List of flags of the Philippines

This is the list of all the flags used and being used in the Philippines.

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National flag

FlagDateUseDescription
1898–present National flag of the Philippines A horizontal bicolor with equal bands of blue and red, with a triangular side object which encloses a sun with eight rays together with three stars fixed on the vertexes of the triangle.

Governmental flags

FlagDateUseDescription
2004–present Flag of the President of the Philippines The Seal of the President of the Philippines against a Blue field. The number of stars correspond to the number of provinces.
1946–1948 Flag of the President of the Philippines The coat of arms of the Philippines against a blue field with four stars on each corner.
1948–1951 Flag of the President of the Philippines The coat of arms of President of the Philippines (without the circle of stars) against a blue field with four stars on each corner.
1951-1965 Flag of the President of the Philippines The 1948 design remained, but replaced the four stars with a ring of stars. The number of stars theoretically changed as the number of stars changed.[1]
1981–1986 Flag of the President of the Philippines The flag was revised with a noticeably different shade of blue and an inverted triangle. The sea lion was replaced by an eagle and the ring of stars' color changed to white.
1986–2004 Flag of the President of the Philippines The coat of arms of the President of the Philippines with white as the color of the stars against a light blue field.
Flag of the Vice President of the Philippines
Ensign of the Philippine Customs Navy Blue and White vertical bands with a white canton bearing a gold sea-lion.

Military flags

FlagDateUseDescription

(1936–1998)

(1998–present) 		Only during a state of war State and War flag Same as national flag with red and blue inverted, unique among the national flags.
Naval Jack of the Philippines The "Three Stars and a Sun" emblem against a Royal Blue field.
2005–presentFlag of the Philippine Armed Forces
2002–present Flag of the Philippine Navy Seal of the Philippine Navy on a dark blue field.
2004–present Flag of the Philippine Marine Corps Coat of arms of the Philippine Marine Corps on a blue field, flanked by ribbons bearing the organization's name in English and motto in Tagalog.
2005–present Flag of the Philippine Army Seal of the Philippine Army on a dark green field.
2005–present Flag of the Philippine Air Force Seal of the Philippine Air Force on a blue field.

Civil flags

FlagDateUseDescription
1903–present Coastwise Emblem of the Philippines White flag with a blue and red star on the horizontal median line.

Historical national flags

Flag Date Use Description
The Spanish East Indies (1565–1898)
1565–1730 Flag used when the Philippine Islands were a part of New Spain. The Cross of Burgundy: a red saltire resembling two crossed, roughly-pruned branches, on a white field.
1730–1761 Used during Spanish East Indies period. Flag of Spain under the reign of King Felipe V
1761–1785 Used during Spanish East Indies period. Flag of Spain under the reign of King Felipe V's grandson, King Carlos III
1762–1764 Flag during the British occupation of the Philippines, as used in occupied Manila and Cavite. The flag of the British East India Company before 1810: A flag with red and white stripes with the Kingdom of Great Britain's Union Flag as a canton. The Union flag bears red cross on a white field, commonly called St George's Cross, superimposed on a white saltire on a blue field, known as St Andrew's Cross. Also known as the "King's Colours".
1785–1873 Used during Spanish East Indies period. Three horizontal stripes of red, weld-yellow and red, the centre stripe being twice as wide as each red stripe with arms in the first third of the weld-yellow stripe. The arms are crowned and vertically divided, the left red field with a tower representing Castille, the right white field with a lion representing León.
1873–1874 Used by the Spanish East Indies under the First Spanish Republic. Three horizontal stripes: red, weld-yellow and red, the yellow strip being twice as wide as each red stripe with arms in the first third of the yellow stripe. Royal crown removed from arms.
1874–1898 Used during Spanish East Indies after the restoration of the Spanish monarchy. The flag of the Kingdom of Spain used prior to the First Spanish Republic was reinstated.
Philippine Revolution – First Philippine Republic
1897–1898 First official flag of the Philippine republic and used during the Philippine Revolution. The flag was created in Naic, Cavite and first displayed in 1897. It features an eight-rayed white sun with a mythical face on a field of red.


