Peace time National Flag of the Republic of the Philippines (1997)

The design of the Philippines flag is credited to Emilio Aguinaldo, a leader of the Katipunan, a nationalist organisation that led the campaign against Spanish colonial control of the Philippine islands in the late 1890s.

The flag was adopted in May 1898, by a briefly independent Philippines.

Following the Spanish-American War, a treaty between the United States and Spain, in 1898, saw the former Spanish colony of the Philippines being ceded the U.S. 

The Philippine flag flew alongside the flag of the United States until a ban on it was introduced by the United States administration in 1907.

Public pressure eventually led to the lifting of the restrictions surrounding the flag in 1920.

It was maintained with the granting of limited self-government by the United States, as the Commonwealth of the Philippines, in November 1935. 

Self-government ceased in 1942 with the invasion of the Philippines by Japanese troops. The flag was again banned until 1943, when it was re-established to represent a Japanese installed, Philippine led, puppet regime.

The United States regained control of the Philippines in 1945 and full independence was finally achieved as the Republic of the Philippines on the 4th of July 1946.

Slight modifications have been made to the colours of the flag over time with the last alteration occurring in 1997.

Uniquely, the national flag is also the country’s war ensign, when the Philippines are at war it is flown upside down, with the red stripe on top of the blue.

The Symbolic Meaning

Blue symbolises patriotism and justice. Red represents valour and the blood spilt for freedom. White connotes peace and purity.

The white equilateral triangle represents equality and the Katipunan nationalist organisation. 

The three five-pointed yellow stars, each with one point aiming a corner of the triangle, represent the three main geographical regions of the Philippines: Luzon, Mindanao and Visayas. 

The sun symbol represents independence and its eight rays represent the eight provinces that led the Philippine uprising against Spanish rule: Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Morong, Nueva Ecija, Laguna, Batangas and Cavite.