These two special civil actions for Certiorari, Mandamus and Prohibition were consolidated because they raise essentially the same issue: whether school children who are members of a religious sect known as Jeho­vah's Witnesses may be expelled from school (both public and private), for refusing, on account of their reli­gious beliefs, to take part in the flag ceremony which includes playing (by a band) or singing the Philippine national anthem, saluting the Philippine flag and reciting the patriotic pledge.

In G.R. No. 95770, "Rose Ebralinag, et al. vs. Division Superintendent of Schools of Cebu and Manuel F. Biongcog, Cebu District Supervisor," the petitioners are 43 high school and elementary school students in the towns of Daan Bantayan, Pinamungajan, Carcar, and Taburan, Cebu province. All minors, they are assisted by their parents who belong to the religious group known as Jehovah's Witnesses which claims some 100,000 "baptized publishers" in the Philippines.

In G.R. No. 95887, "May Amolo, et al. vs. Division Superintendent of Schools of Cebu and Antonio A. Sangu­tan," the petitioners are 25 high school and grade school students enrolled in public schools in Asturias, Cebu, whose parents are Jehovah's Witnesses. Both petitions were prepared by the same counsel, Attorney Felino M. Ganal.

All the petitioners in these two cases were ex­pelled from their classes by the public school authori­ties in Cebu for refusing to salute the flag, sing the national anthem and recite the patriotic pledge as required by Republic Act No. 1265 of July 11, 1955, and by Department Order No. 8 dated July 21, 1955 of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) making the flag ceremony compulsory in all educational institutions. Republic Act No. 1265 provides:

"Sec. 1. All educational institutions shall henceforth ob­serve daily flag ceremony, which shall be simple and dignified and shall include the playing or singing of the Philippine National anthem.

"Sec. 2. The Secretary of Education is hereby authorized and directed to issue or cause to be issued rules and regulations for the proper conduct of the flag ceremony herein provided.

"Sec. 3. Failure or refusal to observe the flag ceremony provided by this Act and in accordance with rules and regulations issued by the Secretary of Education, after proper notice and hearing, shall subject the educational institution concerned and its head to public censure as an administrative punish­ment which shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation.

"In case of failure to observe for the second time the flag ceremo­ny provided by this Act, the Secre­tary of Education, after proper notice and hearing, shall cause the cancellation of the recognition or permit of the private educational institution responsible for such failure."

The implementing rules and regulations in Depart­ment Order No. 8 provide:

"RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR CONDUCTING THE FLAG
CEREMONY IN ALL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
"1. The Filipino Flag shall be displayed by all educational institutions, public and private, every school day throughout the year. It shall be raised at sunrise and lowered at sunset. The flag­staff must be straight, slightly and gently tapering at the end, and of such height as would give the Flag a commanding position in front of the building or within the compound.

"2. Every public and private educational institution shall hold a flag-raising ceremony every morning except when it is raining, in which event the ceremony may be conducted indoors in the best way possible. A retreat shall be held in the afternoon of the same day. The flag-raising ceremony in the morning shall be conducted in the following manner:

"a.  Pupils and teachers or students and faculty members who are in school and its premises shall assemble in formation facing the flag. At command, books shall be put away or held in the left hand and everybody shall come to attention. Those with hats shall uncover. No one shall enter or leave the school grounds during the ceremony.

"b.  The assembly shall sing the Philippine National Anthem accompanied by the school band or without the accompaniment if it has none; or the anthem may be played by the school band alone. At the first note of the Anthem, the flag shall be raised briskly. While the flag is being raised, all persons present shall stand at atten­tion and execute a salute. Boys and men with hats shall salute by placing the hat over the heart. Those without hat may stand with their arms and hands down and straight at the sides. Those in military or Boy Scout uniform shall give the salute prescribed by their regulations. The salute shall be started as the Flag rises, and completed upon last note of the anthem.

"c.  Immediately following the singing of the Anthem, the assembly shall recite in unison the following patriotic pledge (English or vernacular version), which may bring the ceremony to a close. This is required of all public schools and of private schools which are intended for Filipino students or whose population is predominantly Filipino.

