🇵🇭 The colours of the Philippines
7 meanings recorded, 9 colours tied to the country.
The Philippine flag features royal blue, red, white, and golden-yellow. Blue stands for peace, truth, and justice; red for patriotism and courage; white for liberty, equality, and fraternity; and the golden-yellow sun and stars for unity, independence, and the country's main island groups.
Where no official value is given, the swatch shows the colour family, not the exact shade.
- The flag is flipped upside-down in wartime, showing red on top.
- Each of the sun's eight rays stands for a province from the 1896 revolution.
- Three golden-yellow stars represent Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
- The flag's blue shade was officially set as royal blue in 1998.
- The white triangle originally symbolised the Katipunan society.
The colours of the flag of the Philippines
The Philippine flag is made up of a blue stripe, a red stripe, and a white triangle at the hoist. The blue stripe symbolises peace, truth, and justice, while the red stands for patriotism and courage. The white triangle is said to represent liberty, equality, and fraternity. Inside the triangle, a golden-yellow sun with eight rays stands for unity, freedom, democracy, and sovereignty, each ray representing a province active in the 1896 revolution. Three golden-yellow stars mark the country's main island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. These meanings are officially recognised.
How the colours were chosen of the Philippines
The flag was designed by Emilio Aguinaldo and first displayed in 1898. Its colours and layout were influenced by both the American and Cuban flags. The original flag used a darker blue, but the shade has changed several times, with royal blue officially adopted in 1998. The red field recalls the Katipunan's war standards, where red symbolised blood and courage. The white triangle originally referred to the Katipunan, a secret society that led the revolution against Spain. Over time, the official meanings of the colours shifted from commemorating American support to the current values.
Official shades and rules of the Philippines
The flag's colours are officially defined by cable numbers from the Color Association of the United States: Royal Blue (80173), Old Glory Red (70180), Spanish Yellow (70068), and White (70001). The flag's length is twice its width, and the triangle's sides match the flag's width. The sun and stars have specific placements and proportions. The flag is flipped with red on top to signal a state of war.
The facts in this overview come from the Wikipedia article "Flag of the Philippines", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
What colours mean in the Philippines
Customs vary by region, faith and family; these are the meanings most often recorded.
The flag has a blue band over a red one. In wartime it is flown upside down with the red on top, a rule few other national flags share. Red stands for patriotism and valour.
Politics and protestCourageSource: Flag of the PhilippinesEach January, devotees in maroon and yellow crowd the streets of Manila for the procession of the Black Nazarene, a dark wooden statue of Christ carrying the cross.
Sacred and holyAweSource: Black NazareneYellow became the colour of opposition to Ferdinand Marcos after Benigno Aquino Jr was killed in 1983. Yellow ribbons and confetti filled Manila in the People Power revolt of 1986.
Politics and protestHopeSource: People Power RevolutionThe blue band of the flag stands for peace, truth and justice. The exact shade has changed over the years and was fixed as royal blue by law in 1998.
Politics and protestSource: Flag of the PhilippinesIn the 2022 presidential election, supporters of Leni Robredo dressed in pink and painted murals in it. The colour was picked up by volunteers, not chosen by the campaign.
Politics and protestHopeSource: Leni Robredo 2022 presidential campaignThe white triangle on the flag stands for equality and fraternity. Its three stars are for Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
Politics and protestSource: Flag of the PhilippinesFamilies wear black to a wake and funeral, and some pin a small black ribbon to their clothes afterwards. Mourning dress traditionally ends at the first anniversary of the death.
Mourning and deathGriefSource: MourningColour and feeling in the Philippines
Yellow was the colour of the 1986 People Power movement and of Corazon Aquino's campaign, worn and waved by huge crowds in Manila.
Colours tied to the Philippines
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