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BALANGA City, Bataan: Some 100 worn-out Philippine flags were burned
and its ashes buried Friday afternoon in a special grave known as
“Himlayan ng Watawat” constructed by the Bataan police command
at Camp Tolentino in Balanga City.
As a police squad rendered the 21-gun salute,
Senior Supt. Manuel Gaerlan, Bataan police director, and two
officials of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) in Bataan
emptied the ashes of the flags from three earthen pots to a deep
round hole in the flag burial ground..
The GSP Bataan council is the main sponsor of
the project with the provincial police office voluntarily providing
the burial site.
Adult and children members of the GSP, city and
provincial officials of the Department of Education, Mayor Jose
Enrique Garcia 3rd of Balanga City and some police officers attended
the ceremony.
Lilia Reyes, GSP Bataan council president, said
they began the project three years ago when they noticed that
dilapidated flags were merely stored in bodegas and some even made
as scrubbing cloth that she noted were prohibited by law.
“We have to give due respect to our
country’s flag and avoid its misuse,” she said.
Reyes said that Philippine flags that are
dilapidated, worn-out and with fading colors have to be burned as
provided by the country’s statute. She said that they have
appealed to schools and government offices to entrust to the GSP
Bataan council unserviceable flags.
“The worn-out flags should be taken out from
their poles and replaced with new ones,” the council leader said.
She said that on the first and second years, they collected and
burned 76 flags. It was not known where the ashes were kept.
The flags were cut into small pieces and brought
by Girl Scouts to the makeshift furnace where Gaerlan torched them.
As the flags were set into flames, the song “Bayan Ko” was heard
in the background as Girl Scouts and officials stood watch.
Before setting the flags on fire, Dr. Anita de
Dios, City of Balanga Division supervisor, with the assistance of
some Girls Scouts, showed the evolution of the Philippine flag from
the KKK to the present one.
-- Ernie B. Esconde
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