"English Version"
I love the Philippines.
It is the land of my birth;
It is the home of my people.
It protects me and helps me to be strong, happy and useful.
In return, I will heed the counsel of my parents;
I will obey the rules of my school;
I will perform the duties of a patriotic, law-abiding citizen;
I will serve my country unselfishly and faithfully;
I will be a true Filipino in thought, in word, in deed.

xxx                                 xxx                               xxx."

Jehovah's Witnesses admittedly teach their chil­dren not to salute the flag, sing the national anthem, and recite the patriotic pledge for they believe that those are "acts of worship" or "religious devotion" (p. 10, Rollo) which they "cannot conscientiously give x x x to anyone or anything except God" (p. 8, Rollo). They feel bound by the Bible's command to "guard ourselves from idols - 1 John 5:21" (p. 9, Rollo). They consider the flag as an image or idol representing the State (p. 10, Rollo). They think the action of the local authori­ties in compelling the flag salute and pledge transcends constitutional limitations on the State's power and invades the sphere of the intellect and spirit which the Constitution protects against official control (p. 10, Rollo).

This is not the first time that the question, of whether the children of Jehovah's Witnesses may be expelled from school for disobedience of R.A. No. 1265 and Department Order No. 8, series of 1955, has been raised before this Court.

The same issue was raised in 1959 in Gerona, et al. vs. Secretary of Education, et al., 106 Phil. 2 (1959) and Balbuna, et al. vs. Secretary of Education, 110 Phil. 150 (1960). This Court in the Gerona case upheld the expulsion of the students, thus:

"The flag is not an image but a symbol of the Republic of the Philippines, an emblem of national sovereignty, of national unity and cohesion and of freedom and liberty which it and the Constitution guar­antee and protect. Under a system of complete separation of church and state in the government, the flag is utterly devoid of any religious significance. Saluting the flag does not involve any religious ceremony. The flag salute is no more a religious ceremony than the taking of an oath of office by a public official or by a candidate for admission to the bar."

"In requiring school pupils to participate in the flag salute, the State thru the Secretary of Educa­tion is not imposing a religion or religious belief or a religious test on said students. It is merely enforcing a non-discriminatory school regulation applicable to all alike whether Christian, Moslem, Protestant or Jehovah's Witness. The State is merely carrying out the duty imposed upon it by the Consti­tution which charges it with super­vision over and regulation of all educational institutions, to estab­lish and maintain a complete and adequate system of public education, and see to it that all schools aim to develop, among other things, civic conscience and teach the duties of citizenship."

"The children of Jehovah's Witnesses cannot be exempted from participation in the flag ceremony. They have no valid right to such exemption. Moreover, exemption to the requirement will disrupt school discipline and demoralize the rest of the school population which by far constitutes the great majority."

"The freedom of religious belief guaranteed by the Constitu­tion does not and cannot mean exemp­tion from or non-compliance with reasonable and non-discriminatory laws, rules add regulations promul­gated by competent authority." (pp. 2-3.)

Gerona was reiterated in Balbuna, as follows:

"The Secretary of Education was duly authorized by the Legisla­ture thru Republic Act 1265 to promulgate said Department Order, and its provisions requiring the observance of the flag salute, not being a religious ceremony, but an act and profession of love and allegiance and pledge of loyalty to the fatherland which the flag stands for, does not violate the constitutional provision on freedom of religion." (Balbuna, et al. vs. Secretary of Education, et al., 110 Phil. 150.)

Republic Act No. 1265 and the ruling in Gerona have been incorporated in Section 28, Title VI, Chapter 9 of the Administrative Code of 1987 (Executive Order No. 292) which took effect on September 21, 1988 (one year after its publication in the Official Gazette, Vol. 83, No. 38 of September 21, 1987). Paragraph 5 of Section 28 gives legislative cachet to the ruling in Gerona, thus:

"5.  Any teacher or student or pupil who refuses to join or partic­ipate in the flag ceremony may be dismissed after due investigation."

