WE'VE had our fair share of new songs being made calling for unity in the light of this global COVID-19 pandemic.
There's "We Heal As One", a remastered version of the 30th Southeast Asian Games theme song We Win As One.
Arwind Santos also did his part with his boppy "Lockdown Vibes", dancing and rapping to share good vibes in this time of crisis.
And then there's "Iisang Dagat," brought to you in part by the China's diplomatic corps.
In a co-production with Chinatown TV and the Guizhou Xinpai Media Company, the Chinese Embassy in Manila released the music video "Iisang Dagat" on Friday, ostensibly a tribute for frontliners battling COVID-19.
Written by Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian, the song is mostly in Mandarin with Filipino subtitles, with some parts sung in Filipino.
Performing were Camarines Sur vice governor Imelda Papin, Fil-Chinese singer Jhonvid Bangayan, Chinese diplomat Xia Wenxin, and Chinese actor Yubin in the 4-minute and 26-second clip.
The chorus goes: "Ikaw at ako'y nasa iisang dagat ang iyong pagmamahal aking kasama. Ang iyong kamay ay hindi ko bibitawan, maaliwalas na kinabukasan ating masisilayan."
The Chinese Embassy, on its Twitter account, said that the song was "dedicated to those who contributed to our fight against the epidemic from both countries, especially the China Medical Expert Team to the Philippines."
Yes, any effort to give a toast to the frontliners should always be appreciated, especially for medical personnel who are doing their best to flatten the curve.
However, the decision to launch a music video titled "Iisang Dagat" just days after China re-asserted its claims in the West Philippine Sea was certainly audacious.
Foreign secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Wednesday filed two protests against the Chinese embassy for "violations of international law and Philippine sovereignty."
BRP Conrado Yap (PS39) was on its way to the West Philippine Sea on Feb. 17 when it detected "a radar contact of a gray colored vessel," later identified as a Chinese warship with bow number 514, pointing a radar gun at it inside the country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), as bared by the Armed Forces' Western Command.
In March, China also opened two new research outposts — the Yongshu and Zhubi research stations — in the Zamora and Kagitingan Reefs in the West Philippine Sea, and even declared those as part of the Hainan province, as per a report by the State-run Xinhua news agency.
The reactions on the video, safe to say, speaks for itself.
As of posting time, the music video has had 91,000 views, and has garnered 47,000 dislikes against just 422 likes.
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