Flag of Philippines

What the flag means

Republic Act No. 8491 of 1998 does not explain the symbols. The 1898 declaration of independence described the white triangle as the emblem of the Katipunan, the sun's eight rays as the first eight provinces to rise against Spain, and the three stars as Luzon, Mindanao and Panay. Today the stars are usually taken as Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

History

Emilio Aguinaldo designed the flag in exile in Hong Kong, where Marcela Agoncillo, her daughter Lorenza and Delfina Herbosa Natividad sewed it. It was unfurled at Aguinaldo's house in Kawit, Cavite, when independence was proclaimed on 12 June 1898. Under American rule the 1907 Flag Act banned it until 1919, and Act No. 2928 of 1920 made it official. Ferdinand Marcos changed the blue to a shade called Oriental Blue in 1985, a change reversed after 1986. Republic Act No. 8491 set the current royal blue in 1998.

In time of war the flag is flown with the red stripe on top. In peacetime the blue is on top. Section 10 of Republic Act No. 8491 sets this rule.

Earlier flags of Philippines

1. 1919–1936Same design in the blue and red shades of the US flag
2. 1985–1986Same design with an 'Oriental Blue' stripe ordered by Ferdinand Marcos