at the threshold
of another thousand years?
O dear island nation,
how came we to know thee?
O Sanctuary of my people,
a love 7,107 islands strong
emerging now from thy sleep,
awaiting the dawn!
Thy past is a mystery,
a deep longing for answers,
who were thee, O nation?
What was our name
from before the Crown
and the sword of Spain?
O dear Country,
our home away from Home
beautiful for thy people
and for thy bay side sunsets
blessed with great riches
and fruits of earth and sea.
O Land of the Morning,
my hope and my patrimony.
O how I love thy sweetness,
all our dreaming together
those days of my childhood,
'twas long as forever
fond for friends and family,
for love of God and Country
I shall soon remember -
O strong Republic,
be faithful for people
prosper thy peace together
strong for for thy faithfulness
and faithful for thy togetherness
now hearken to thy courage,
and aright to thy self!
Arise brave Republic,
become present for our hope!
For God has kept thy secrets,
thy lost memory of times before:
Thou loved the maiden
embraced by the sea!
So young and vibrant,
and promised to thee.
Thy nation to wed thee,
O for beautiful Country!
The people adored thee,
for thy spirit was free;
all the other nations
were so happy for thee.
Have thou now forgotten
that promise long ago?
Return now to the wonder
and never let go.
The night's almost over,
daybreak twilight draws near.
Aright my dear people,
the dawn will soon break.
Our Republic awaits us,
O nation most dear -
Our Land of the Morning
is soon to appear!
O dear Filipino nation,
we are who we are!
Long have the years
kept dear Country away -
through trial and sorrow,
through fear and strife,
through furious battle,
through bloodshed tears,
how long the struggle,
we fought to remain
through every opponent,
our hope overcame!
Night has not claimed us,we are the same.
---<--@
