CHAPTER 3

PATRIOTIC SYMBOLS

THE PHILIPPINE FLAG

The Philippine flag is a symbol of a nation’s independence. It serves as the rallying point for people who
want to demonstrate their unity and common aspirations. In marches, be it in battle or in formal
parades, the flag is borne ahead to signify the subservience and loyalty of the marches to their country
as represented by the flag.

The Philippine Flag is the symbol of or country, the Philippine Republic. It is hoisted in schools,
government buildings, and in other official establishments in honor of our country. It is flown in other
countries to stand for the independent Philippine nation. Our flag represents the personality of the
Philippines Republic as a free nation- one that deserves the respect of all Filipino citizens as well as the
citizens of countries throughout the world.

The need to have a unifying Filipino flag was recognized by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and his associates
during their exile in Hongkong. In the impending fight for independence, they realized that they needed
a flag to manifest their desire for national freedom and to serve as their battle standard. The task of
making the first Filipino flag was given to Marcela de Agoncillo, who was then residing with her husband
in Hongkong. Designed by the Junta Patriotica, a council of exiled Filipino Leaders in Hongkong, our flag
first graced the Philippine skies when Philippine independence was declared. Since then, the colors red,
white, and blue, the sun, and stars have all served as important symbols representing the defense of our
country and the pursuit of national objectives. It symbolizes the undying spirit of our people from Luzon,
Visayas, and Mindanao and the ideals of freedom, justice, loyalty, courage, and honor, which all Filipinos
uphold.

In the Philippine Flag, the sun in the triangle symbolizes liberty, unity, and autonomy. The eight rays of
the sun represents the first eight provinces( Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Nueva Ecija, Laguna, Batangas,
Tarlac, and Pampanga) that revolted against Spain. The three yellow stars stand for the primary island
groups in the country( Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao). Th upper blue stripe signifies bravery, justice and
universality, whereas the lower res stripe signifies their lives to defend their country.

The guidelines or the flag code are indicated under RA 8491, which is also known as the “Flag and
Heraldic Code of the Philippines”.

Hoisting and Proper Display of the National Flag

The flag shall be displayed in all public building, official residences, public plazas, and institutions of
learning everyday throughout the year (Sec.5).

The flag shall be permanently hoisted, day and night, throughout the year, in front of the following;
Malacanang palace;

● The Congress of the Philippines building

● Supreme Court Building
● The Rizal Monument in Luneta, Manila;
● Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite;
● Barasoain Shrine in Malolos, Bulacan;
● The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Libingan ng mga Bayani
● Mausuleo de los Beteranos Dela Revolucion; and
● All International Ports of Entry and all other places as may be designed by the institute (Sec.6)

The flag shall be properly illuminated at night.

The flag shall also be displayed in private buildings and residences our raised in the open on
flagstaffs in front of said buildings on the following dates;

a. April 9 ( Araw ng Kagitingan)

b. May 1( Labor Day)
c. May 28 ( National Flag Day) to June 12
d. June 12 ( Independence Day)
e. August 9 ( National Heroes Day);
f. November 30( Bonifacio Day);
g. December 30 ( Rizal Day); and
h. On such other days as may be declared by the
President and/ or local chief executives ( Sec.7).

The flag may also be displayed throughout the year in private building or offices or raised in the open on
flagstaffs in front of private buildings, provided that they observe flag-raising ceremonies in accordance
with the rules and regulations issued by the office of the President.

All government agencies and instrumentalities as well as local government offices, government-
owned corporations, and local government units are enjoined to observe flag day with the appropriate
ceremonies. Socio-civic groups, non - government organizations (NGOs)and the private sector are
exhorted to cooperate in making the celebrations a success (Sec.8).

The flag shall be flown on merchant ships of Philippine registry of more than pone thousand (1,000)
gross tons and on all naval vessels (Sec. 9).

On board naval vessels, the flag shall be displayed on the flagstaff at the stern when the ship is at
anchor. The flag shall be hoisted to the gaff at the after mast when the ship is at sea.

The flag, is flown from a flagpole, shall have its blue field on top in time of peace and the red field on top
in time of war; if in a hanging position, the blue field shall be to the right ( left of the observer) in rime of
peace, and the red field to the right( left of the observer) in time of war( sec. 10).

