Senator Robinhood “Robin” Padilla on Wednesday explained the reason behind his controversial hand gesture during the singing of the national anthem before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivered his second State of the Nation Address last Monday.
In a statement, Padilla, who embraced the Islamic religion, stressed that the hand gesture is to show his Islamic faith.
“I always do the ‘Kalima La ilaha ilalah’ with my hand here. Why can’t you do that? I would rather resign than somebody telling me I cannot (practice) my faith,” he said, referring to the hand gesture that asserts the oneness of God.
“I will never, never exchange my faith to be a politician,” he added.
Padilla issued the statement after a clip of himself doing the hand gesture during the singing of the Lupang Hinirang before Marcos delivered his second SONA at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City, went viral on social media.
According to the lawmaker, he is “willing to resign” from his political post rather than allow someone to tell him he cannot practice his faith.
“If I will not be successful in pushing for a federal parliamentary form of government I’d rather be an imam, I’d rather go to Malaysia and study the Koran than be a senator,” he said.
Section 38 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 8491 or the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines states that when the national anthem is played at a public gathering, “the attending public shall sing the anthem.”
“As a sign of respect, all persons shall stand at attention and face the Philippine flag, if there is one displayed, and if there is none, they shall face the band or the conductor,” it said.
“At the first note, all persons shall execute a salute by placing their right palms over their left chests. Those in military, scouting, citizen’s military training, and security guard uniforms shall give the salute prescribed by their regulations. The salute shall be completed upon the last note of the anthem,” it added.