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
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