(Feature) The evolution of “three stars and a sun”

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 13): (Feature) The evolution of “three stars and a sun”

We have just marked the 117th year of Philippine independence. You may have noticed there were lots of Philippine flags that were on display.

Some even had a photo op beside it. Have you ever been curious about the story behind the Philippine flag?

Our national flag, or what others call the “three stars and a sun”, doesn’t look like what it is now many years ago.

It was said that the flag was sewn in Hong Kong by Filipino expatriates, and was brought to the country by General Emilio Aguinaldo in 1898. It was a tri-color (red blue with white triangle) flag. Inside the white triangle were three yellow stars and anthropomorphic eight-rayed sun.

The sun symbolizes unity, freedom, democracy and sovereignty. Its eight rays, meanwhile, represent Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Laguna and Batangas.

Of course, the three stars represent the three major islands in the country: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

In 1907, however, the Flag Law was passed, and this prohibited the display of the Philippine flag. The American flags were on display at that time. After 11 years, when the legislature was finally under the Filipino senators and representatives, the Flag Law was cancelled. While the Philippine flag regained its place in the country, modifications in its design were made. The sun no longer had anthropomorphic features, and the rays were stylized. This version was used from 1919 until the inauguration of Commonwealth of the Philippines in 1935.

Two versions of the Philippine flag existed from 1943 until the end of the War in the Pacific. These were the Commonwealth flag and the Aguinaldo flag.

The Commonwealth of the Philippines, and the specifications of the flag in accordance to Executive Order No. 23 S. 1936 was restored after World War II.

Such specifications remained in effect through the third and fourth Republics. In 1985, then President Ferdinand Marcos issued Executive Order No. 1010, changing navy blue to light blue in the Philippine flag.

During the presidency of Corazon Aquino in 1986, she restored the pre-martial law specifications of the Philippine flag through Executive Order No. 292, S. 1987, again in accordance with Commonwealth regulations.

Commonwealth regulations were maintained until 1998, when Republic Act. No. 8491 or the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines was enacted. In this RA, the shade of blue, again from navy to royal, viewed as a suitable historical compromise to settle previous debates.

The said debates among historians were regarding the original shade of blue used in the national flag. Debates centered on whether Cuban blue (since the flag was patterned on some aspects of Cuba’s national flag), or sky-blue (based on written accounts by some revolutionaries as well as a watercolor from the era), or navy blue (based on the colors of the American flag) was used.

From 1998 to present, we see the “three stars and a sun” with equal bands of royal blue and scarlet red, with white triangle framing a golden yellow sun, and golden yellow stars.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=10&sid=&nid=10&rid=772145