 1898–1901 The Three Stars and a Sun design was conceived by President Emilio Aguinaldo. The exact shade of blue is debated; three variants were used by subsequent governments. Sewn by Doña Marcela Marino de Agoncillo, Lorenza Agoncillo, and Delfina Herbosa de Natividad in Hong Kong and first flown in battle on May 28, 1898. It was formally unfurled during the Proclamation of Philippine Independence and the flag of the First Philippine Republic, on June 12, 1898 by President Aguinaldo. It contains a mythical sun (with a face) similar to the Sun of May in other former Spanish colonies; the triangle of Freemasonry; the eight rays representing eight rebellious provinces of the Philippines first placed under martial law by the Governor-General.[lower-alpha 1] The flag was initially unfurled with the blue stripe above, but was flown with the red stripe above at the outbreak of the Philippine–American War in 1899. The flag has the words Fuerzas Expeditionarias del Norte de Luzon on its obverse and Libertad Justicia e Ygualdad on its reverse.
American and Commonwealth Period (1898–1946)
1898–1908 Used while under direct administration from the United States of America. The Philippine Commission, passed Act No. 1697 or the Flag Law of 1907, which outlawed the display of the Philippine flag and replaced the country’s flag to the stars and stripes of the United States of America. The same law prohibited the playing of the national anthem. Thirteen horizontal stripes of alternating red and white representing the original Thirteen Colonies; in the canton, white stars on a blue field, the number of stars increased as the United States expanded its territory.
1908–1912 Variant after Oklahoma became a state
1912–1919 Variant after Arizona and New Mexico achieved statehood


 1919–1936 From October 30, 1919,[2] two flags were flown in the Philippines, the American flag and the flag conceived by Emilio Aguinaldo which was made the national flag of the Philippines with the repealing of Act No. 1697.[3] The American flag remained unchanged since 1919. For the Philippine flag, the design conceived by Emilio Aguinaldo remained but the shades of blue and red were adopted from the American flag. The sun's face was removed, but its stylised rays were retained. It should be noted that there existed many versions of the flag as no official design had been codified.


 1936–1946 Specifications codified; Defined under Executive Order No. 23, s. 1936. The shade of blue used was navy blue, following suit from the American Flag. The triangle was made equilateral and the sun's rays were also further simplified, achieving its present form. Also used by the Commonwealth government-in-exile from 1942–1945.
Japanese Period (1942–1945)
1942–1943 Used during the Japanese Occupation. The Japanese flag as it appeared until 1999: a red sun-disc, shifted 1% left of centre, on a white field.
October 14, 1943 Used during the inauguration of the Second Republic. Emilio Aguinaldo's flag was hoisted upon proclamation of the Second Republic. However, the design as used by the Commonwealth remained.
Sovereignty (1946–present)
1946–1985 Following independence, the 1936 design specifications codified by Manuel Quezon remains but the shades of blue and red varied through the years. In 1998, the flag gained its present definitive shades. Defined under Executive Order No. 23, s. 1936 dated March 25, 1936. The shade of blue used here is Navy Blue, following suit from the American Flag.
1985–1986 Altered by Executive Order No. 1010, s. 1985 signed in February 25, 1985. The shade of blue was changed from Navy Blue to Light Blue, amidst debate on the shade used in the original flag. A pale Sky Blue was the actual colour used since it was more available at that time and not due to any specific historical precedent.
1986–1998 1936 version of the flag restored after the 1986 People Power Revolution. President Corazon C. Aquino restored the pre-martial law specifications of the National flag through Executive Order No. 292, s. 1987 which was signed in July 25, 1986.
1998–present The Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines specifies the colours for the blue field Cable No. 80173; the white field, Cable No. 80001; the red field, Cable No. 80108; and the golden-yellow Stars and Sun, Cable No. 80068.[4][5] Colours introduced for the Centennial celebrations.

Regional flags

FlagDateUseDescription
Regional Flag of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
Regional flag of Cordillera Administrative Region

Provincial flags

Most of the flags of the provinces of the Philippines are in 1:2 ratio with the provincial seal/coat-of-arms on a field of single color, although a few have designs differing from that standard.

