Sa Lilim ng Bandila

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Sa lilim ng bandila, may sugat ang dangal,  

Ang hustisya’y nililimos sa bulsa ng hangal.  

Ang batas ay papel na nilalamukos,  

Habang ang makapangyarihan ay patuloy sa pang-aabuso.  

Sa bawat proyekto, may patong na lihim,  

Ang daan ay ginto—pero hindi para sa atin.  

Ang dukha’y naglalakad sa baha ng pangako,  

Habang ang may trono’y nalulunod sa pera at luho.  

May mga pangalan sa balita, paulit-ulit,  

Ngunit tila ba sila’y may balat-kaliskis.  

Ang kaso’y nabubulok sa silid ng paglimot,  

At ang katotohanan ay binibili ng salapi’t takot.  

Ngunit sa kabila ng dilim, may tinig na bumabangon—  

Tinig ng ina, ng magsasaka, ng kabataang pumipiglas  

Sa tanikala ng takot, ng tanong na walang sagot,  

Ng pag-asang pilit inaagaw ng mga tuso’t salot.  

Isang araw, ang bandila’y muling itataas  

Hindi sa palasyo, kundi sa puso ng masa.  

Ang katiwalian ay susuko sa liwanag,

At ang bayan ay babangon, muling magkakaisa...

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English Version:

“Beneath the Flag’s Shadow”

Beneath the flag’s shadow, honor bleeds,  

Justice begs in the pockets of fools.  

The law like paper, crumpled and tossed,  

While the powerful leap without cost.  

Each project hides a secret fee, 

The roads paved in gold—but not for you and me.  

The poor walk through mud made of promises,  

While the throne drinks deep in indulgences.  

Names mentioned in the news like a curse,  

Yet they wear scales, immune to worse.  

Cases rot in rooms of forgetting,  

Truth is sold to fear and betting.  

But beyond the dark, a voice begins—  

A mother’s cry, a farmer’s hymn,  

The youth who cast away their chains,  

And hope that thieves cannot contain.  

One day, the flag will rise again,  

Not in palaces, but in the hearts of men.  

Corruption will kneel before the light,  

And the nation will rise—whole, upright.

~ Copyright ©EmperatrizV @Sunflower for Emily, 21 September 2025 - All Rights Reserved

Beneath The Archipelago's Veil

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In the land where the sun first kissed the sea,  

Where heroes bled for liberty,  

A shadow grows beneath the gold—  

A tale of power bought and sold.  

The mango trees still bear their fruit,  

But roots are tangled in dispute.  

The rice fields whisper ancient songs,  

Yet justice limps where it belongs.  

Palaces rise on stolen stone,  

While children sleep on streets alone.  

The law, a mask with hollow eyes,  

Winks at thieves in suit and ties.  

They speak of progress, paved in lies,  

Of roads that curve where truth still dies.  

The budget bloats, the poor grow thin—  

A cycle greased by silent sin.  

But listen—there’s a pulse beneath,  

A drumbeat rising from the grief.  

From slums and schools, from farms and bays,  

A voice begins to split the haze.  

It names the rot, it breaks the spell,  

It tolls the truth like chapel bell.  

For even in this tainted air,  

The soul of freedom still burns there.  

So write, resist, remember well—  

The archipelago shall quell  

The greed that grips her fragile throat,  

And rise again, on truth afloat.

~ Copyright ©EmperatrizV @Sunflower for Emily, 21 September 2025 - All Rights Reserved