June 12, 2026  ·  Philippine Independence Day  ·  128 Years

The OPM Songs That Sound Like Freedom

“There are songs that don’t just entertain you. They remind you who you are. These are those songs.”

June 12, 1898. General Emilio Aguinaldo stood in Kawit, Cavite and declared the Philippines independent from Spain.

A flag was unfurled.

A march was played.

And 128 years later we are still, in some way, arguing about what that moment meant and whether we’ve honored it.

I want to say upfront that I’m writing this from Davao City. That matters because Mindanao has its own complicated relationship with what Philippine nationhood means… a relationship that the June 12 narrative doesn’t always fully include.

The indigenous peoples whose lands preceded the republic.

The Bangsamoro people whose struggle for self-determination predates the revolution itself. The settlers who came south and made this island home. Independence Day from down here looks a little different than it does from a stage in Manila.

A little more meaningful.

A little more layered.

And then there’s the current situation.

The Country We’re Celebrating Right Now

Let me not pretend that June 12, 2026 exists in a vacuum.

This week — a Philippine senator was arrested on a plunder charge after allegedly pocketing a massive kickback from a flood control project.

This is not an isolated incident.

The flood control corruption scandal has implicated dozens of officials and lawmakers across parties. Billions of pesos in infrastructure funds disappeared through what investigators call “allocables,” “leadership funds,” and “insertions.”

The Senate itself has been theater — senators walking out, teleconference voting proposals rushed to protect the legally vulnerable, a Senate president election that read more like a factional power grab than a democratic process. 

Ten senators walked out of session in May amid chaos over arrest warrants and ICC jurisdiction.

The “Trillion Peso March” protests of 2025 drew tens of thousands demanding accountability.

The mass resignations followed.

Some things changed.

Some things stayed exactly the same.

This is the country we’re being asked to celebrate today. And I think we should — but with clear eyes.

Because the songs I’m about to list have always been more honest about the Philippines than the speeches will be today.

That’s what great OPM does.

It tells the truth when everything and everyone else is just performing an act.

The Playlist

01 – Bayan Ko – Freddie Aguilar · 1978

Start here.

Always start here.

If there is one song that every Filipino should know by heart it is probably this one. Originally a poem written in 1929 during the American colonial period, set to music and popularized by Freddie Aguilar during the Marcos years, Bayan Ko became the anthem of a people saying clearly: this land is ours and we want it back.

It was sung at EDSA.

It has been sung at every moment of national reckoning since.

Today it feels less like a protest song to me and more like a prayer that the country hasn’t finished answering yet.

02 – Noypi – Bamboo · 2004

After Bayan Ko you need something that feels like a fist raised in the air.

Loud and proud and unapologetic.

Like Noypi — Bamboo’s full-throated declaration of what it means to be Filipino.

Although it first came out in 2004, it has never stopped feeling relevant for me.

Turn the volume up for this one and sing along.

03 – Eroplanong Papel – Gary Granada

Gary Granada is from Maco, Davao de Oro.

A Mindanaoan.

A folk singer, anarchist, UP tutor, and one of the most honest voices in Philippine music for over three decades. 

Eroplanong Papel… a paper airplane, a child’s wish, sent upward toward a sky that may or may not be listening.

His songs about social justice and political life are easy to listen to as they don’t feel like you’re being lectured.

04 – Kumusta Na – Yano – 1994

Kumusta na, ayos pa ba?
Ang buhay natin, kaya pa ba?
Eh kung hindi, paano na?
Ewan mo ba, bahala na

Napanood kita sa tv, sumama ka sa rally
Kasama ang mga madre, pinigilan mga tangke
Umiiyak ka pa sa harap ng mga sundalo
Namigay ka pa ng rosas na nabili mo sa kanto

Yano’s performances, those that I’ve been fortunate to witness, are nothing short of spectacular. Eric Gancio’s guitar playing is something to be amazed about. I mean, as a guitarist and a singer at the same time, how he is able to play his guitar and sing those complicated parts are… incredible.

I can’t do what he does.

Or it might take me a couple more years to get it down.

Either way, Yano is one act you never should miss when they’re onstage.

Catch them tonight at Seattle’s Dream at 7PM.

05 – Popong Landero – Kabilugan

Gotta admit I don’t really have a strong inclination to liking reggae music because of past prejudices… long story short… it involved a girl and a “rasta, rasta guy” who was only into regga=e to be “cool” and sm0ke w33d…

I have learned to love the genre over time but it still isn’t my go to music if I’m going to be honest, to listen to…

So forgive me if I’ve only just recently discovered who Popong Landero is. I mean, I’ve known of him for years. I’ve seen him at gigs but I’ve never really approache the guy or talk to him.

What a waste of opportunity… next time… I’ll make sure to tell him how I appreciate his music…

Anyway… here’s a really good one…

he’ll be at Seattle’s Dream too.

06 – Binhi – Sandino “Tatot” Libres

I just love this song….

argh… if I even start to write about it, all I can really say is that it’s perfect. lyrics, chord progression, note choices… I’d sound too biased…

So, let’s just say, I love this song… that’s it.

07 – Tugon – Wardy Puyod – 2019

And last but not least, back in 2019, MusikaWabad was part of the Isa ka Bundakan sa Mga Naig-an event which brought together artists from all genres. It was our answer to the earthquakes that happened that affected a lot of people outside of Davao City.

Which is very fitting since we are currently going through earthquakes again these days.

But other than the literal earthquakes we’re experiencing, there’s a massive shake up happening in the nation that should concern everyone because ethe actions of a few individuals are enough to steer this country to success or to ruin.

But enough politicizing… let’s focus on today… Independence Day…

Listen to Wardy Puyod’s lyrics and find hope and inspiration that a few individuals can create something so big and magical and we were able to get bands like SoundTank, Tamad si Juan, AcidRadius, T2, Vipera… and others together under one stage to perform for one cause.

Build the playlist in Spotify or search for those songs on Youtube…

If you have a better playlist… please tell us we’d love to hear what you have.

Here’s what I keep coming back to on June 12. The people who declared independence in 1898 were not naive about the country they were building.

Rizal wrote about it.

Bonifacio fought and died for it.

The revolution was messy and complicated and betrayed from within almost immediately.

The Americans arrived the next year.

Then the Japanese.

Then Marcos.

Then everything since.

And through all of it, Filipinos kept making music that told the truth. Kept making music that held onto identity even when the institutions were failing.

That’s not a small thing. That might actually be the most Filipino thing of all.

Maligayang Araw ng Kalayaan.

128 years.

Still unfinished.

Still worth fighting for.

The Senate is a mess and the flood control money is missing and some of the powerful people are finally getting arrested and others probably won’t and we’ll do this all again next year.

But we’re still here.

Still making music.

Still loving this country in that complicated way that you only love something you know completely, flaws and all, and choose to stay with anyway.

Play the playlist.

Sit with it.

And tomorrow get back to demanding better from the people who are supposed to be building this country with us.