“Filipinos have been told, as from the grade schools, to honor the tricolors – 35.4 x 59.1 inches (90 x 150 cm) size – because it stands for our land, people, and government”
FOR more than a week now, and up to June 12, street vendors have been weaving their shuffles in busy streets and avenues of the metropolis, selling small Philippine flags in the run up to the 126th anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine Independence.
Filipinos have been told, as from the grade schools, to honor the tricolors – 35.4 x 59.1 inches (90 x 150 cm) size – because it stands for our land, people, and government.
The national flag has a rectangular design consisting of a white equilateral triangle, symbolizing liberty, equality and fraternity; a horizontal blue stripe for peace, truth, and justice; and a horizontal red stripe for patriotism and valor.
Vexillologists say the flag is a symbol of unity as it stands for the unity of the 114 million multi-ethnic and multi-lingual Filipinos from up north in Batanes to down south in Tawi Tawi.
For Filipinos, June 12 holds significant cultural and historical importance and is a reminder of the day when the Philippines became the first country in Southeast Asia to achieve independence from colonial rule.
Flags, which originally were used mainly in warfare, and to some extent have remained insignia of leadership, and as rallying points, are now also extensively employed for signaling, for decoration, and for display.
Depending on where they fly, flags can represent freedom or control, danger or safety.
In modern times, flags are best known as national symbols – and they are used to air a country’s past, present, and future vision all in one.
The white triangle stands for equality; the blue stripe stands for peace, truth, and justice; and the red stripe represents patriotism and valor.
The eight sun rays symbolize the first eight provinces that defied and revolted against Spanish colonization: Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Batangas, Laguna and Nueva Ecija.
The flag – the first was sewn at 535 Morrison Hill Road in Hong Kong by Marcela Marino Agoncillo, wife of the first Philippine diplomat, Felipe Agoncillo, assisted by her daughter Lorenza and Delfina Herbosa Natividad, wife of General Salvador Natividad and niece of Dr. Jose Rizal – symbolizes the country’s independence from Spain on May 28, 1898 when Filipino revolutionaries led by General Emilio Aguinaldo recaptured the province of Cavite.
It was the day the Philippine flag was unfurled for the first time.
It took Agoncillo five days to weave the flag before handing it over to Aguinaldo who later boarded the American dispatch boat McCulloch on May 17, 1898 en route to the Philippines.
On May 28, 1898, after Filipino revolutionaries had a bloody encounter with Spanish marines, the Philippine flag was hoisted at Alapan, Imus, Cavite.
Historians say our flag, a symbol that makes our past one with the present and makes the present a foundation for tomorrow, signifies a people dedicated to liberty, justice and freedom for all.
It is our companion around the world and summons confidence on sight.