The flagpole staff must be straight and slightly tapering at the top.

Sec. 11. If planted on the ground, the flagpole shall be at a prominent place and shall be of such height
as would give the flag commanding position in relation to the buildings in the vicinity.
If attached to a building, the flagpole shall be on top of its roof or anchored on a sill projecting at an
angle upward.

If on a stage or platform or government office, the flag shall be at the left (facing the stage) or the left of
the office upon entering.

Sec. 12. When the Philippine flag is flown with another flag, the flags, if both are national flags, must be
flown on separate staffs of the same height and shall be of equal size. The Philippine flag shall be hoisted
first and lowered last.

If the other flag is not a national flag, it may be flown in the same line yard as the Philippine flag but
below the latter and it cannot be of greater size than the Philippine flag.

Sec. 13. When displayed with another flag, the Philippine flag shall be on the right of the other flag. If
there is a line of other flags, the Philippine flag shall be in the middle of the line.

When carried in a parade with flags which are not national flags, the Philippine flag shall be in front of
the center of the line.

Sec. 14. A flag worn out through wear and tear, shall not be thrown away. It shall be solemnly burned to
avoid misuse or desecration. The flag shall be replaced immediately when it begins to show signs of
wear and tear.

Sec. 15. The flag shall be raised at sunrise and lowered at sunset. It shall be on the mast at the start of
official office hours, shall remain flying throughout the day.

The flag may be displayed:

a) Inside or outside a building or on stationary flagpoles. If the flag is displayed indoors on a flagpole, it
shall be placed at the left of the observer as one enters the room;
b) From the top of a flagpole, which shall be at a prominent place or a commanding position in relation
to the surrounding buildings;
c) From a staff projecting upward from the window sill, canopy, balcony or facade of a building;
d) In a suspended position from a rope extending from a building to pole erected away from the
building;
e) Flat against the wall vertically with the sun and stars on top; and
f) Hanging in a vertical position across a street, with the blue field pointing east, if the road is heading
south or north, or pointing north if the road is heading east or west (Sec. 16).

The flag shall not be raised when the weather is inclement. Ifalready raised, the flag shall not be
lowered.

Sec. 17. The flag shall be hoisted to the top briskly and lowered ceremoniously. The flag shall never
touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, flood, water or other objects. After being lowered, the
flag shall be handled and folded solemnly as part of the ceremony.
The Flag- Raising Ceremony

Sec. 18. All government offices and educational institutions shall henceforth observe the flag-
raising ceremony every Monday morning and the flag lowering ceremony every Friday afternoon. The
ceremony shall be simple and dignified and shall include the playing or singing of the Philippine National
Anthem.

Sec. 19. The Office of the President upon the recommendation of the Institute shall issue rules and
regulations for the proper conduct of the flag ceremony.

Sec. 20. The observance of the flag ceremony in official or civic gatherings shall be simple and
dignified and shall include the playing or singing of the anthem in its original Filipino lyrics and march
tempo.

Sec. 21. During the flag-raising ceremony, the assembly shall stand in formation facing the flag. At
the moment the first note of the anthem is heard, everyone in the premises shall come to attention;
moving vehicles shall stop. All persons present shall place their right palms over their chests, those with
hats shall uncover; while those in military, scouting, security guard, and citizens military training
uniforms shall give the salute prescribed by their regulations, which salute shall be completed upon the
last note of the anthem.

The assembly shall sing the Philippine national anthem, accompanied by a band, if available, and at the
first note, the flag shall be raised briskly. The same procedure shall be observed when the flag is passing
in review or in parade.

Sec. 22. During the flag lowering,

the flag shall be lowered
solemnly and slowly so that
the flag shall be down the mast
at the sound of the last note of the
anthem. Those in the assembly
shall observe the same
deportment or shall observe the
same behavior as for the flag-
raising ceremony.

Half-Mast

Sec. 23. The flag shall be flown at half-mast as a sign of mourning on all the buildings and places
where it is displayed, as provided for in this Act, on the day of official announcement of the death of any
of the following officials:

a) The President or a former President, for ten (10) days;

b) The Vice-President, the Chief Justice, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, for seven (7) days; and
c) Other persons to be determined by the Institute, for any period less than seven (7) days.