FlagDateUseDescription
Provincial flag of Bohol A tricolour with the white stripe being double the width of the blue and red stripes. Superimposed on the white stripe is the main portion of the seal of Bohol. It consists of two bolos representing the Tamblot Uprising and the Dagohoy Rebellion, the Chocolate Hills and the Sandugo between Miguel López de Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna. It also contains a little star representing Carlos P. Garcia, the only Boholano President of the Philippines (another star will be installed for every Boholano president).
Provincial flag of Batangas Horizontal tricolor of blue, white and red. The seal of the province is inscribed on the center of the flag.
Provincial flag of Bukidnon Three equal horizontal stripes; white for honesty and purity; red for commerce, courage, bravery and heroism; black for authority and a Spear and Shield.
1970–present Provincial flag of Cagayan Horizontal tricolor of blue, gold and red with the coat of arms of the province, surrounded by 29 stars, on the left side of the flag.
Provincial flag of Camarines Norte A tricolor of green, white, and yellow.
2010–present Provincial flag of Southern Leyte A green flag with a golden fringe, white cross, coconut and abaca leaves and four orchids.

Municipal flags

Like the flags of most Philippine provinces, flags of municipalities usually just bear the seal of the municipality on a single color field but there are some municipality flags that differs from the standard

FlagDateUseDescription
Municipal flag of Balilihan, Bohol
Municipal flag of Garcia Hernandez, Bohol, Bohol
Municipal flag of Kalilangan, Bukidnon Blue and green horizontal stripes with a white canton bearing a sun surrounded by 14 stars
Municipal flag of Maribojoc, Bohol Stripe of green, white, and blue with a sun in the middle bearing the silhouette of a church
Municipal flag of San Mateo, Rizal Light sky blue field with a white stripe on the center bearing an eight-pointed sun and a palm frond
Municipal Flag of Bustos, Bulacan

Other historical flags

FlagDateUseDescription
1200's -1500The Spirit banner umbrellas of the Huangdom of Ma-i's Huangs especially during the reign of Gat Sa Lihan.A golden umbrella with White fabrics.
1450?-1587 A red pennant used by the Kingdom of Tondo especially during the reign of Lakan Dula.A plain crimson red triangular flag.
Flag of the Maguindanao Sultanate A plain yellow flag
1762–1763 Flag of the Silang Revolt
18th Century Flag of the Sulu Sultanate Flag of Sulu Sultanate according to Pierre Sonnerat.


 1807 Flag of the Basi Revolt
1845–1898 Provincial Ensign of the Manila
1886–1898 Provincial Ensign of Ilo-Ilo
1872 Flag of the Cavite Mutiny
Late 19th Century Flag of the Sulu Sultanate
1898 Flag of the Negros Revolution Banner used by Negrense revolutionaries during their revolution.
1898–1901 Flag of the Republic of Negros
1899–1903 Flag of the Republic of Zamboanga
1902–1906 Flag of the Tagalog Republic
1956–? Flag of the Free Territory of Freedomland The flag of Freedomland, a micronation founded by Tomas Cloma in the Spratly islands.

Flag Proposals and concepts

FlagDateUseDescription
National Flag Addition of a 9th ray as proposed in 1998 and 2009
National Flag Emmanuel L. Osorio's proposal. Addition of a ninth ray to represent the Muslim and indigenous people and a fourth star for Sabah.

 National Flag Flag proposals made in June 12, 1995 by former President Fidel V. Ramos. Proposal to add a crescent moon to represent the Muslim community.
Provincial Flag Proposed flag for the province of Negros Occidental, based on the flag during the Negros Revolution.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑

References

  1. ↑ http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/ph-pres.html
  2. ↑ "Today in History". Presidential Museum and Library. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  3. ↑ "Act No. 1696, s. 1907". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Supreme Court Library. 23 August 1907. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  4. ↑ "Republic Act No. 8491". Government of the Philippines. February 12, 1998. (archived from the original on 2007-12-05).
  5. ↑ "The Philippine National Flag" (PDF). Monuments and Heraldry division, National Historical institute. National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
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