THE

CONTROVERSIAL

PHILIPPINE

NATIONAL

FLAG

(http://nhcp.gov.ph/the-controversial-philippine-national-flag/)
Before 1896, the Filipinos had no common flag. The use of flags became common in the
Philippines during the height of the revolution. Different flags were created and designed by
various Katipunan generals signifying the unit or battalion where they belong. However, these
flags cannot be classified as a national flag.
Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo aspired to establish a new nation to be signified by a flag and an
anthem during the second phase of the Philippine Revolution. With this, he himself made the
sketch of the flag that he submitted to Doa Marcela Agoncillo who was then living at 535
Morrison Hill Road in Hong Kong. In sewing the flag, Mrs. Agoncillo was assisted by her
daughter Lorenza and by Delfina Herbosa Natividad. After five days of hard work, the flag was
delivered to Aguinaldo who went back to the Philippines on 17 May 1898 through S.S.
McCulloch. The flag as described by the maker herself was made from fine silk with a white
triangle at the left containing a sunburst with eight rays at the center, a five-pointed star at each
angle of the triangle, an upper stripe of dark blue and a lower stripe of red. The white triangle
stood for the Filipinos hope for equality; the blue color stood for peace, truth and justice; and the
red stood for patriotism and valor. The sunburst of eight rays represented the first eight
provinces to take up arms against Spain, and the three stars symbolized Luzon, Visayas and
Mindanao.
Philippine Flag Banned!
Just like our country and its constitution, the Philippine flag also experienced different
controversies. When the Americans took over the Philippines, mutual distrust among the
Filipinos and Americans sparked. This prompted the Philippine Commission to enact the Flag
Law of 1907 that forbade the Filipinos to use or display the Philippine flag anywhere, even
inside Filipino homes. The Filipinos responded with bitter protests as they saw the Flag Law as
a violation of the fundamental principle of free expression.
Several efforts were done by Filipino legislators to repeal the law, but to no avail. In 1919,
Senator Rafael Palma sponsored the Senate Bill No. 1, a bill repealing the Flag Law of 1907
following Gov. Gen. Francis Harrisons recommendation that the law should be repealed since
the distrust between the Filipinos and the Americans no longer exists. On 24 October 1919, Act
No. 2871 was approved and signed by Gen. Harrison; thus, the Flag Law of 1907 was repealed.
Inclusion of a 9th Ray or Crescent in the Flag

In 1970s, appeals for the inclusion of an additional ray or a crescent in the Philippine flag
created another hullabaloo. House bill No. 7725 sponsored by Rep. Sultan Omar Dianalan of the
1st District of Lanao del Sur petitioned for the addition of 9th ray in the rays of the sun in the
Philippine flag to symbolize the Moslems and the cultural minorities who fought the Spaniards
and waged war against them. Other groups proposed that a crescent be placed beside the sun as
a form of tribute to the pre-colonial past. However, historians, headed by Teodoro Agoncillo
singled out that when Aguinaldo himself designed the flag, he had in his mind the eight
provinces which rise in arms against Spain during the Philippine Revolution namely: Manila,
Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Laguna and Batangas. He also pointed out that
one of the three stars in the flag already represents the Moslem and the Moslem lands.
How Blue is Blue?
The repeal of the Flag Law of 1907 gave reason for the Filipinos to be jubilant, however, it
created a new controversy concerning the true color of the flags blue field. The issue was raised
as early as mid 1970s until mid 1980s. Through studies it appeared that the conflict in the
shades of blue might have resulted from the alleged hasty preparations of the flag that was used
for the Flag Day of March 26, 1920 following the repeal of the Flag Law. The quartermaster was
said to have run out of light blue cloth and used dark blue instead similar to the one used for the
American flag.
Specification of the blue color of the original flag through a documented interview of Emilio
Aguinaldo by the historian Teodoro Agoncillo was noted before the formers death. In the
interview, Aguinaldo specified that the blue color of the flag is bughaw neither azul oscuro nor
azul marino. Meanwhile, Juan Lunas painting of the flag on May 21, 1899 in Monograph
illustrated the flag in China blue, not navy blue, whereas Mariano Ponce in his letter to
Ferdinand Blumentritt described the blue color of the flag as blue as the sky symbolizing
hope. Ponces description was complemented by Salvador Vivencio del Rosarios in his article
La Bandera de la Patria published on October 1899 where he stated that the flags color was
color celeste (color of the sky). In 1943, however, The Philippine Flag wore a bright royal
blue during the inauguration of the Japanese sponsored Republic.
Nonetheless, numerous personalities maintained that the color of the flag is navy blue or
dark blue. The daughter of the flag-maker also named Marcela Agoncillo believed that it was not
sky blue or light blue but dark blue. She also argued that, if there was error in the color of the
flag, why did Aguinaldo never question it during his lifetime? Her description was supported by
Teodoro Kalaws description of the flag. Meanwhile, Arturo Tolentino raised that the flag that
was used and adopted by the 1935 and the 1973 Constitution, which was colored dark blue

