Coat of Arms of The Philippines - History

History

The Philippine heraldic symbol began when King Philip II of Spain authorized the first coat of arms to the City of Manila through the royal decree issued on March 20, 1596 is as follows:

Eventually the seal evolved and changed some details and features, but the principal devices remained unaltered. The new design was patterned after the national standard of Spain, the seal consisting of fleur-de-lis surrounded by a quartered flag of Castille and Aragon represented by two golden castles located on the red field and two red lions on a white field. The seal was later adopted by the Spanish colonial government.

During the Philippine Revolution in 1896, the Filipino leaders had no permanent political symbol. However, two different coats of arms were easily adopted by the Filipinos. Both arms consisted of an equilateral triangle, but differed on symbols found inside the triangle. Many documents of the Katipunan bore a letter K which stood for Kalayaan (Liberty), while some had the rising mythological sun in the center. General Emilio Aguinaldo adopted the mythological sun and the five pointed stars in each angle of the equilateral triangle as his coat of arms.

During American occupation, a law was enacted prescribing the new coat of arms for the Philippines. At this time, the Manila coat of arms adopted by Spanish colonial government was still in use until 1905 when the Philippine Commission adopted the "new arms and great seal of the Philippine Islands" designed by Gaillard Hunt of the US State Department. It consisted of thirteen alternating red and white stripes representing the original colonies of America; a chief blue above, the honor color, and over them in an oval the arms of Manila with the castle of Spain and the sea lion prominently displayed. It also bore an American eagle, the symbol of United States. Beneath the shield was the scroll with the words Philippine Islands. It remained unaltered until the inauguration of Commonwealth of the Philippines in 1935.

During the Commonwealth Era, extensive reform was made to the government in preparation for Philippine independence. One of major changes was changing the symbol for Filipinos. "The Arms and Great Seal of the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines" was approved in 1935, the number of stripes reduced from thirteen to two and three five-pointed stars added. The eagle was slightly enlarged and placed closer to the arm. The word Commonwealth of the Philippines replaced Philippine Islands in the scroll below; it also incorporated the modified seal of City of Manila.

On December 15, 1938, President Manuel L. Quezon created the Special Committee of Arms of the Philippines. After almost two years of study, the committee recommended certain modifications to the coat of arms of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. They recommended that the eight-ray Philippine sun must be the point of honor. It was revised in 1940. It featured two stripes, blue on the sinister (right) side and red on the dexter (left) side of the shield; a white field above, studded with three five-pointed stars equidistant from each other; over them, the eight-rayed sun with each ray flanked on the both sides by minor rays inside an oval. On the crest is the American eagle, its talon grasping an olive branch with eight leaves and eight fruits, and the left talon grasping three spears. Beneath the shield was the scroll with the inscription Philippines

After providing the appropriate symbols to various branches of the government, President Quezon created the Philippine Heraldic Committee in 1940. The committee was assigned the studying and recommending the designs and symbolism for official seals of Philippines' political subdivision, cities, and government institutions. The heraldic work of the committee was suspended during the Pacific War.

During the Second Philippine Republic, a more nationalistic policy were adopted and the seal was revised. Foreign components of the Filipino heraldic symbol which previously represented its colonial links to Spain and United States were removed. Instead, salient features of the flag and seal of the short-lived Philippine Republic were incorporated, consisting of the eight-ray mythological sun and three stars located beneath the equilateral triangle. Written within three sets of two marginal lines of the three sides of the triangle were Kalayaan, Kapayapaan, Katarungan (Liberty, Peace, Justice). Around the seal was a double marginal circle within which was written Republika ng Pilipinas (Republic of the Philippines).

After World War II, President Sergio Osmeña reactivated the Philippine Heraldic Committee. The current design pursuant to Commonwealth Act No. 731 was approved by the Congress of the Philippines on July 3, 1946. It was designed by Captain Galo B. Ocampo, secretary of the Philippine Heraldry Committee.

During the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Isang Bansa, Isang Diwa (One Nation, One Spirit) became the national motto of the Philippines. It was immediately incorporated in to the national seal, replacing the words Republic of the Philippines, which were originally inscribed in a scroll beneath the arms. It was approved by the Office of the President on July 31, 1978.

However, during the administration of Corazon Aquino, the national motto was replaced with a Filipino translation of the original words, Republika ng Pilipinas, pursuant to Republic Act No. 8491 approved on February 12, 1998. This design continues to be in use.