The flag shall be flown at half-mast on all the buildings and places where the decedent was holding
office, on the day of death until the day of interment of an incumbent member of the Supreme Court,
the Cabinet, the Senate or the House of Representatives, and such other persons as may be determined
by the Institute.

The flag when flown at half-mast shall be first hoisted to the peak for a moment then lowered to the
half-mast position. The flag shall again be raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day.

Casket

Sec. 24. The flag may be used to cover the

caskets of the honored dead of the military,
veterans of previous wars, national artists,
and of civilians who have rendered
distinguished service to the nation, as may be
determined by the local government unit
concerned. In such cases, the flag shall be
placed such that the white triangle shall be
at the head and the blue portion shall
cover the right side of the caskets.The flag
shall not be lowered to the grave or allowed
to touchthe ground, but shall be folded
solemnly and handed over to the heirs of
the deceased.
F. Pledge to the Flag

Sec. 25. The following shall be the Pledge of Allegiance to the Philippine flag:

Ako ay Pilipino Buong

katapatang nanunumpa

Sa watawat ng Pilipinas

At sa bansang kanyang sinasagisag

Na may dangal, katarungan at kalayaan

Na pinakikilos ng sambayanang

Maka-Diyos

Maka-tao

Makakalikasan at

Makabansa.

Such pledge shall be recited while standing with the right hand with palm open raised shoulder high.
Individuals whose faith or religious beliefs prohibit them from making such pledge must nonetheless
show full respect when the pledge is being rendered by standing at attention.

Flag Days
 Sec. 26. The period from May 28 to June 12 of each year is declared as Flag Days, during which
period all offices, agencies and instrumentalities of government, business establishments, institutions of
learning and private homes are enjoined to display the flag.

Specifications of the National Flag

Sec. 27. The flag shall have the following proportions. The width of the flag, 1; the length of the flag,
2; and the sides of the white triangle, 1.The technical specifications shall be as follows:

a. The blue color shall bear Cable No. 80173;

b. the white color, Cable No. 80001;
c. the red color, Cable No. 80108; and
d. the golden yellow, Cable No. 80068

( Sec. 28). In order to establish uniform criteria in the making of our national flag and to guarantee
its durability by the use of quality materials, the following standards and procedures shall be observed:

a) All requisitions for the purchase of the Philippine National Flag must be based on strict compliance
with the design, color, craftsmanship and material requirements of the Government;
b) All submitted samples of flags by accredited suppliers offered for purchase for government use shall
be evaluated as to design, color and craftsmanship specifications by the Institute, through its Heraldry
and Display Section, which shall stamp its approval or disapproval on the canvass reinforcement of the
flag sample submitted. The samples shall be sent to the Institute by the requisitioning office, not by the
flag supplier; and
c) The Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) or the Philippine Textile Research Institute
(PTRI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) shall evaluate the quality of material of all
flag samples and certify whether the fabric for the blue, white, red and golden yellow colors, including
the canvas submitted, conforms to government requirement as to quality of the material. The samples
shall bem sent annually to the ITDI/PTRI by the manufacturer. The laboratory test results shall be
submitted by the said office to the Institute( Sec.29)

All deliveries of the flags requisitioned by the government shall be inspected by the requisitioning
agency’s internal inspector and by the Commission on Audit (COA) using the flag stamped approved by
the Institute as reference (Sec.30).

In carrying out its responsibilities under Section 4 hereof, the Institute, COA, the ITDI/PTRI shall prepare
guidelines to be approved by the Office of the President( Sec.31).

All government agencies and instrumentalities shall ensure that the requirements under this Act with
respect to the standards, requisitions and delivery of the national flag are strictly complied with(Sec.32).

All departments, agencies, offices, and instrumentalities of the government, government-owned or

controlled corporations, local government units, including barangays, shall include in their annual
budgets the necessary outlay for the purchase of the national flag (Sec. 33).

