Lupang Hinirang is the national anthem of the Philippines. It started out as an instrumental march commissioned by Emilio Aguinaldo, the then Philippine President, to Julian Felipe, for use in the proclamation of Philippine independence on June 12, 1898. The title of the march was Marcha Filipina Magdalo. Later the title was changed to Marcha Nacional Filipina upon its adoptation as the national march.
Then, in August 1899, a young poet-soldier named Jose Palma wrote the poem Filipinas in Spanish. It became the words of the national hymn.
During the 1920s, with the repeal of the Flag Law, the American Colonial Government decided to translate the national hymn from Spanish to English. Camilo Osias, and an American, A.L. Lane, did the translation.
Finally, during the term of Pres. Ramon Magsaysay, the national anthem was translated by Julian Cruz Balmaceda and Ildefonso Santos to the native language, Tagalog. On May 26, 1956, the National Anthem, Lupang Hinirang was finally sung in Filipino. Minor revisions were made in 1962, and it is this final version which is in use today.
