Philippines Flag

How to identify it

Blue above red, with a white triangle at the flagpole side containing a golden sun and three stars.

Design and construction

Adoption and legal status

The design dates to 1898; its present legal specification appears in the Flag and Heraldic Code of 1998.

Construction

In peacetime the blue band is uppermost. The law provides for the red band to be uppermost when the country is at war.

Officially documented meaning

The 1998 code links white to liberty, equality and fraternity; blue to peace, truth and justice; and red to patriotism and valour. It also identifies the three stars with Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, and the eight sun rays with the first eight provinces placed under martial law in 1896.

Sources