However, the petitioners herein have not raised in issue the constitutionality of the above provision of the new Administrative Code of 1987. They have targeted only Republic Act No. 1265 and the implementing orders of the DECS.

In 1989, the DECS Regional Office in Cebu received complaints about teachers and pupils belonging to the Jehovah's Witnesses, and enrolled in various public and private schools, who refused to sing the Philippine national anthem, salute the Philippine flag and recite the patriotic pledge. Division Superintendent of Schools, Susana B. Cabahug of the Cebu Division of DECS, and Dr./Atty. Marcelo M. Bacalso, Assistant Division Superintendent, recalling this Court's decision in Gerona, issued Division Memorandum No. 108, dated November 17, 1989 (pp. 147-148, Rollo of G.R. No. 95770) directing District Supervisors, High School Principals and Heads of Private Educational Institutions as fol­lows:

"1.     Reports reaching this Office disclose that there are a number of teachers, pupils, stu­dents, and school employees in public schools who refuse to salute the Philippine flag or participate in the daily flag ceremony because f some religious belief.

"2.     Such refusal not only undermines Republic Act No. 1265 and the DECS Department Order No. 8, Series of 1955 (Implementing Rules and Regulations) but also strikes at the heart of the DECS sustained effort to inculcate patriotism and nationalism.

"3.     Let it be stressed that any belief that considers the flag as an image is not in any manner whatever a justification for not saluting the Philippine flag or not participating in flag ceremony. Thus, the Supreme Court of the Philippine says:

"'The flag is not an image but a symbol of the Repub­lic of the Philippines, an emblem of national sover­eignty, of national unity and cohesion and freedom and liberty which it and the Constitution guarantee and protect.' (Gerona, et al. vs. Sec. of Education, et al., 106 Phil. 11.)

"4.  As regards the claim for freedom of belief, which an ob­jectionist may advance, the Supreme Court asserts:

"'But between the freedom of belief and the exercise of said belief, there is quite a stretch of road to travel. If the exercise of said religious belief clashes with the established institutions of society and with the law, then the former must yield and give way to the latter.' (Gerona, et al. vs. Sec. of Education, et al., 106 Phil. 11.)

"5.     Accordingly, teachers and school employees who choose not to participate in the daily flag cere­mony or to obey the flag salute regulation spelled out in Department Order No. 8, Series of 1955, shall be considered removed from the service after due process.

"6.  In strong language about pupils and students who do the same the Supreme Court has this to say:

"'If they choose not to obey the flag salute regulation, they merely lost the benefits of public education being maintained at the expense of their fellow Citizens, nothing more. According to a popular expression, they could take it or leave it! Having elected not to comply with the regulation about the flag salute they forfeited their right to attend public schools.' (Gerona, et al. vs. Sec. of Education, et al., 106 Phil. 15.)

"7. School administrators shall therefore submit to this Office a report on those who choose not to participate in flag ceremony or salute the Philippine flag." (pp. 147-148, Rollo of G.R. No. 95770; Underscoring supplied.)

Cebu school officials resorted to a number of ways to persuade the children of Jehovah's Witnesses to obey the memorandum. In the Buenavista Elementary School, the children were asked to sign an Agreement (Kasabutan) in the Cebuano dialect promising to sing the national anthem, place their right hand on their breast until the end of the song and recite the pledge of allegiance to the flag (Annex D, p. 46, Rollo of G.R. No. 95770 and p. 48, Rollo of G.R. No. 95887), but they refused to sign the "Kasabutan" (p. 20, Rollo of G.R. No. 95770).

In Tubigmanok Elementary School, the Teacher-In-­Charge, Antonio A. Sangutan, met with the Jehovah's Witnesses' parents, as disclosed in his letter of Octo­ber 17, 1990, excerpts from which reveal the following:

"After two (2) fruitless confrontation meetings with the Jehovah's Witnesses' parents on October 2, 1990 and yesterday due to their firm stand not to salute the flag of the Republic of the Philip­pines during Flag Ceremony and other occasions, as mandated by law spe­cifically Republic Act No. 1265, this Office hereby orders the drop­ping from the list in the School Register (BPS Form I) of all teach­ers, all Jehovah Witness pupils from Grade I up to Grade VI effective today.

