Tuesday

Official Philippine President's Seal, Flag and March

In the deep of writing a commentary on the latest impeachment complaint against Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, I tried to muse myself on her adamant grasp of the Office. So to give myself some time to choose the words to write, I decided to enjoy myself on the facts, symbols and trivias of the Presidency.

Official Seal of the President of the Philippines (Sagisag ng Pangulo ng Pilipinas)

The seal is composed of the coat-of-arms of the President, which, according to Executive Order No. 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 (Utramar) 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 Luzon, 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.


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 "Sagisag ng Pangulo ng Pilipinas" in black letters on the upper arc, the lower arc divided by three (3) five-pointed golden-yellow stars.

The coat-of-arms is then surrounded by a white circle, enclosed by two golden-yellow rims. The upper arc of the white circle contains the words SAGISAG NG PANGULO NG PILIPINAS ("Seal of the President of the Philippines") in black letters. The bottom of the outer rim is marked with three five-pointed golden-yellow stars.

The Philippine sun used in the coat-of-arms is adopted from the national flag, the eight rays represent the eight provinces placed under martial law at the onset of the revolution against Spain. On the sun there is an equilateral triangle, representing liberty, equality, and fraternity, which were the ideals of the Philippine revolution. The stars at the corners of the triangle represent Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, the three geographical island groups of the country.

At the center of the coat-of-arms is a sea lion, which is adopted from the coat-of-arms of the city of Manila. It has the arms, head, and upper body of a lion, and the tail of a sea creature. The sea lion on the coat-of-arms was adopted from the coat-of-arms of the Spanish kingdoms of Castile and León and was granted in 1596. Because the Philippines was an overseas (Ultramar) colony, the lion became a sealion.

Presidential Standard (Flag)

The Philippines' Presidential Flag is a blue field, with the President's Emblem centered inside it. This emblem consists of a ring of white stars, and within it the sun from the national flag, together with a red, equilateral triangle, the corners of which bear each a golden star . Inside the triangle, we see a sea lion.

In 1946, the Philippines became independent, and in 1947, President Manuel Roxas issued an executive order specifying the presidential seal and flag. The flag was also navy blue, defaced with the presidential seal, and with a mullet in each corner. The same executive order also specified the vice presidential flag, differenced by its having a white field, and blue sun and stars. It is unclear when navy blue was dropped, but the state portraits of Presidents Carlos P. Garcia (1957-1961) and Diosdado Macapagal (1961-65) both portray presidential flags with a Yale Blue field. The proportion of the triangle to the sun also changed from administration to administration. 

In 1986, the presidential flag prior to 1981 was restored, with a royal blue field. This remains the presidential flag in use today, with this one minor amendment. Design same as previously, but legislation "strengthened". The president's flag now has a ring of 79 stars, increasing theoretically.

Official Presidential March (Anthem)

I never thought that the Philippine President had an official anthem like his/her American counterpart (Hail to the Chief!). This is what I found by researching, or killing time over the net.

Mabuhay
by Juan Silos, Jr.
Popularized: Bayanihan Dance Troupe

Dutchland toasts with prozit 
Sweden answers "scol" 
England says their cheerio 
And lifts the flowing bowl. 
Hawaii says "aloha" 
Japan shouts "bansai" 
But in the Philippines 
You'll hear this cheering cry --

We say MABUHAY
We say MABUHAY
Under the blue skies
Where our friends sit by
A greeting of farewell
A toast that will wear well
We raise our voices and say MABUHAY!!!

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