"''Ako'y may alaga''" (; occasionally referred to as "''Asong mataba''" or "''Ang aking alaga''") is a
Filipino poem in the
Tagalog language
Tagalog (, ; ; '' Baybayin'': ) is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by the ethnic Tagalog people, who make up a quarter of the population of the Philippines, and as a second language by the majority. Its standardized form, ...
of
unknown authorship taught in
elementary schools
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
across the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, typically in Kindergarten and grade 1. While many different versions exist, most versions are similar to the following:
Owing to the poem's popularity in the country, the
pinoy rock
Pinoy rock, or Filipino rock, is the brand of rock music produced in the Philippines or by Filipinos. It has become as diverse as the rock music genre itself, and bands adopting this style are now further classified under more specific genres or c ...
band
Siakol
Siakol is a 4-piece Filipino rock band who is one of the several groups who spearheaded the 90's Philippine alternative rock explosion and known for their hit songs "''Lakas Tama''", "''Peksman''", "''Kanto''", "''Biyaheng Impyerno''" and "''Bak ...
recorded a song to an expanded version of the poem in their 1996 album, ''Tayo Na Sa Paraiso''. Poems based on the original, written by Filipino elementary school students, can be found in
professional journals from as early as 1977.
Notes
References
Philippine poetry
Anonymous works
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