"xxx                           xxx                               xxx.

"This order is in compliance with Division Memorandum No. 108 s. 1989 dated November 17, 1989 by virtue of Department Order No. 8 s. 1955 dated July 21, 1955 in accord­ance with Republic Act No. 1265 and Supreme Court Decision of a case 'Genaro Gerona, et al., Petitioners and Appellants vs. The Honorable Secretary of Education, et al., Respondents and Appellees' dated August 12, 1959 against their favor." (p. 149, Rollo of G.R. No. 95770.)

In the DaanBantayan District, the District Super­visor, Manuel F. Biongcog, ordered the "dropping from the rolls" of students who "opted to follow their reli­gious belief which is against the Flag Salute Law" on the theory that "they forfeited their right to attend public schools." (p. 47, Rollo of G.R. No. 95770.)

"1st Indorsement
DAANBANTAYAN DISTRICT II
Daanbantayan, Cebu, July 24, 1990
"Respectfully returned to Mrs. Alicia A. Diaz, School In Charge [sic], Agujo Elementary School with the information that this office is sad to order the dropping of Jere­mias Diamos and Jeaneth Diamos, Grades III and IV pupils respective­ly from the roll since they opted to follow their religious belief which is against the Flag Salute Law (R.A. 1265) and DECS Order No. 8, series of 1955, having elected not to comply with the regulation about the flag salute they forfeited their right to attend public schools (Gerona, et al. vs. Sec. of Educa­tion, et al., 106 Philippines 15). However, should they change their mind to respect and follow the Flag Salute Law they may be re-accepted."

"(Sgd.) MANUEL F. BIONGCOG
District Supervisor"

(p. 47, Rollo of G.R. No. 95770.)

The expulsion as of October 23, 1990 of the 43 petitioning students of the Daanbantayan National High School, Agujo Elementary School, Calape Barangay Nation­al High School, Pinamungajan Provincial High School, Tabuelan Central School, Canasojan Elementary School, Liboron Elementary School, Tagaytay Primary School, San Juan Primary School and Northern Central Elementary School of San Fernando, Cebu, upon order of then Acting Division Superintendent Marcelo Bacalso, prompted some Jehovah's Witnesses in Cebu to appeal to the Secretary of Education Isidro Cariño but the latter did not answer their letter. (p. 21, Rollo.)

The petition in G.R. No. 95887 was filed by 25 students who were similarly expelled because Dr. Pablo Antopina, who succeeded Susana Cabahug as Division Superintendent of Schools, would not recall the expulsion orders of his predecessor. Instead, he verbally caused the expulsion of some more children of Jehovah's Wit­nesses.

On October 31, 1990, the students and their parents filed these special civil actions for Mandamus, Certiorari and Prohibition alleging that the public respondents acted without or in excess of their juris­diction and with grave abuse of discretion - (1) in ordering their expulsion without prior notice and hearing, hence, in violation of their right to due process, their right to free public education, and their right to freedom of speech, religion and worship (p. 23, Rollo). The petitioners pray that:

"c. Judgment be rendered:

"i. declaring null and void the expulsion or dropping from the rolls of herein petitioners from their respective schools;

"ii. prohibiting and enjoining respondent from further barring the petitioners from their classes or otherwise implementing the expulsion ordered on petitioners; and

"iii. compelling the respondent and all persons acting for him to admit and order the re-admission of petitioners to their respective schools." (p. 41, Rollo.)

and that pending the determination of the merits of these cases, a temporary restraining order be issued enjoining the respondents from enforcing the expulsion of the petitioners and to re-admit them to their respective classes.

On November 27, 1990, the Court issued a temporary restraining order and a writ of preliminary mandatory injunction commanding the respondents to immediately readmit the petitioners to their respective classes until further orders from this Court (p. 57, Rollo).

