Source: The Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines

HISTORY

On May 28, 1898, the Philippine flag was first unfurled after the Philippine Revolutionary Army defeated Spanish forces in the Battle at Alapan, Imus, Cavite. The national flag was yet to be formally announced on the day of that battle. It was formally presented to the people on June 12, 1898. From 1919, when the Philippine flag was once more legalized, until 1940, Flag Day was observed in October, the date the Philippine Legislature had restored the flag. From 1941 to 1964, Flag Day was commemorated on the date the national flag was unfurled in Kawit: June 12.

THE SYMBOL OF THE PHILIPPINE FLAG

Aside from the Masonic influence on the Katipunan, the design of the Philippine flag has roots in the flag family to which it belongs—that of the last group of colonies that sought independence from the Spanish Empire at the close of the 19th century, a group to which the Philippines belongs. The Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office traces the origins of the Philippine flag’s design elements, which have been in use since General Emilio Aguinaldo first conceived them—the stars and stripes; the red, white, and blue; the masonic triangle; and the sun—and have endured since.

RELATED EXECUTIVE ISSUANCE AND LAW

On May 24, 1994, President Fidel V. Ramos signed Executive Order 179, s. 1994, which ordered the display of the national flag in all all buildings, establishments, and homes from the May 28 to June 12, 1994, and on February 12, 1998, President approved Republic Act  No. 8491, prescribing the Code of the National Flag, Anthem, Motto, Coat-of-Arms and other heraldic items and devices of the Philippines.