In 2019, House Bill No. 4952 declaring “Waling-Waling as the National Orchid of the Philippines” was filed in Congress. It passed in the House of Representatives and was transmitted to the Senate last December.
While the bill does not mandate the Sampaguita to be replaced as the country’s national flower, there are some proponents of the bill who believe it should.
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Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts, and Culture, has cited the Sampaguita’s “ties” to the country’s “colonial past” as a reason to select another national flower. The Sampaguita was originally chosen as a national symbol during the American occupation in the Philippines.
“It seems to me that Waling-waling is a heavier candidate because it is endemic and represents a lot of qualities of our people,” justified Gatchalian. However, he did caveat that “more research” would have to be done before the Waling-waling can be recognized as a national symbol.
“We don’t want to pass a law just to circumvent another law. We pass a law because it truly represents us as a people,” he said.
National Museum Director Jeremy Barns expressed reluctance to replace the Sampaguita “because of its ubiquity and its cultural value.”
“We are reluctant… to replace a cultural icon,” Barns told the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture. He mentioned that though the Sampaguita was selected by then-Governor Frank Murphy, the American was advised by a Filipino expert.
“The basis for the proclamation [of the Sampaguita as the national flower] was its popularity, ornamental value, fragrance, and the role it plays in the legends and traditions of the Filipino people,” he continued.
Barns did concede that “there’s no real obligation” to have only one national flower.
“The more, the merrier…We [can] highlight orchids because they are special in the Philippine biodiversity, so maybe they do merit highlighting as a family of species within flowering plants in general,” Barnes said.
What do you think about this?
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