The Court also ordered the Secretary of Education and Cebu District Supervisor Manuel F. Biongcog to be impleaded as respondents in these cases.

On May 13, 1991, the Solicitor General filed a consolidated comment to the petitions (p. 98, Rollo) defending the expulsion orders issued by the public respondents on the grounds that:

1.  Bizarre religious practices of the Jehovah's Witnesses produce rebellious and anti-social school chil­dren and consequently disloyal and mutant Fili­pino citizens.

2.  There are no new and valid grounds to sustain the charges of the Jehovah's Witnesses that the DECS' rules and regulations on the flag salute ceremonies are violative of their freedom of religion and worship.

3.  The flag salute is devoid of any religious signifi­cance; instead, it incul­cates respect and love of country, for which the flag stands.

4.  The State's compelling interests being pursued by the DECS' lawful regula­tions in question do not warrant exemption of the school children of the Jehovah's Witnesses from the flag salute ceremonies on the basis of their own self-perceived religious convictions.

5.  The issue is not freedom of speech but enforcement of law and jurisprudence.

6.  State's power to regulate repressive and unlawful religious practices justi­fied, besides having scriptural basis.

7.  The penalty of expulsion is legal and valid, more so with the enactment of Executive Order No. 292 (The Administrative Code of 1987).

Our task here is extremely difficult, for the 30-year-old decision of this Court in Gerona upholding the flag salute law and approving the expulsion of students who refuse to obey it, is not lightly to be trifled with.

It is somewhat ironic however, that after the Gerona ruling had received legislative cachet by its incorporation in the Administrative Code of 1987, the present Court believes that the time has come to reexam­ine it. 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 right to religious profession and worship has a two-fold aspect, vis., freedom to believe and freedom to act on one's belief. The first is absolute as long as the belief is confined within the realm of thought. The second is subject to regulation where the belief is translated into external acts that affect the public welfare" (J. Cruz, Constitutional Law, 1991 Ed., pp. 176-177).

Petitioners stress, however, that while they do not take part in the compulsory flag ceremony, they do not engage in "external acts" or behavior that would offend their countrymen who believe in expressing their love of country through the observance of the flag ceremony. They quietly stand at attention during the flag ceremony to show their respect for the right of those who choose to participate in the solemn proceed­ings (Annex F, Rollo of G.R. No. 95887, p. 50 and Rollo of G.R. No. 95770, p. 48). Since they do not engage in disruptive behavior, there is no warrant for their expulsion.

"The sole justification for a prior restraint or limitation on the exercise of religious freedom (accord­ing to the late Chief Justice Claudio Teehankee in his dissenting opinion in German vs. Barangan, 135 SCRA 514, 517) 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." Absent such a threat to public safety, the expulsion of the petitioners from the schools is not justified.

The situation that the Court direly predicted in Gerona that:

"[T]he flag ceremony will become a thing of the past or perhaps conducted with very few participants, and the time will come when we would have citizens untaught and uninculcated in and not imbued with reverence for the flag and love of country, admiration for national heroes, and patriotism -- a pathet­ic, even tragic situation, and all because a small portion of the school population imposed its will, demanded and was granted an exemption." (Gerona, 24.)

has not come to pass. 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 or 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 duly constituted authorities.

As Mr. Justice Jackson remarked in West Virginia vs. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943):

"x x x 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. x x x 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, x x x - - 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." (Meyer vs. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 67 L. ed. 1042, 1046.)

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 x x x and to make such education accessible to all" (Sec. 1, Art. XIV).

In Victoriano vs. Elizalde Rope Workers' Union, 59 SCRA 54, 72-75, we uphheld the exemption of members of the Iglesia ni Cristo, from the coverage of a closed shop agreement between their employer and a union be­cause it would violate the teaching of their church not to join any labor group:

"x x x It is certain that not every conscience can be accomodated by all the laws of the land; but when general laws conflict with scruples of conscience, exemptions ought to be granted unless some 'compelling state interests' intervenes." (Sherbert vs. Berner, 374 U.S. 398, 10 L. Ed. 2d 965, 970, 83 S. Ct. 1790.)"

