Our flag in the Constitution
Lawyers are a clever lot, they can stick to the letter of the law when it suits them and jump into interpretation when it doesn’t. How long should the meaning of “forthwith” be debated when the author of that particular clause, Adolfo Azcuna, has already clarified that it means “immediately” and in the official Filipino version of the Constitution as “agad-agad.” What are we to do if a word is missing? Check out Article XVI General Provisions. Section 1 reads: The flag of the Philippines shall be red, white, and blue, with a sun and three stars as consecrated and honored by the people and recognized by law.” They forgot to indicate the color of the sun and stars! However, from the phrase “consecrated and honored by the people and recognized by law,” it is crystal clear that we are talking about the flag designed by Emilio Aguinaldo and honored at the declaration of Philippine independence from Spain on June 12, 1898.
The problem is that if we go back to the original 1898 flag, the sun had a pair of eyes, a nose, and a mouth, like those in the flags of Argentina and Uruguay. The face of the mythical sun was deleted through an executive order issued by Manuel Luis Quezon in 1936 that standardized the flag as we know it today. I am old enough to remember the national debate not just on the addition of a ninth ray to the sun in our flag but also on the “correct” shade of the blue field.
On Feb. 25, 1985, the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. issued Executive Order No. 1010 amending EO 23 dated March 25, 1936. The Marcos EO was entitled “Description and Specifications of the Filipino Flag.” The issue was whether or not the blue in use until then was the correct shade. To rectify a historical inaccuracy, Marcos Sr. ordered the restoration of the “original color of the first Philippine flag.” The National Historical Institute (NHI) was ordered to draft the implementing rules and guidelines for the EO. All went well until the nation woke up to see a different flag flying in front of the Rizal monument—the navy blue field had turned into a pale sky blue! It was said the industrious flag maker, who donated the flag flying in Luneta, was simply trying to beat his competitors to the deluge of orders for new flags compliant with the EO that called for the restoration of the “original” shade of blue.
Orders for the new flag set off rumors of kickbacks in certain quarters, and citizens began to complain that a nation in the midst of economic hardship should not be obliged to spend money on new flags. The NHI was caught flat-footed. It was later ordered to discreetly call flag makers to retain the dark blue field. It also took down the sky blue flag from the most visible flagpole in the country—Luneta.
Actually, as late as 1955, the Heraldry Commission gave the specific shade of blue as United States Cable 70077 or navy blue. But Domingo Abella, National Archives director, declared that when the Philippine flag was finally allowed to fly after being suppressed by the American colonial government, flag makers didn’t have a supply of light blue cloth and used navy blue instead. No documentary evidence was provided by Abella, so his opinion was not taken seriously.
The NHI scoured the primary sources and got confused since Apolinario Mabini said the blue was “azul celeste” (sky blue), while Mariano Ponce said it was “azul oscuro” a dark blue that was a shade between “azul celeste” and “azul marino” (navy blue). Furthermore, Ponce complicated things in one of the few letters he wrote in English to a certain Mr. Y. Fukushima. He said: “My dear sir, I am sending you by parcel post one scarf pin representing our flag: please accept it as a poor souvenir. The blue color of the sky means our hope for future prosperity through progress …”
A watercolor of the flag by Juan Luna presented as a gift to Ferdinand Blumentritt in 1899 was deployed in the debate. This watercolor presently loaned by the National Library to the National Museum has a light blue field. However, it has been argued that it was originally dark blue but faded into light blue over time.
Finally, Marcela Agoncillo (1902-1994), the only surviving daughter of “the” Marcela Agoncillo, who made the first original flag, declared that the blue field was dark or navy blue. So the issue settled down, Marcos was deposed by People Power in 1986, and we are now back to navy blue.
Nothing was said on record about the shade of blue in the flag during the 1986 Constitutional Convention. The slip on the color of the flag and stars was probably because of the discussion on Resolution 97 drafted by Commissioner Cirilo A. Rigos “adding a ninth ray to the present Philippine flag.” The ninth ray was to represent the Muslims in the South and the Cordilleras in the North, which are not represented in the present flag with eight rays. That is another story for another column.
