“About 3 months ago I was asked by our champion Manny Pacquiao to sing the national anthem in his fight with Ricky Hatton. I accepted whole-heartedly. This would be my first time to be blessed with the honor of
representing my country and singing our national anthem infront of the world. It was then my plan to make my moment of honor not about me or anything showbiz.“Instead I wanted to stand center ring as nothing else but a proud Filipino singing his anthem, wanting every word and emotion behind each word to reach not just the cheap seats at the very top of the arena, but heard, felt and understood even in the non-Tagalog speaking countries all over the world. Music is the universal language, so I knew if I arranged it and performed it convincingly I could make our anthem understood even though it was the only anthem that night that was not in English. I could have just gone thru the motions of singing it over, but no, I wanted to represent and communicate.
“So with all my heart and love for the country I was so proud to represent as well as the fighter I opened for, I sang the anthem the way I did. If I were to tell you in a soft voice, in perfect time and pitch as dictated by history, ‘Ang Mamatay Nang Dahil Sa ‘Yo’ would you believe me? But if I made sure I said the line with conviction and volume enough to heard over thousands of screams then would you believe me better?
“I cannot apologize for the way I sang it because no one told me the rules nor the laws in years past. Didn’t hear about any of these so-called laws when the others before me sang their versions. I didn’t get the memo. I will not apologize for giving my all just to sing that song infront of the world. But I do apologize ONLY to the people afraid of progress and change, of course to the lawmakers and to whom ever else took offense to my interpretation of probably the most beautiful song I have ever come across. And to everyone else, God bless your open mind and open heart.
“Still a proud Filipino, Martin Nievera”