Prohibited Acts

Sec. 34. It shall be prohibited: a) To mutilate, deface, defile, trample on or cast contempt or commit any
act or omission casting dishonor or ridicule upon the flag or over its surface;

b) To dip the flag to any person or object by way of compliment or salute;

c) To use the flag: As a drapery, festoon, tablecloth; As covering for ceilings, walls, statues or other
objects; As a pennant in the hood, side, back and top of motor vehicles; As a staff or whip; For unveiling
monuments or statues; and As trademarks, or for industrial, commercial or agricultural labels or designs.
d) To display the flag: Under any painting or picture; Horizontally face-up. It shall always be hoisted aloft
and be allowed to fall freely; Below any platform; or In discotheques, cockpits, night and day clubs,
casinos, gambling joints and places of vice or where frivolity prevails.
e) To wear the flag in whole or in part as a costume or uniform;
f) To add any word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawings, advertisement, or imprint of any nature on
the flag;
g) To print, paint or attach representation of the flag on handkerchiefs, napkins, cushions, and other
articles of merchandise;
h) To display in public any foreign flag, except in embassies and other diplomatic establishments, and in
offices of international organizations;
i) To use, display or be part of any advertisement or infomercial; and
j) To display the flag in front of buildings or offices occupied by aliens ( Sec. 34).

Philippine National Anthem

For the national anthem, Gen. Aguinaldo wanted a march tune, something similar to the Marcha Real
Espanola, the Spanish National Hymn. With such specification, Juan Felipe composed the national
anthem entitled Himno Nacional Filipino. However, it took over a year before the hymn acquired lyrics.
Some time in August 1899, at the height of the Filipino- American War, a youthful soldier poet named
Jose Palma, wrote a poem in Spanish to fit music of the Himno Nacional Filipino. With the title Filipinas,
the poem was originally published on September 3, 1899 in the La Independencia. Upon its publication,
it was unanimously accepted as the lyrics for the hymn composed earlier by Juan Felipe. During the
American era, the National Anthem was translated into English by Camilo Osias and A.L Lane. However,
in the early 1990, its official lyrics were interpreted by Felipe de Leon from the original Spanish lyrics,
and this is what we are using today.

FILIPINAS
(Jose Palma, 1899)
THE PHILIPPINE HYMN
(the English Version of the
Philippines National Anthem
Translated by:Camilio Osias and
A.L. Lane)
 Conduct in the Relation to the National Anthem (Under Ra 8491)

The National Anthem is officially entitled Lupang Hinirang. The National Anthem shall always be sung in
the national language within or without the country. The following shall be the lyrics of the National
Anthem:

Bayang magiliw
Perlas ng Silangan Alab ng puso,
Sa Dibdib mo’y buhay. Lupang Hinirang, Duyan ka ng magiting,
Sa manlulupig, Di ka pasisiil. Sa dagat at bundok,
Sa simoy at sa langit mong bughaw, May dilag ang tula,
At awit sa paglayang minamahal. Ang kislap ng watawat mo’y
Tagumpay na nagniningning, Ang bituin at araw niya,
Kailan pa ma’y di magdidilim, Lupa ng araw
ng luwalhati’t pagsinta, Buhay ay langit sa piling mo,
Aming ligaya na pag may mang-aapi,
Ang mamatay ng dahil sa iyo.

The rendition of the National Anthem, whether played or sung, shall be in accordance with the musical
arrangement and composition of Julian Felipe (Sec. 37).

When the National Anthem is played at a public gathering, whether by a band or by singing or both, or
reproduced by any means, the attending public shall sing the anthem. The singing must be done with
fervor (Sec. 38).

As a sign of respect, all persons shall stand at attention and face the Philippine flag, if there is one
displayed, and if there is none, they shall face the band or the conductor. At the first note, all persons
shall execute a salute by placing their right palms over their left chests. Those in military, scouting,
citizens military training and security guard uniforms shall give the salute prescribed by their regulations.
The salute shall be completed upon the last note of the anthem. The anthem shall not be played and
sung for mere recreation, amusement or entertainment purposes except on the following occasions:

a) International competitions where the Philippines is the host or has a representative;

b) Local competitions;

c) During the “signing off” and “signing on” of radio broadcasting and television stations;

d) Before the initial and last screening of films and before the opening of theater performances; and

e) Other occasions as may be allowed by the Institute.

All officials and employees of the national and local government, and any agency or instrumentality
thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations, privately-owned entities or offices
displaying the national flag and government institutions of learning are hereby directed to comply
strictly with the rules prescribed for the rendition of the anthem. Failure to observe the rules shall be a
ground foradministrative discipline (Sec. 39).