Philippines: at war or not?
The flag of the Philippines is the only one that can show whether the country is at war just by its position. What it means, its history, the blue and the rules of use.
In almost every country, a flag hangs the same in peace and in war. The Philippines is the exception: its flag can be hung upside down on purpose. With the blue stripe on top, the country is at peace; with the red one on top, it is at war. Today it is the only country that can show whether it is in a state of war just by the position of its flag.
Flag of the Philippines in a state of war (red stripe on top).
Flag of the Philippines in the normal position (blue stripe on top).
What the flag looks like
It is a flag with two horizontal stripes, blue on top and red below, and a white triangle next to the pole. Inside the triangle there is a golden sun with eight rays and, at each corner, a golden five-pointed star. Its proportion is 1:2.
What each element means
- White triangle: officially it stands for liberty, equality and fraternity. The 1898 Proclamation of Independence instead links it to the emblem of the Katipunan, the society that led the revolution.
- Blue: peace, truth and justice.
- Red: patriotism and valour.
- Eight-rayed sun: unity, freedom and sovereignty. The eight rays represent the eight provinces that rebelled against Spain in 1896. Even so, there is no agreement on exactly which ones they were.
- Three stars: Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, the three main areas of the country. The Visayas star originally referred to the island of Panay.
Why is it hung upside down in war?
With the flag hung normally, the blue stripe is on top. In a state of war it is raised with the red stripe on top (and, if hung vertically, the red is on the viewer’s left). Philippine law sets this out: it is in Republic Act 8491 of 1998.
It is an old custom. The flag was first flown red side up on 4 February 1899, at the start of the Philippine–American War, and it is what the First Philippine Republic used during that war.
Peace: blue stripe on top
War: red stripe on top; the triangle stays next to the pole
The 2010 incident
In September 2010, in New York, there was a small diplomatic incident between the Philippines and the United States: because of a protocol error, the Philippine flag was placed with the red stripe on top. The United States quickly apologised.
Barack Obama and Benigno Aquino III in New York in 2010.
History
- Before 1898: the Katipunan’s first flag was red, with three white “K”s.
- 28 May 1898: according to one account, the flag was shown for the first time at the Battle of Alapan (Imus, Cavite). Another account places its debut in Cavite City.
- 12 June 1898: the flag is officially unfurled in Kawit (Cavite), at Emilio Aguinaldo’s house, when the Philippines proclaims its independence from Spain. By then it already had both stripes, blue and red.
- Who made it: Aguinaldo designed it, and Marcela Mariño de Agoncillo, her daughter Lorenza and Delfina Herbosa de Natividad sewed it.
1899
The change brought by the war against the United States is not the colour but the position: the flag is raised with the red on top.
1907–1919
Under American rule, a law (Act 1697, of 1907) bans its display. The ban is lifted on 24 October 1919 and Act 2928 (26 March 1920) officially adopts the flag.
1936
Executive Order No. 23 (25 March) fixes the design: an equilateral triangle, a 1:2 proportion and a sun without a face.
1941–1945
During the Japanese occupation the flag is banned in December 1941. The Second Republic restores it with its original specifications (13 December 1943).
4 July 1946
It is raised on achieving independence from the United States.
12 February 1998
Republic Act 8491 codifies the Flag and Heraldic Code and sets the colours, ahead of the centenary.
The blue: a story of its own
The first blue was described as “dark blue”. Its exact shade is debated; one theory links it to the blue of the Cuban flag, and other historians point to Puerto Rico’s. The law kept changing: in 1955 “National Flag Blue” was adopted; in 1985, under Marcos, “Oriental Blue”, which was annulled after the 1986 People Power Revolution; and in 1998 “Royal Blue” (#0038A8) was set, the current one. The red is #CE1126 and the gold, #FCD116.
Rules of use
- Flag days: 28 May (National Flag Day) and 12 June (Independence Day).
- Mourning: the flag is lowered to half-mast for ten days on the death of a president or former president, and seven for a vice president, the Senate president or the House speaker.
- Always raised: it must fly permanently at places such as Malacañang Palace, the Supreme Court or the country’s ports of entry.
Proposed changes that did not go ahead
- A ninth ray, for other provinces or groups (for example Filipino Muslims). A 2009 bill passed both houses, but it was vetoed.
- A fourth star, for Sabah (North Borneo).
- A crescent moon, in the time of President Ramos.
- A skull and crossbones: it was a joke by Mark Twain in 1901, not a serious proposal.
