What You Might Not Know about the Philippine Flag
Viva La Independencia! Maligayang Araw ng Kalayaan, as we celebrate the 117th anniversary of the proclamation of independence of the Philippines from Spain. The day (June 12, 1898) marked the first time that the Philippine flag (Hong Kong-made, thanks to the efforts of Marcela Agoncillo) was officially presented to the people. It also marked the very first time that the national anthem, played by a countryside band, was heard and proclaimed to the people. I have posted numerous blogs on the occasion, including the nuances of the historic moment, but on this day I will focus on the Philippine national flag.
*PHOTO ABOVE: Reconstructed First Philippine Republic Flag (used from 1898-1901), Courtesy of PCDSPO. Notice the anthropomorphic sun.
I have recounted many times before that the history of our national flag, is replete with both noble and at times awkward history that makes us both proud and uncomfortable. It is the first, if not the only flag in the world, that can be turned upside down (red-side up, if the country is at war, and blue-side up, if the country is at peace). But amidst the familiarity of the design among us Filipinos, it is still surprising that a lot of those symbols of the elements of our flag have either been misinterpreted, or misconstrued, in schools and even in government offices.
It is known popularly that the three stars represent Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao; the royal blue symbolizes “kapayapaan” and the red symbolized “katapangan.” White symbolizes purity, and the sun symbolizes the sun of liberty, with the eight rays of the sun symbolizing the first eight provinces that revolted against Spain.
Most of these are both right and wrong. We have to delve into history to see why.
The only authoritative indisputable document that tells us of the meaning of the elements of our national flag, is none other than the June 12, 1898 Proclamation of Independence (Acta de la proclamacion de independencia del pueblo Filipino), written and read by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, and signed by Emilio Aguinaldo’s military men. The relevant lines in the document describing the flag were as follows:
ORIGINAL SPANISH: Y por último se acordó unanimemente que esta Nacion yá Independiente desde hoy, debe usar la bandera que hasta ahora sigue usando, cuya forma y colores se hallan descritos en el adjunto debujo, con el remate que representa al natural las tres referidas armas significando al triangulo blanco como distintivo de la célebre Sociedad “Katipunan” que por medio de pacto de sangre empuja á las masas a insurreccionarse; representándo las tres estrellas las tres principales Islas de este el archipiélago, Luzon Mindanao y Panay en que estalló este movimiento insurreccional; indicando el sol los agigantados pasos que han dado los hijos de este pais en el camino del progreso y civilización, simbolizando los ocho rayos de aquel las ocho provincias—Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Laguna, y Batangas—declaradas en estado de guerra apenas se inicio la primera insurrección, y conmemorando los colores azul, rojo, y blanco lo del la bandera de los Estados Unidos de la America del Norte, como manifestacion de nuestro profundo agradecimiento hacia esta Gran Nación por la desinteresada protección que nos presta y seguirá prestando.”
And finally it was resolved unanimously that this Nation, already independent from today should use the same flag which it has used, whose shape and colors are described in the attached drawing rendering realistically the three aforementioned forces representing the white triangle as the distinctive symbol of the famed Society of the Katipunan, which through the blood compact impelled the masses to rise in revolt; the three stars representing the three principal islands of this Archipelago — Luzon, Mindanao, and Panay in which the revolutionary movement broke out; the sun indicating the gigantic steps taken by the children of this country on the road to progress and civilization; the eight rays symbolizing the eight provinces – Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Laguna and Batangas —which declared themselves in a state of war almost at the very start of the uprising; and the colors of blue, red and white commemorating the flag of the United States of North America as a manifestation of our profound gratitude towards this Great Nation for its disinterested protection which it lends us, and continues to lend us.
From the following excerpts, we find that:
1. The Three Stars are Luzon, Mindanao and Panay (not Visayas).
This was not a mistake. Most probably, Aguinaldo was aware that the first Katipunan chapter in Visayas was in Aklan in the island of Panay, Candido Iban and Francisco del Castillo, Panay natives recruited by Andres Bonifacio during their stay in Manila, established a chapter in Aklan. From then on, until the founding of the Federal State of the Visayas in Iloilo, Panay island may have been prominent in the Katipunan as the Visayan center of revolutionary movement. This is not to disregard Cebu, which had its own revolution, joining late in the game when Aguinaldo went back to the country from self-exile in May of 1898. To their credit, Cebu still declared allegiance to the Malolos government at the time of the Philippine-American War, even after the Federal State of the Visayas was dissolved (with Negros Occidental siding with the Americans and raising the American flag).
Why not Visayas then instead of only Panay? When we read the wording of the Proclamation of Independence, it says “las tres principales islas de este Archipielago,” roughly translated as principal islands of the archipelago, not principal “grouping of islands.” For all we know, when the Proclamation was drafted, the author and the signers may have the entire Visayas in mind when they put in the name “Panay.”
A really good historical write up on the Visayan role in Philippine independence is the one released by PCDSPO: “The Visayas and the Fight for Philippine Independence.”