should be maintained because it was the one which was consecrated and honored by the people
and the change of its color or shade is a violation of law.
On 25 February 1985, President Ferdinand Marcos issued Executive Order No. 1010 which
changed dark blue to a lighter shade, lighter than navy blue but darker than sky blue or azure. As
of today, Cable No. 80173 is the basis of the true shade of blue in the Philippine flag.
Where

is

the

Original

Flag?

In his letter to Captain Baja dated 11 June 1925, Aguinaldo mentioned that in their Northward
retreat during the Filipino-American War, the original flag was lost somewhere in Tayug,
Pangasinan.

Some people believed that the original flag that was hoisted during the

proclamation of independence on 12 June 1898 was the one stored in the Aguinaldo Museum at
Baguio City. It cannot be denied that the said flag was authentic and a contemporary of the
original flag but experts found out that its materials was made of combined silk and cotton
fabric, not fine silk as stated by the flag-maker herself in Philippine Herald published in
October 1929.There were also reports that the first original flag of the Philippines was returned
in July 1957 by US Ambassador Charles E. Bohlen.
Very recently, American War Commission Public Relations Director Rudy Asercion noticed
a Philippine flag in an American Trophy Room of the San Francisco War Memorial Building. He
then asked if the flag in San Francisco could be the same flag sewn by Agoncillo in 1898.
Looking at the flag closely, it was made of fine silk but its sun has 12 rays while the original has
eight; it has six-pointed stars while the original had five-pointed stars; the sun and stars in the
original flag were sewn by hand while the San Francisco flag has a painted sun and stars; and
most importantly, the original flag had a plain blue field while the San Francisco flag has a
printed blue field with a floral design. While the flag was proven to be authentic and was really
used during the Filipino-American War, it is definitely not the original Philippine flag of 1898.
Until the moment, the whereabouts of the original flag of 1898 remains a mystery.
CHOP-CHOP LADY (SEPTEMBER 24, 1993)
(http://definitelyfilipino.com/blog/8-most-shocking-crimes-of-passion-in-philippine-history/)
Probably one of the most well-known crimes of passion adapted in a local movie, Elsa
Castillos story was more than just an ordinary murder case. On the night of September 24, 1993,
Elsa Castillo was stabbed to death by her lover, Stephen Mark Whisenhunt in a condominium at
Greenhills, San Juan. The two were both married but estranged from their spouses. According to
the testimony of Demetrio Ravelo, who was Whisenhunts driver at that time, Elsa was mutilated
after being stabbed to death. Ravelo helped Whisenhunt to scatter the dismembered body parts

along the road of Bagac, Bataan. Ravelo later testified against Whisenhunt, leading to the latter
being sentenced by Pasig City RTC to reclusion perpetua.
Juan Luna and the Paz Pardo de Tavera Massacre (September 23, 1892)
(http://definitelyfilipino.com/blog/8-most-shocking-crimes-of-passion-in-philippine-history/)
Although much has been said about Juan Luna and his artisticprowess in the
internationally-acclaimed Spolarium, his dark side as a world-renowned painter also has a
chilling story to tell. After a heated argument with his wife, Maria Paz Pardo de Tavera, and his
mother-in-law, Juliana, his own evils took over Juan Luna. As a spontaneous act of fury, Juan
Luna killed both Maria and Juliana, leaving Felix (Juan Lunas brother-in-law) critically
wounded as well. Some says that it rooted from Lunas plan of relocating his family to Spain,
which was subsequently refused by Juliana knowing Lunas uncontrollable temper for so many
years. However, several historians have pointed out that Juan Lunas jealousy was the main
culprit in the crime. He suspected that his wife was having an extra-marital affair with a certain
Monsieur Dussaq. In the end, Juan Luna was acquitted because the court dismissed his case as a
crime committed during a temporary period of insanity.