The idea that one may be compelled to
salute the flag, sing the national anthem, and recite the patriotic pledge,
during a flag ceremony on pain of being dismissed from one's job or of being
expelled from school, is alien to the conscience of the present generation of
Filipinos who cut their teeth on the Bill of Rights which guarantees
their rights to free speech ** and the free exercise of religious profession
and worship (Sec. 5, Article III, 1987 Constitution; Article IV, Section 8,
1973 Constitution; Article III, Section 1[7], 1935 Constitution).
Religious freedom is a fundamental right which is entitled to the highest priority and the amplest protection among human rights, for it involves the relationship of man to his Creator (Chief Justice Enrique M. Fernando's separate opinion in German vs. Barangan, 135 SCRA 514, 530-531).
The sole justification for a prior restraint or limitation on the
exercise of religious freedom is the existence of a grave and present
danger of a character both grave and imminent, of a serious evil to public
safety, public morals, public health or any other legitimate public interest,
that the State has a right (and duty) to prevent."
We are not persuaded that by exempting the Jehovah's Witnesses
from saluting the flag, singing the national anthem and reciting the patriotic
pledge, this religious group which admittedly comprises a "small portion
of the school population" will shake up our part of the globe and suddenly
produce a nation "untaught and uninculcated in and unimbued with reverence
for the flag, patriotism, love of country and admiration for national
heroes" (Gerona vs. Sec. of Education, 106 Phil. 2, 24). After all, what
the petitioners seek only is exemption from the flag ceremony, not exclusion from
the public schools where they may study the Constitution, the democratic way of
life and form of government, and learn not only the arts, sciences, Philippine
history and culture but also receive training for a vocation of profession and
be taught the virtues of "patriotism, respect for human rights,
appreciation for national heroes, the rights and duties of citizenship, and
moral and spiritual values (Sec. 3[2], Art. XIV, 1987 Constitution) as part of
the curricula. Expelling or banning the petitioners from Philippine schools
will bring about the very situation that this Court had feared in Gerona.
Forcing a small religious group, through the iron hand of the law, to
participate in a ceremony that violates their religious beliefs, will hardly be
conducive to love of country or respect for dully constituted authorities.
As Mr. Justice Jackson remarked in West Virginia vs. Barnette,
319 U.S. 624 (1943):
To believe that patriotism will not flourish if patriotic
ceremonies are voluntary and spontaneous instead of a compulsory routine is to
make an unflattering estimate of the appeal of our institutions to free minds.
. . . When they [diversity] are so harmless to others or to the State as those
we deal with here, the price is not too great. But freedom to differ is not
limited to things that do not matter much. That would be a mere shadow of
freedom. The test of its substance is the right to differ as to things that
touch the heart of the existing order. Furthermore, let it be noted that
coerced unity and loyalty even to the country
— assuming that such unity and loyalty can be attained through coercion
— is not a goal that is constitutionally obtainable at the expense of religious
liberty. A desirable end cannot be promoted by prohibited means.
Moreover, the expulsion of members of
Jehovah's Witnesses from the schools where they are enrolled will violate their
right as Philippine citizens, under the 1987 Constitution, to receive free
education, for it is the duty of the State to "protect and promote the
right of all citizens to quality education . . . and to make such education
accessible to all (Sec. 1, Art. XIV).