2. The original blue of the flag is probably American Navy Blue, but the shade of blue has changed over time.
Many have disputed the blue color of the flag. Some would even propose that the flag was French-inspired that was why today’s blue on the flag is royal blue. That is not completely true. While the French Revolution both animated the American and the Philippine Revolutions, it is clear from the Proclamation document that the colors blue (azul), red (rojo) and white (blanco) “commemorate” the flag of the U.S. (la bandera de los Estados Unidos de la America del Norte). Therefore the blue of the flag probably may have been American Navy Blue (United States Cable 70077) in accordance with the Stars and Stripes. I know this possibility is quite shocking, that the name of the United States would even be found in a foundational document of the nation. Even Apolinario Mabini, who arrived late at the Proclamation ceremony on June 12, 1898, was shocked at the document, it being written all by military men, and not yet having been ratified by proper representatives of the people. Mabini saw that Aguinaldo was somewhat naïve to even trust the Americans too quickly (who were present in the ceremony), while the United States, at the time, did not disclose their true intentions. But as history goes, if this possibility is true, we cannot erase this from our national consciousness but must bear it.
And yet the plot thickens. According to Ambeth Ocampo, in 1955, the Philippine Heraldry Commission standardized the specification of the flag, making the blue, navy blue, after what National Artist Galo Ocampo said was the specifications given by Aguinaldo himself. However, this move was challenged by numerous historians (like Teodoro Agoncillo, E. Aguilar Cruz, and Domingo Abella) who had alleged evidence that the original blue used was, in Apolinario Mabini’s words “azul celeste” or sky blue.” This may probably be the precedent for the dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ order on February 25, 1985 to change the navy blue to sky blue which never became popular. It reverted back to the old navy blue shade after the EDSA People Power Revolution.
*PHOTO ABOVE: Philippine flag in sky blue, according to Marcos’ Executive Order 1010, s. 1985. Courtesy of PCDSPO.
To finally settle the debate, before the year of the centennial of the Proclamation of Independence, on September 16, 1997, President Fidel V. Ramos changed the standard blue to royal blue.
3. The white triangle symbolizes the Katipunan.
The white triangle in the flag would always be taught in schools as symbolizing purity, with the three sides symbolizing liberty, equality, and fraternity (ideals of the French Revolution). While we can accept these meanings by consensus today, white as symbolizing purity is not found in the Proclamation document. It only affirms that the triangle symbolizes the Katipunan (which fit the three revolutionary ideals mentioned).
This brings to mind that even Emilio Aguinaldo acknowledges that without the Katipunan, there would be no Philippine Revolution, and therefore, no Republic. So even in our flag, the role of Andres Bonifacio in the founding of a representative republic is implicitly seen, but is usually missed.
4. The original sun in the flag was an anthropomorphic sun.
The mythical anthropomorphic sun (with face) is a recurring symbol in masonic rites. It is also a common flag element among the South American republics that revolted from Spain. This began appearing in revolutionary flags by the time the Aguinaldo leadership had supplanted Bonifacio’s. Historian Jim Richardson, noticed its semblance to the recurring theme of a sixteen-rayed sun with a Baybayin script KA at the center, on the letterheads of Katipunan documents. This, referred to as the light of Kalayaan, may have been the inspiration of the sun in the flag. The anthropomorphic sun was dropped upon the flag’s standardization in 1919.
*Emblem above: Light of Liberty symbol, from Jim Richardson’s Katipunan: Documents and Symbols.
5. The eight rays of the sun represent the province of Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Laguna, Batangas, and Bataan (not Tarlac).
If one reads the “June 12, 1898 and Other Related Documents” published by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (2009), one would quickly overlook the differences in the translations of the Proclamation document. In the encoded Spanish, the eight provinces represented by the eight rays are: Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Laguna and Batangas. On the English translation, Tarlac disappears, and instead is replaced by Bataan. On the Filipino translation, Bataan is removed, and Tarlac reappears. This shows the confusion that propagated the error that has been replicated in schools. But what did the original document really say? In the same book, which had the original document scanned, one can read from the stylized handwriting of Bautista that there was no mention of Tarlac.
“…simbolizando los ocho rayos de aquel las ocho provincias—Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Laguna, y Batangas—declaradas en estado de guerra apenas se inicio la primera insurrección…”
The document indicates that these provinces were the provinces declared under martial law by the Spanish Governor General Ramon Blanco, with the lines “declared themselves in a state of war almost at the very start of the insurrection.”
Yet there were two proclamations made by Blanco on the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution in 1896 putting the revolting Philippine provinces in a state of war or under martial law. One was on August 30, 1896, which included the following provinces: Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Batangas, Laguna, Cavite and Nueva Ecija.
Another proclamation on October 25, 1896 added Bataan and Sibugay (probably Zamboanga).
So should the sun’s rays be ten instead of eight? Or did Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista commit a mistake omitting Tarlac? Either way, the basis of the eight rays on the flag, as described in the Proclamation, never included Tarlac. Tarlac is indeed included in the first provinces put under martial law, but when it comes to the eight rays in the Philippine flag, the eight only pertain to provinces specifically mentioned in the Proclamation of Independence. So does our flag truly represent our entire nation? I leave that question to you.
So much history, conflicting accounts, and grime in a national symbol such as our flag. But so does it tell of bravery, honor, and sacrifice. When the Philippine Republic was defeated by the Americans upon Aguinaldo’s capture in 1901, the flag kept being displayed by citizens. Thus the American administration outlawed the Philippine flag in all public places from 1907-1919, and its display could put the person in prison.
Today, it represents us fittingly. Indeed, as people change, for better or worse, so do the meanings of the symbol they carry.
