We commemorate National Flag Day every May 28th in honor of the victory in 1898 that Filipinos won against our Spanish colonizers in the Battle of Alapang, a barrio now part of Imus, Cavite.
According to historical accounts written by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), the Filipino revolutionaries brought their Spanish prisoners to their revolutionary headquarters in Cavite that day. They were welcomed with shouts and cheers by the locals and General Emilio Aguinaldo, leader of the Philippine revolution, waved the Philippine flag that he had just brought back with him from exile in Hong Kong.
General Aguinaldo highlighted the Filipino victory at the battle of Alapan in his memoirs when he wrote that it was “the first combat of the Filipino revolution of 1898, which we may call a continuation of the campaign of 1896 to 1897.”
The May 28, 1898 battle of Alapan was memorialized as “National Flag Day” under Proclamation No. 374 of 1965 by President Diosdado Macapagal. Now the whole country celebrates not just a single day but several Flag Days leading up to the Anniversary of Philippine Independence on June 12.
Like most things in our country, our Philippine flag has an intriguing story. According to Balanghay, a publication of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the present flag was designed by General Aguinaldo during his voluntary exile in Hong Kong in 1897.
However, an article published by the NHCP written by Eufemio O. Agbayani III on May 4, 2023, indicated that Feliciano Jocson, a pharmacist-turned-revolutionary from Quiapo, Manila, may have actually designed our flag. His story is also an interesting saga for another day.
According to the article, Artemio Ricarte, a general during the Philippine revolution and the Philippine-American War who was regarded as the “Father of the Philippine Army,” insisted that it was Jocson who designed the flag.
Julio Nakpil, a fellow revolutionary general who was also a musician and composer of the first national anthem of the Philippines, supported Ricarte’s claim with these words: “Feliciano Jocson is the author of the design of the Philippine Flag and those who say the contrary are liars and usurpers.”
Of course, it must be noted that Nakpil was a huge critic of Aguinaldo. He wrote in his memoirs entitled “Notes on the Philippine Revolution”: “Emilio Aguinaldo’s surrender to the Americans was a cowardly act. There was no doubt that he coveted the presidency. He surrendered for fear that others more competent than he would occupy the post of president of the Republic.”
So he could be a bit biased.
But the NHCP article argued that those who believe Ricarte and Nakpil “are encouraged by Aguinaldo’s seeming unwillingness to categorically attribute the design of the flag to himself.”
In Aguinaldo’s own words as recounted by journalist and historian Emmanuel A. Baja: “Many of the older generations have attributed to me that authorship of the design and symbolism of the country’s emblem because I ordered the making of the first National Flag at Hong Kong and brought it myself with me on my return to Cavite. I do not consider, however, that for these reasons my authorship could be called exclusive or original; for I am well satisfied that the design I ordered was made according to what already existed in the public mind.”
Whether or not Aguinaldo designed it, there was no doubt that he was the one who personally transmitted the design to Marcela Marino de Agoncillo, who had sewn the first flag with the help of her daughter, Lorenza, and Delfina Herbosa de Natividad, the niece of Jose Rizal, at 535 Morrison Hill Road in Hong Kong.
According to NCCA’s Balanghay Philippine Fact Sheet, it was “Agoncillo herself who painted the sun, which had a face, and the three stars on the white triangle.”
It’s interesting for me to reflect on this historical tidbit. While the men argued about who designed something and who should get credit for the idea, the women quietly did the work to actually make it a reality. I guess that has always been the case throughout our history. But that’s just my biased opinion, of course. As that famous quote from Margaret Thatcher goes: “If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.”
The Act of Declaration of Independence, which was read in the original Spanish by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista during the Philippine Independence Day declaration on June 12, 1898 in Cavite, explained the meaning behind the symbols on our flag.
The white triangle “represents the distinctive emblem of the famous Katipunan Society, which by means of its blood compact propelled the masses to rise up in arms.” So we are a people who believe in rising up in arms when oppressed, not apathetic and indifferent.
The three stars represent the “three principal islands of this Archipelago…wherein this revolutionary movement broke out.” These are “Luzon, Mindanao, and Panay.” So the stars do not represent the country’s current geographical divisions of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao as would be written later on. It is interesting that Mindanao has always been part of the flag and yet it is treated as a lesser island up to this day.
The sun represents “the gigantic strides that have been made by the sons of this land on the road to progress and civilization.” I am sure the daughters also made equally-sized strides, but the declaration was most likely written by the sons and they forgot to include half of the population.
The eight rays of the sun symbolize the eight provinces that “declared in state of war almost as soon as the first revolt was initiated.” These are Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Laguna, and Batangas. They are all from the island of Luzon. I wonder how late Mindanao and Panay joined in the revolution that they missed the deadline to be included in the rays of the sun.
The colors red, white, and blue “commemorate those of the flag of the United States of America as manifestation of our profound gratitude…for the disinterested protection, which it lends us and will continue lending.” I flinched a little reading this part. Are these words coming from a truly independent nation?
Yes, the colors of our Philippine flag are in honor of the United States. So maybe Aguinaldo, who later swore allegiance to the US and effectively ended the First Philippine Republic, might have designed our flag, after all. But that’s just my snarky side comment.
That was in 1898, 127 years ago. Does our flag still mean the same to us today? We have until June 12 to think about it.
