Filipinos are known of their
nationalism and patriotism. Our love, support and courage to preserve the state
are preserved from generation to generation. The history of our land, most
especially the nation’s independence is considered as the most important event
which we are celebrating annually. After the countless struggles for our sovereignty,
from the Treaty of Paris to Philippine Insurrection or
Philippine-American War we can tell that Independence Day is apparently one
of the greatest feat of our race. From the moment that the freedom is
proclaimed, it was also the first time to publicize the unfold flag of our
country. On this year’s celebration of Independence Day, let’s put the
highlight on the remarkable flag also known as the Three Stars and a Sun.
You may assume that you
know these basic things…
Our flag is a horizontal bicolor with
equal bands of royal blue (80173) and red (80108), and with a white (80001) equilateral triangle at the hoist,
in the center of the triangle is a golden yellow sun (80068) with eight primary rays and at each vertex of the triangle is a small,
five-pointed golden yellow stars. These colors are identified by Republic Act
8491 aka Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines. Moreover, the official
eight-ray sun is 3.75°-spacing, but most often mistakenly making 5°-spacing, to
add up, the golden sun is not precisely at the midpoint of the triangle but
moved slightly to the right. The shape of the star symbol is a pentagram meaning
five straight segments. Furthermore, the flag's length is twice its width,
giving it an aspect ratio of 1:2. So by the next time you have to describe the
Philippine flag, you may give the specific instruction of the flag like this,
good luck!
The Past and the
present….
The
Philippine flag was designed by Emilio Aguinaldo and hand sewn in 535 Morrison
Hill Road, Hongkong by three ladies namely Marcela Agoncillo wife of the first
Filipino diplomat Felipe Agoncillo, her five-year-old daughter Lorenza, and
Delfina Herbosa de Natividad, Rizal’s niece in his sister Lucia and it took five
years to complete!. The flag of Cuba influenced the design of the flag of the
Philippines as Cuba's insurgency against Spain inspired the Philippine
Revolution too. The original flag is being preserved at the Gen Emilio
Aguinaldo Museum in Baguio City. It has the embroidered words, Libertad,
Justicia and Ygualidad (Liberty, Justice and Equality) on one side of the flag
and Fuerzas Expedicionarias Del Norte de Luzon (Expeditionary forces of
Northern Luzon) on the other. On the other hand, it is said that the Philippine
Flag is the only flag in the world
that can indicate if the state is under war. In times of peace, the flag is
hovered with the blue stripe on top and the red stripe is on top during the war
(horizontal position). For vertical position the blue stripe should always be
on the left side. Placing the flag in a wrong orientation will create a
different meaning, so be very careful all the time.
Meaningful meaning that
we should know…
The blue
color of the Philippine flag signifies for peace, truth, and justice. The red
is the symbol for patriotism and valor. The white triangle is the symbol of
equality and fraternity. It also symbolizes the Katipunan. The three golden
stars in the corners of the triangle, signify the three island groups in the
Philippines—Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, originally Luzon, Panay and Mindanao. The
golden sun at the center of the triangle is the symbol for unity, freedom,
people's democracy, and sovereignty. The sun has eight rays around it, each ray
represents a province with significant contribution in the 1896 Philippine
Revolution against Spain. These provinces are Manila, Bulacan, Cavite,
Pampanga, Tarlac, Laguna, Batangas, and Nueva Ecija. These information runs
over and over in your head from your grade school days, this is significant, so
it is reasonable that we should have the idea of what the flag stands for. You
may review your notes again now.
We are
not all admirers of history, but the sense of knowing the facts and uniqueness
of our beloved flag, no one will say it will demerit your standing as a
Filipino. It will always be a great achievement to recognize the truth behind
every question, to seek the answer of your what, why, when, who, why and how.
Knowing the history will benefit you as a person, not just by adding the
knowledge that you have but adding the level of confidence that Yes! I am Filipino.