We hold that a similar exemption may be accorded to the Jehovah's Witnesses with regard to the observance of the flag ceremony out of respect for their religious beliefs, however "bizarre" those beliefs may seem to others. Nevertheless, their right not to participate in the flag ceremony does not give them a right to disrupt such patriotic exercises. Paraphrasing the warning cited by this Court in Non vs. Dames II, 185 SCRA 523, 535, while the highest regard must be afforded their right to the free exercise of their religion, "this should not be taken to mean that school authori­ties are powerless to discipline them" if they should commit breaches of the peace by actions that offend the sensibilities, both religious and patriotic, of other persons. If they quietly stand at attention during the flag ceremony while their classmates and teachers salute the flag, sing the national anthem and recite the patri­otic pledge, we do not see how such conduct may possibly disturb the peace, or pose "a grave and present danger 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" (German vs. Barangan, 135 SCRA 514, 517).

Before we close this decision, it is appropriate to recall the Japanese occupation of our country in 1942-1944 when every Filipino, regardless of religious persuasion, in fear of the invader, saluted the Japanese flag and bowed before every Japanese soldier. Perhaps, if petitioners had lived through that dark period of our history, they would not quibble now about saluting the Philippine flag. For when liberation came in 1944 and our own flag was proudly hoisted aloft again, it was a beautiful sight to behold that made our hearts pound with pride and joy over the newly-regained freedom and sovereignty of our nation.

Although the Court upholds in this decision the petitioners' right under our Constitution to refuse to salute the Philippine flag on account of their religious beliefs, we hope, nevertheless, that another foreign invasion of our country will not be necessary in order for our countrymen to appreciate and cherish the Philippine flag.

WHEREFORE, the petition for certiorari and prohibition is GRANTED. The expulsion orders issued by the public respondents against the petitioners are hereby ANNULLED AND SET ASIDE. The temporary restraining order which was issued by this Court is hereby made permanent.
SO ORDERED.

Narvasa, C.J., Feliciano, Bidin, Regalado, Davide, Jr., Romero, Nocon, Bellosillo, Melo, and Campos, Jr., JJ., concur.
Cruz, J., see concurring opinion.
Padilla, J., see separate opinion.
Gutierrez, Jr., J., on leave.
Quiason, J., no part.

---

^* The flag salute, singing the national anthem and reciting the patriotic pledge are all forms of utterances.

CONCURRING OPINION
CRUZ, J.:

I am happy to concur with Mme. Justice Carolina Griño-Aquino in her quietly eloquent affirmation of a vital postulate of freedom. I would only add my brief observations concerning Gerona v. Secretary of Education.

In my humble view, Gerona was based on an erroneous assumption. The Court that promulgated it was apparently laboring under the conviction that the State had the right to determine what was religious and what was not and to dictate to the individual what he could and could not worship. In pronouncing that the flag was not a religious image but a symbol of the nation, it was implying that no one had the right to worship it or - as the petitioners insisted - not to worship it. This was no different from saying that the cult that reveres Rizal as a divinity should not and cannot do so because he is only a civic figure deserving honor but not veneration.

It seems to me that every individual is entitled to choose for himself whom or what to worship or whether to worship at all. This is a personal decision he alone can make. The individual may worship a spirit or a person or a beast or a tree (or a flag), and the State cannot prevent him from doing so. For that matter, neither can it compel him to do so. As long as his beliefs are not externalized in acts that offend the public interest, he cannot be prohibited from harboring them or punished for doing so.

In requiring the herein petitioners to participate in the flag ceremony, the State has declared ex cathedra that they are not violating the Bible by saluting the flag. This is to me an unwarranted intrusion into their religious beliefs, which tell them the opposite. The State cannot interpret the Bible for them: only they can read it as they see fit. Right or wrong, the meaning they derive from it cannot be revised or reversed except perhaps by their own acknowledged superiors. But certainly not the State. It has no competence in this matter. Religion is forbidden territory that the State, for all its power and authority, cannot invade.

