Singer Angeline Quinto in the original music video of “Piliin Mo ang Pilipinas” in 2011 and Vice Ganda in her rendition of the song’s Tiktok trend in 2024 (Courtesies: ABS-CBN & Vice Ganda)

MANILA—If you’ve been to a festival, seen a Buwan ng Wika school program, or watched a Philippine travelogue or promo for a tourist spot, you may have likely heard the drum-led, upbeat tune of “Piliin Mo Ang Pilipinas” played at some point.

This year, the ABS-CBN Music track sung by Angeline Quinto accompanied the Filipino’s answer to the “Asoka” makeup trend—with ordinary netizens and content creators outdoing each other in costumes and homages to local culture and history.

The song’s renewed popularity more than a decade since it debuted still overwhelms the men behind it: lyricist Robert Labayen and composer Allan Dannug.

For them, its message goes beyond nostalgia or promotion; it's about not giving up—on country or on self—sentiments they hope do not die with the trend.

'Piliin mo ang Pilipinas' trend takes over social media

“Maganda rin ‘yong message ng kanta para sa mga Pilipino. I think napapanahon ngayon, lalo na sa kabataan, na magkaroon ulit sila ng isang makabayan na kanta na nagugustuhan,” Labayen told ABS-CBN News in an interview.

(The song has a beautiful message for Filipinos. I think it’s timely, especially for the youth, to once again have a patriotic song they like.)

Labayen is best known for penning ABS-CBN’s Christmas jingles for the past 20 years, among them “Star ng Pasko”, “Just Love” and “Thank You, Ang Babait Ninyo”.

But the definitely non-Yuletide anthem is one of the songs the Kapamilya creative communications exec is proudest to have made.

GOOD MOOD

“Piliin Mo” was born in 2011 when ABS-CBN’s erstwhile regional arm launched “Choose Philippines”, a partly crowdsourced website that featured food, destinations, and experiences in the provinces.

Its goal: to reintroduce Filipinos all over the world to the beauty their country has to offer.

“Pinili ko yung salitang choose, eh bagay na bagay sa Pilipinas. Tapos noong sinusulat ko yung kanta, ang ini-imagine ko, good mood ang Diyos nung ginagawa niya yung Pilipinas. Natuwa lang siya. Binigay niya lahat ng maganda sa Pilipinas,” Labayen said.

(I picked the word ‘choose’, which paired well with ‘Philippines’. While I was writing the song, I imagined God was in a good mood when he created the Philippines. He was so happy that he gave it everything beautiful.)

Christmas ID ng ABS-CBN Sumasabay sa Kumpas ng Panahon

The song opens with the lines: “Minsa’y natuwa ang Maylikha, pitong libong pulo ang ginawa,” referencing the archipelago’s more than 7,000 islands.

The song also featured a rap portion by Vincent Bueno.

Dannug, who was part of the composers’ pool of what was then Star Records, was tapped along with others to produce separate demos for Labayen’s lyrics. His take was chosen.

“Noong una kong nakita, grabe, ganda ng pagkakalatag ng letra eh… From there nag-soar na yung kanta,” Dannug said.

(When I first saw the lyrics, I was struck by how the words were beautifully woven. The song already soared from there.)

“Sabi ko that time, napaka-perfect ng song na ito so I have to give justice… kailangan anthemic ‘yong key na parang kahit through the years magsa-stand out pa rin siya…very festive para mas manghikayat sa atin.

(I said at the time, the song was so perfect I have to give it justice…The key has to be anthemic so that it can still stand out through the years…and very festive to be more enticing.)

It has remained a festival staple ever since—and for its ubiquity has even been mistakenly thought of by some as an actual campaign by the Department of Tourism.

Labayen shared how his grandchild only learned that he was the song’s lyricist after the kids had performed it at school.

It has also reached foreign shores via a choral arrangement by the University of Santo Tomas Singers, who were named Choir of the World Champion in 2019.

UST Singers perform at ABS-CBN flag raising

NOT TIME TO GIVE UP

As the song gained a new wind via the Tiktok challenge, those who took it on added another layer of meaning to it.

Most prominent among them was Vice Ganda, whose viral video shed light on contemporary national issues such as traffic, the jeepney modernization program, and the West Philippine Sea.

Labayen finds Vice’s take on both upsides and challenges attuned to his own intent with the song—with an admission of his own journey as a Filipino.

“Alam ko mga pagkukulang natin bilang lahi sa ating bansa. Marami tayong issues ngayon. Muntik na nga akong mag-give up eh. Pero naisip ko hindi ito panahon para sukuan ang Pilipinas,” he said.

“Parang yun din ang message ni Vice Ganda. Huwag natin susukuan ang bayan sa ngayon.”

(I know our race’s shortcomings to our nation. We have many issues today. Even I almost gave up. But I realized this is not the time to give up on the Philippines. I think that’s also Vice Ganda’s message. Let’s not surrender just yet.)

Vice Ganda, kumasa sa 'Piliin Mo Ang Pilipinas' challenge

Ivana Alawi's TikTok video sends netizens abuzz

The song’s resurgence also motivated Dannug—who had been on hiatus from the music industry for over a decade—to also not give up on one of his passions.

“Nawalan ako ng kumpiyansa sa sarili ko during that time. Pero with this ‘Piliin Mo ang Pilipinas’, parang cina-call back ako ni God ulit na parang ‘Gumawa ka na ng kanta ulit’,” he said.

“Parang ginigising ako ni God kasi out of nowhere, parang ilang years na, merong bigla na namang ganito.” 

(I lost confidence in myself then. But with this song’s revival, it’s as if God is calling me back again to make songs once more. It seems God is waking me up because out of nowhere, after many years, this suddenly happened.)

Labayen urged Filipinos to go deeper than the fun and novelty of the trend and truly live it out—not just choosing but fighting for their country, especially now.

'Piliin mo ang Pilipinas' entry ni Vice Ganda pumatok

“Sana hindi lang siya magandang sayawin at ginagawa mo lang para makakuha ka ng maraming views. Sana nasa puso natin na, ‘gusto ko yung mensahe’, na hindi talaga perfect ang Pilipinas ngayon eh. Ngayon pa na napakarami talagang araw-araw balitang nakaka-disturb,” he said.

“Pero wala tayong magagawa, habambuhay tayong Pilipino. So sana sa susunod na generation ng mga kabataan, ‘yan inaasahan ko yung mga bata, na they will make this a better Philippines, a better country.”

(I hope it’s not just a good song and dance to get a lot of views. I hope we take to heart the message that the Philippines is not really perfect, more so now that there are so many events and news that can disturb. But we cannot change the fact that we are Filipinos for life. So I hope the next generation of youth—I am counting on them to make this a better Philippines. A better country.)