Description and Symbolism
The Seal is composed of the Coat-of-Arms of the President, which, according to Executive Order № 310 of 2004 consists of:
| “ | A circular blue shield with an eight-rayed golden-yellow Philippine sun at the center. Overlapping the Philippine sun is a red equilateral triangle. Inside and at the center of the equilateral triangle is the traditional golden-yellow sea lion (Ultramar) of the Coat-of-Arms granted to the City of Manila in 1596, on guard with a sword on its right paw, at hilt.
Inside and at the corner of each of the three (3) angles of the equilateral triangle, a five-pointed golden-yellow star to represent Luzón, Visayas, and Mindanao, respectively. The elements enumerated above are encircled at the outer edge of the blue shield by five-pointed golden-yellow stars, with one point of each star pointing outward on the imaginary radiating center lines, the number of stars conforming to the number of provinces of the Republic of the Philippines at any given time. |
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The Seal of the President of the Philippines shall consist of the Coat-Of-Arms of the President of the Philippines, and a white circle around the Coat-of-Arms enclosed by two (2) golden-yellow marginal rings. The white circle shall contain the words ("Seal of the President of the Philippines") in black letters on the upper arc, the lower arc divided by three (3) five-pointed golden-yellow stars.
Some of the symbols in the arms are derived from the National Flag, and retain their meaning. The eight-rayed sun represent the eight provinces placed under martial law in 1896 at the onset of the Philippine Revolution. On the sun there is an equilateral triangle (coloured red as opposed to the Flag's white), representing liberty, equality, and fraternity, which were ideals of the Revolution. The stars at the corners of the triangle represent the three major island groups of Luzón, Visayas and Mindanao.
At the centre of the coat-of-arms is a Sea-lion, which is derived from the coat-of-arms of the City of Manila granted by Philip II of Spain in 1596. It has the upper half of a lion, and the lower half and curled tail of a fish. The Sea-lion as a heraldic device ultimately comes from the lion on the coat-of-arms of Castile and León; since the islands were an overseas (ultramar) possession, the lion became a sea lion.
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