I am not unaware of Justice Frankfurter's admonition that "the constitutional protection of religious freedom terminated disabilities, it did not create new privileges. It gave religious equality, not civil immunity. Its essence is freedom from conformity to religious dogma, not freedom from conformity to law because of religious dogma."

But in the case at bar, the law to which the petitioners are made to conform clashes with their own understanding of their religious obligations. Significantly, as the ponencia notes, their intransigence does not disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the school or otherwise prejudice the public order. Their refusal to salute the flag and recite the patriotic pledge does not disrupt the flag ceremony. They neither mock nor disdain it. The petitioners simply stand at attention and keep quiet "to show their respect for the right of those who choose to participate in the solemn proceedings." It is for this innocuous conduct that, pursuant to the challenged law and regulations, the teachers have been dismissed and the students expelled.

Freedom of speech includes the right to be silent. Aptly has it been said that the Bill of Rights that guarantees to the individual the liberty to utter what is in his mind also guarantees to him the liberty not to utter what is not in his mind. The salute is a symbolic manner of communication that conveys its message as clearly as the written or spoken word. As a valid form of expression, it cannot be compelled any more than it can be prohibited in the face of valid religious objections like those raised in this petition. To impose it on the petitioners is to deny them the right not to speak when their religion bids them to be silent. This coercion of conscience has no place in the free society.

The democratic system provides for the accommodation of diverse ideas, including the unconventional and even the bizarre or eccentric. The will of the majority prevails, but it cannot regiment thought by prescribing the recitation by rote of its opinions or proscribing the assertion of unorthodox or unpopular views as in this case. The conscientious objections of the petitioners, no less than the impatience of those who disagree with them, are protected by the Constitution. The State cannot make the individual speak when the soul within rebels.

SEPARATE OPINION
PADILLA, J.:

I concur in the Court's decision penned by Madame Justice Carolina C. Grino-Aquino that school teachers and students who cannot salute the flag, sing the national anthem and recite the pledge of loyalty to the country, on grounds of religious belief or conviction, may not on this ground alone be dismissed from the service or expelled from the school.

At the same time, I am really concerned with what could be the far-reaching consequences of our ruling in that, we may in effect be sanctioning a privileged or elite class of teachers and students who will hereafter be exempt from participating, even when they are in the school premises, in the flag ceremony in deference to their religious scruples. What happens, for instance, if some citizens, based also on their religious beliefs, were to refuse to pay taxes and license fees to the government? Perhaps problems of this nature should not be anticipated. They will be resolved when and if they ever arise. But with today's decision, we may have created more problems than we have solved.

It cannot be denied that the State has the right and even the duty to promote among its citizens, especially the youth, love of country, respect for the flag and reverence for its national heroes. It cannot also be disputed that the State has the right to adopt reasonable means by which these laudable objectives can be effectively pursued and achieved. The flag ceremony is one such device intended to inspire patriotism and evoke the finest sentiments of love of country and people.

In fine, the flag ceremony is a legitimate means to achieve legitimate (and noble) ends. For a select few to be exempt from the flag ceremony and all that it represents even if the exemption is predicated on respect for religious scruples, could be divisive in its impact on the school population or community.

I would therefore submit that, henceforth, teachers and students who because of religious scruples or beliefs cannot actively participate in the flag ceremony conducted in the school premises should be excluded beforehand from such ceremony. Instead of allowing the religious objector to attend the flag ceremony and display therein his inability to salute the flag, sing the national anthem and recite the pledge of loyalty to the Republic, he or she should remain in the classroom while honors to the flag are conducted and manifested in the "quadrangle" or equivalent place within school premises; or if the flag ceremony must be held in a hall, the religious objector must take his or her place at the rear of (or outside) the hall while those who actively participate in the ceremony must take the front places. This arrangement can, in my view, achieve an accommodation and, to a certain extent, harmonization of a citizen's constitutional right to freedom of religion and a valid exercise of the State's fundamental and legitimate authority to require homage and honor to the flag as the symbol of the Nation.