Albert, Arum asked to appear at Manila court

MANILA, Philippines -  The lawyer-president of the United Nations National Anthem Foundation has asked a Manila regional trial court judge to order Brazilian composer-arranger Morris Albert and his co-defendant Bob Arum, manager of world boxing champ Saranggani Rep. Manny Pacquiao, to bring the original copy of the “bastardized version” of the Philippine National Anthem before the court on May 20.

Lawyer Crisanto Soldevilla Cornejo filed on May 6 with Manila RTC Presiding Judge Dinnah Agulla-Topacio “A Supplemental and Reiterating Very Urgent Motion” for the issuance of subpoena through the Brazilian embassy in Manila, directing Albert and Arum to appear in court at 2 p.m. on May 20.

In the two-page motion, Cornejo urged the court to direct Albert and Arum to answer the amended complaint together with the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP) and other five defendants who bastardized and violated the country’s National Anthem, “Lupang Hinirang.” Cornejo also asked the court to resolve the motion to dismiss filed by the Office of the Solicitor General and the motion to cite in contempt of court the officers and counsel of KBP for misleading the court that 10,000 copies of the CD that five pop-singers bastardized were already in the custody of the National Library.

The KBP counsel earlier testified in court that 10,000 CDs were already deposited in the National Library. He called on the court to issue subpoena duces tecum against Albert and Arum who were mandated by the court to appear in the continuation of the trial of the case on May 20 and June 3.

He said Albert and Arum should show cause why they should not be cited in contempt of court or “as soon thereafter as Court may schedule the trial dates addressed to the Office of Brazilian ambassador to the Philippines-His Excellency Alcides Gastao Rostand Prates, embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil.

Bastardized version

Cornejo said he filed their latest motion in behalf of the Philippine Historical Commission, also named as a plaintiff in the case which was included by the judge in the list of cases for Judicial Dispute Resolution.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, also president of the National Historical Institute, was furnished a copy of the “very urgent motion.” The alleged “bastardized” version of Lupang Hirang was sang by Martin Nievera at the start of the bout between Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 3, 2009.

In objecting to Nievera’s rendition of the Philippine National Anthem, the NHI cited Section 37 of Republic Act No. 8491 (1998 Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines) which provides that the “rendition of the National Anthem, whether played or sung, shall be in accordance with the musical arrangement and composition of Julian Felipe.

When Nievera belted out Lupang Hinirang, it started slowly, took on a martial beat in the middle, then finally ended on a sustained high note. The same law punishes failure or refusal to observe the provisions of the code with public censure, “which shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation. The guilty person may be fined up to P5,000 or imprisoned for not more than a year, or “be meted with both penalties, at the discretion of the court.”

But Nievera has maintained he did nothing wrong, and he is unrepentant. He insisted he interpreted the song the way he “understood” it. The NHI has also slammed the performance by Sarah Geronimo, Kyla, Lani Misalucha and Bituin Escalante of “Lupang Hinirang” during the past boxing bouts of the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world.