Flag of the Philippines

What the flag of the Philippines looks like

The flag of the Philippines is a horizontal bicolor of royal blue over scarlet red, with a white equilateral triangle on the hoist side (the left, nearest the pole). The ratio is 1:2, so the flag is twice as long as it is tall.

Inside the triangle are two kinds of golden-yellow symbols. In the center is a sun with eight primary rays. A small five-pointed star sits at each of the three corners of the triangle. The sun and stars are all in the same gold shade.

The flag is easy to mix up with a few others that also have a triangle at the hoist, such as the flags of Cuba and the Czech Republic. The Philippine flag is set apart by the golden sun and three stars inside the triangle.

You can see how it appears as an emoji on the Philippines flag emoji page.

Philippine flag meaning and symbolism

According to the official description and common teaching, the white triangle stands for equality and fraternity. The blue stripe stands for peace, truth and justice, and the red stripe for patriotism and valor. White is linked to purity and peace.

The golden sun symbolizes liberty, and its eight rays represent the eight provinces that were placed under martial law by the Spanish at the start of the 1896 revolution: Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Laguna, Batangas and Cavite. The three stars stand for the three main island groups of the country: Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. Some sources state that the original three stars represented the places where the revolt started, but the geographic explanation is now the standard one.

One feature is unique to this flag. In peacetime the blue stripe is flown at the top. In a state of war, the flag is hung with the red stripe on top. This is stated in Philippine law, and it is what makes the flag special among national flags. The Philippines is the only country that follows this rule.

History of the Philippine flag

The first revolutionary banners were made by the Katipunan, the secret society that began the revolt against Spain in 1896. They were mostly red with white letters or symbols. The modern flag was designed under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo, who was in exile in Hong Kong in 1897-98. It was sewn there by Marcela Agoncillo with the help of her daughter Lorenza and Delfina Herbosa de Natividad.

The flag was first raised on 12 June 1898 in Kawit, Cavite, when Aguinaldo declared the independence of the Philippines from Spain. That date is still celebrated as Independence Day, even though the country did not become independent from the United States until 4 July 1946.

During the American period, from 1898 onward, displaying the flag was banned for a time under the Flag Law of 1907, and the ban was lifted in 1919. The shade of blue has been changed several times, and it was a darker navy blue in the 1980s, then returned to royal blue in 1986 after the People Power Revolution. The current rules are set in the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines, passed in 1998.

National Flag Days are observed from 28 May to 12 June every year.

Interesting facts about the Philippine flag

• The flag is the only one in the world whose display position changes when the country is at war.
• The triangle was a Katipunan symbol and was kept in the national flag.
• The national anthem, Lupang Hinirang, was first played at the raising of the flag in 1898.