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By Augusto V. de Viana, National Historical
Institute
From their elementary days, millions of
schoolchildren are taught what the colors of the Philippine flag
stand for. The blue is for peace; the red bravery; and white purity.
These interpretations are actually not based on history. The basis
of the colors of the country’s flag was first mentioned in the
document “The Act of Proclamation of Independence of the Filipino
People” (Acta de la Proclamacion de la Independencia del Pueblo
Filipino).
The document states that “the colors blue, red
and white, commemorate those of the flag of the United States of
North America.” At that time in 1898 Filipino revolutionary
leaders held the United States in high esteem. Until that time
America was an ally of the Filipinos in the fight for the
country’s independence. The Proclamation expresses “our profound
gratitude towards that great nation [United States] for the
disinterested protection she is extending to us and will continue to
extend to us.”
Apparently the interpretations of the colors of
the flag taught by schoolteachers came from authors like Mariano
Ponce. In his “Cartas Sobre de la Revolucion” (Letters About the
Revolution, 1899), Ponce states that the red color represents the
blood shed for independence; the white means peace; and the blue
represents hope in future prosperity.
Other authors like Capt. Emmanuel Baja wrote in
his 1932 article, “Birth and Evolution of the Philippine Flag”
that red represented courage, bravery and heroism; blue for high
political purposes and noble ideas. The white in the flag stood for
purity and peace.
Pura Villanueva Kalaw in “A Brief History of
the Filipino Flag” (1947) wrote: “red for the blood shed for the
country and blue for high political purposes and noble ideals.”
There was no interpretation of the white in the flag.
Though it would be naïve to accept the
statement in the Proclamation praising the benevolence of the United
States, the writer of the Proclamation had no way of knowing that
the United States would later become the colonizer of the
Philippines a few months later. On February 4, 1899, war would break
out between the two countries and the Philippines would later become
a colony of the United States. The writer’s statement might be
even used as a basis for changing the design of the entire flag.
However the Proclamation is still the best basis for knowing the
history of the Philippine flag. Using the works of subsequent
authors tend to be confusing.
Other errors about the flag concern what the
three stars stand for. Many teachers would say that the three stars
represent the Philippines’ three geographic regions: Luzon,
Visayas and Mindanao. Again this is not historically correct. This
interpretation probably came from Baja who said that the three stars
in the flag represent Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
The Proclamation of independence states that the
three stars represent the three islands where the revolution against
Spain actually started. “Luzon, Mindanao and Panay, wherein this
revolutionary movement broke out.” (Luzon, Panay y Mindanao, en
cuales este movimiento insurreccional se inicio)
It can be historically proven that the flames of
the 1896 Revolution broke out in these islands. Pugadlawin or
Balintawak where the first cry of the Revolution took place is in
Luzon where the struggle for freedom spread to other provinces in
the island; the mutiny of soldiers who were sympathetic to the
Katipunan took place in Iligan and Jolo in September 1896, while the
first outbreak of revolution in the Visayas took place in Capiz in
1897.
Another common historical error being taught is
about the eight rays in the flag. Students were taught that the
eight rays represent the eight provinces which first revolted
against Spain in 1896. The proper historical basis again is the
Proclamation of Philippine Independence, which explains that the
eight provinces, Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Bulacan,
Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Laguna and Batangas, were declared in
a state of war almost as soon as the revolutionary movement was
initiated. (Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Bulacan, Pampanga,
Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Laguna and Batangas que fueron declaradas en
estado de guerra, casi tan pronto como el primer movimiento
insurreccional se inicio)
When teachers mention the eight provinces which
first revolted against Spain, researchers would argue that that
there are other provinces which also revolted around the same time.
Bataan and Zambales also experienced revolutionary upheavals in
1896. There may be other provinces that could claim to be among the
first to rise against Spain during the 1896 Philippine Revolution.
Authors like Baja indicated that the white in
the flag stood for purity and peace. The Proclamation document,
however, states that the white triangle in the flag represents the
distinctive emblem of the famous Katipunan society. It was referring
to the revolutionary society, which initiated the fight for freedom.
The sun in the flag, moreover, represents “the
gigantic strides that have been made by the sons of this land on the
road to progress.”
In many reenactments of the proclamation of
Philippine independence, historical errors were committed. The
reader of the Proclamation was not Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. It was his
Auditor of War, the lawyer, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista who also
composed it. Rianzares Bautista also took out the flag and
“displayed it before the assembly.” In many reenactments actors
playing the role of General Aguinaldo wave the flag at the balcony
of his house in Kawit. In reality, Aguinaldo was just one of the
spectators of the event. The “balcony” of his house did even not
exist at that time. The proclamation and the public display of the
flag took place at the center window of the second floor of
Aguinaldo’s residence, a modest wooden structure in 1898.
The correction of these myths does not demean
the patriotic achievements of our heroes but merely puts the facts
in their proper historical perspective. By using proper historic
references not the opinions of authors, we realize that the flag was
not just a piece of cloth but it tells us of the story of the
struggle of the Filipinos for their freedom.
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