9781422275559

        The flag of the Philippines is known as Pambansang Watawat ng Pilipinas . It is a simple horizontal flag          with bicolor bands of scarlet and royal blue. With an          equilateral triangle at the hoist, the flag contains a yellow star in each corner, as well as a sun with eight rays in the middle. The sun’s rays represent each of the Philippines provinces. The yellow stars represent the three main island groups: Visayas, Mindanao, and luzon. The central star once referred to Panay, but this island is now only the fourth most populated in the Philippines. What makes this flag so special is that it can simply be flipped to let people know if the country is in a state of war. When blue is on top, the country is at peace. But when red is first, the country is at war. The Philippines has had a variety of flags over time, including the first flag of the Katipunan, the flag of the Magdalo Katipunan faction, and the flag of the Republic of Biak-na-Bato, which was adopted in 1897. The Official Flag of the First Philippine Republic was similar to the flag that is flown today, but it also contained additional symbols resting across the red and blue stripes. The earliest records of today’s flag were produced by Emilio Aguinaldo when he was exiled in British Hong Kong during 1897. The flag was first displayed during the Battle of Alapan on May 28, 1898.

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8 PHIlIPPINES