Song Trigger #1: "Handog" by Florante

One of the Philippines' most enduring folk anthems is the ultimate thank you—so ultimate, it's been deemed an appropriate soundtrack at funerals.

It was over a year ago when I hinted at a new series on the Once Monthly focusing on individual songs. Well, after one rejected draft and several attempts at renaming the series later, say hello to that series: Song Trigger. The idea: one song triggering one story or observation—and all in less than a thousand words, I hope.

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We Filipinos are terrible with keeping track of our history, or at least of making sure it is accessible to folks like me who need to look something up while writing something really fast over the weekend.

What I can do is start with a little history lesson. The late 1970s is widely considered as one of the heydays of Filipino music, when the “Manila Sound” emerged. It’s not so much a genre but an era: local artists borrowed heavily from the prevalent American pop sounds of the time and infused it with both a street-smart and a sentimental Filipino sensibility. The expressions were also as rich and varied: from the pop-funk of Hotdog and VST & Co., to the (deceptively) bubblegum pop of Cinderella and Apo Hiking Society, to the subversive rock of Juan dela Cruz Band and Sampaguita, to the lush folk-rock of Freddie Aguilar and Asin. Amplifying all this is the tensions that lurked underneath the edifice of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s “Bagong Lipunan”, and the fact that listening habits then seemed more unified; Filipino music may just be as rich now, but we’re just so fragmented these days it’s difficult to find a bunch of artists that truly brought the country together.

One of the biggest acts of the time is Florante, whose simple melodies carried straightforward storytelling that hoisted a mirror to a whole country’s sentiments and sensibilities. (Singer-songwriters just seemed to be more willing to sing about others back then, I guess.) In 1978, he released one of his most enduring hits, “Handog”, although unfortunately I can’t tell you what inspired it, or whether he talked about those origins to begin with. I told you, we’re bad at keeping track of our history.

But I can tell you that this song definitely captured something. “Handog”—”offering” in English—is a song of gratitude, one where Florante (this is clearly sung in his perspective) thanks those who supported him as he aspired to become a successful singer.

Tatanda at lilipas rin ako
I will soon grow old and pass
Ngunit mayroong awiting iiwanan sa inyong alaala
But I will leave a song in your memory
Dahil minsan tayo'y nagkasama
Because once we were together

While I’ve known this song for ever, it seems, I don’t think I’ve heard the original enough. Perhaps you hear it on “folk, rock and country” programming on the “masa” radio stations usually on the weekend, but not much elsewhere—and this also seemed the case in the 1990s, when the song wasn’t that old. But “Handog” was performed often on television variety shows, and musicians seem to turn to this for a good cover version. The first one that comes to mind is from another heyday of Filipino music, in the mid-2000s, specifically when cover albums paying tribute to legendary Filipino musicians were the craze. For one such record that paid tribute to the Manila Sound, Join the Club—otherwise known for the equally enduring “Nobela”—was tasked to cover Florante’s classic.

But I’m writing about this song thanks to one particular event: the passing a couple of weeks ago of Nora Aunor, legend of film and television, who the country affectionately calls “Superstar”. It’s easy to forget that, amidst all her accolades in acting, she began her career as a singer: winning Tawag ng Tanghalan in 1968 catapulted her to a career as a teen idol thanks to her deep voice and her wide accessibility, her provincial, morena features contrasting with her more fair-skinned contemporaries and seniors. She continued releasing songs deep into her acting peak, and also perform across the world, until a botched surgery led to her losing her singing voice.

I was watching her state funeral last week—she was afforded one as a National Artist, a title she received in 2022, although she should have received it much earlier, if not for then president Noynoy Aquino choosing to virtue signal and saying her having used illegal drugs at some point disqualified her. Anyway, yes, I was watching her state funeral last week, and as she was laid to rest at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City, her cover of “Handog” was played, and her fans were singing along loudly in tribute.

It made me think of another screen legend who covered this song: Dolphy, who we affectionately call the “King of Comedy”, did a loose, jazzy version as part of a record noting his decades in the industry released in 2010. I’m not certain if this was played in his funeral or during the news coverage surrounding it, but I did come across this version some time later.

I guess it’s somehow funny how Florante, at the height of his fame, wrote a song that has always, and more so now, felt like a final thank you, a final farewell, so much so that it’s become a go-to when the titans of Philippine showbiz pass… provided they covered it. Speaking of which, pop legend Sarah Geronimo and screen idol Daniel Padilla also released covers of “Handog”. Sure, definitely a testament to the original’s enduring appeal across decades, but I wonder: when they leave this mortal coil way down the line, will coverage—maybe on television, maybe just by vloggers?—would use their versions? Will our favorites be thanking us for our support from the afterlife?

By the way, I believe Florante is still alive.