Philippines flag is the national flag of the Philippines, an island nation in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The flag has two equal horizontal stripes. A blue stripe on top represents patriotism. A red stripe on the bottom represents courage. Along the hoist (side nearest the flagpole) is a triangle. The triangle is white for peace and has sides of equal length to symbolize equality. The white triangle also represents the Katipunan revolutionary group that fought to liberate the Philippines from Spain in the late 1800’s. The group used a white triangle on their flags. In addition, the colors red, white, and blue reflect the relationship of the Philippines with the United States.
The white triangle contains three gold stars, one in each corner. The stars stand for the nation’s three main regions: the northern islands, including Luzon; the Visayan Islands in the central Philippines; and the southern islands, including Mindanao. The flag also has a gold sun in the middle of the triangle. The sun’s eight rays honor the eight Philippine provinces that rebelled against Spanish colonial rule in the late 1800’s.
Spain first established a colonial settlement in the Philippines during the 1500’s. An independence movement began in the late 1800’s. Philippine revolutionaries adopted the flag design during the 1890’s.
The revolutionaries declared independence in 1898. However, at the end of the Spanish-American War of 1898, Spain signed a treaty that turned control of the Philippines over the United States. The revolutionaries’ flag was outlawed from 1907 to 1919.
The people of the Philippines adopted the flag design officially in 1935, when the Philippines became an American commonwealth with its own elected government. They kept the design as the national flag when the Philippines gained full independence in 1946.
