MANILA, Philippines — The hit song “Manila” by homegrown band Hotdog may not represent the entire Philippines, but people who watched the opening of the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) last Saturday enjoyed the music, Malacañang said yesterday.
The iconic song was played during the parade of Filipino athletes, drawing cheers from the audience at the Philippine Arena and prompting many of them, including President Duterte, to dance.
The President’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, however, frowned upon the selection of “Manila” as welcome anthem for Filipino athletes, saying the song does not represent the entire country.
Carpio said organizers should have chosen a more inclusive song because the Hotdog hit was only about Manila, the country’s capital.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo agreed with Carpio that “Manila” does not represent the entire Philippines but noted that the audience liked the song.
“Perhaps, because of the title ‘Manila’ itself, then she (Carpio) would be right. It does not represent the entire Philippines, but it seems that Manila was used because that was the most popular song in relation to the Filipinos,” Panelo said at a press briefing.
“We’re not the organizers, but apparently the people there, the crowd there, liked it. Lapped it up. They were all dancing, I was also dancing, all of us... because of the song, the mood,” he added.
Panelo noted that Duterte was also dancing when the song was being played.
“(The President) was also dancing. I saw him. But the mayor is right, we have to have a song that will reflect not only Manila but the entire Philippines. Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao. There is none so far. So songwriters are being alerted, including myself, to make such a song,” the Palace spokesman said.
“It would be a good idea to come up with a catchy song that will talk about the peculiarities of places,” he added.
In a recent Facebook post, Dennis Garcia, Hotdog bassist and brother of the late lead singer Rene Garcia, said “Manila” was a song about Filipinos missing the Philippines.
Garcia said the song did not intend to exclude any Filipino.