Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 13) — Listen up! Ben&Ben wants you to know it is okay to speak your mind.
The folk-pop band released in time for Independence Day, June 12, the full track of ‘Nakikinig Ka Ba Sa Akin,’ a song, which celebrates right to freedom of opinion and expression.
A portion of the lyrics goes:
Kung meron kang pupurihin
Sige lang gawin mo iyan
Kung meron kang babatikusin
Sige lang gawin mo iyan
Mahalaga’y bawat isa’y mapakinggan!
The band’s post about the new song rapidly gained ground, amassing around 65,000 ‘likes’ on Facebook, less than 24 hours since it was released.
It was on April 4 when the group of musicians shared that they have finished writing Nakikinig Ka Ba Sa Akin while on lockdown like the rest of people in Luzon. A day later, the musicians teased an over two-minute clip of the song on Twitter and wrote: “Naglalagay pa lang kami ng instruments ng band this week.”
[Translation: We will be arranging band instruments this week.]
The track comes amid strong opposition to the anti-terrorism bill, over which human rights groups and even prominent celebrities have expressed alarm, arguing that it may be used as a weapon against the government’s detractors due to its ‘vague’ provisions, including warrantless arrests.
Last week, the band openly criticized the measure certified as urgent by President Rodrigo Duterte.
On June 2, Paolo Benjamin himself, one of the lyricists of Nakikinig Ka Ba Sa Akin, tweeted “Ang aktibismo ay hindi terorismo. (Activism is not terrorism). #JunkTerrorBillNow.”
Malacañan Palace received the copy of the proposed legislation early this week, making it a sign away from being a law.
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Bago matapos ang araw, i-Email nating lahat ang ating mga opisyal dito:https://t.co/HygK9i9E5r
Katukin natin ang mga puso nila hanggang marinig nila tayo. Please read this message from us (Ben&Ben) to all of you: pic.twitter.com/a89quqWya8
— Ben&Ben (@BenAndBenMusic) June 7, 2020
