I took this photograph using my wife’s Nokia 6288 last November 18 (Sunday). Joy and I just stepped out of a newly opened restaurant along Adriatico Street (Manila) and we noticed this tattered Philippine flag displayed – accidentally and not proudly, I think – by a barber shop just in front of the restaurant where we ate.

I don’t mean to wax poetic (I’ve given up on poetry a long time ago), but don’t you think the tattered Philippine flag symbolizes the state of the nation? I doubt if this was done on purpose by the owners of the barber shop. One can surmise that the tattered flag only resulted from the owners’ oversight or laziness.

The barber shop’s display of a tattered Philippine flag is, I think, very much unlike an optical shop at the UP Shopping Center which, as of November 24 (Saturday), has a Philippine flag displayed on its door, with the red field on the left side (observer’s vantage point upon entering the shop) signifying a state of war. I never bothered to call the owner’s attention to it, since it’s possible that this was done on purpose.

There is, of course, a legal way to display the Philippine flag as stipulated in Republic Act No. 8491 both in times of war and peace. Is “war” now being liberally interpreted (wittingly or unwittingly) to include times of social crisis?

Please tell me what you think. By the way, since I still have some copies of the book I recently co-authored titled Monitoring Media Coverage of Elections, the first person who can identify the barber shop along Adriatico Street that displays this tattered flag will get a free copy.

If you know the answer, please leave a comment on this post. As may be attested by the winners of my previous contest, rest assured that this contest is legitimate, no strings attached.

Thank you for reading and good luck!