Beauty vlogger Bretman Rock was on the news yesterday for violating Republic Act 8491 or the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines. An Instagram Stories video from September 2019 resurfaced, showing Bretman lip-syncing and twerking to the Philippine national anthem.
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) saw it and quoted the Flag Law in a statement dated Jan. 2, 2020: “When the National Anthem is played… as a sign of respect, all persons shall stand at attention… shall execute salute by placing their right palms over their chests… [and that] the National Anthem shall not be played or sung for mere recreation or entertainment purposes.”
The NHCP also reminded the public that violators of the Flag Law will be penalized with a fine of P5,000 to P20,000 or imprisonment of not more than one year.
Filipino fans were upset by Bretman’s video, calling him disrespectful for making fun of the national anthem.
https://twitter.com/NickeyPrads/status/1212779159899889664
https://twitter.com/KylieRhyan/status/1211554392735801346
Meanwhile, others defended Bretman and said that he’d already apologized months ago.
https://twitter.com/andrengsam/status/1211539080510504960?s=09
https://twitter.com/thor4morethor/status/1213054348311162880
Nag sorry na sya!! At least, he is still making money! Bretman Rock 😍 https://t.co/6W6PoBVZWY
— wensher caballero (@mrwensher) December 30, 2019
Here’s the tea: As much as we love Bretman, we can’t really defend his actions. Just because he’s a popular public figure doesn’t mean he gets a pass for violating the law. If he does get penalized for the video he posted, we hope he faces the consequences and learns from it.
But does Bretman deserve the public chastising he’s getting on social media? Not really.
When you look at the reactions to the controversy, you’ll see people wishing that Bretman would be thrown in jail and disowning him for not upholding nationalism as a Filipino. This begs the question: Are people mad because Bretman broke a law or are they simply looking for a reason to cancel him?
Again, we’re not excusing Bretman’s actions and he should learn from the netizens who educated him on the matter. But we don’t think this is something worth cancelling him for, especially since he’s already apologized and hasn’t committed similar offenses since.
Besides, does hating on Bretman make these netizens more patriotic than him? No, not necessarily.
We hope netizens would show the same kind of concern on bigger issues happening in the country and the world. While Bretman was trending on social media, the US government bombed Iran, killing the latter’s top general and half a billion of Australia’s animals are feared to have died from the widespread fire.
It’s alright to hold people accountable for their mistakes and Bretman already made it clear that he regretted his video. Just remember to choose which battles you should fight and invest in.
Photo courtesy of courtesy of Bretman Rock’s Instagram account
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