Герб Филиппин: История и символика

National coat of arms of the Philippines

The coat of arms of the Philippines (; lang es) features the eight rayed sun of the Philippines with each ray representing the eight provinces (Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Manila, Laguna, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Tarlac) which were placed under martial law by Governor General Ramón Blanco Sr. during the Philippine Revolution, and the three five pointed stars representing the three major island groups of Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. On the blue field on the dexter side is the North American bald eagle of the United States, and on the red field on the sinister side is the lion rampant of the coat of arms of the Kingdom of León of Spain, both representing the country's colonial past. The current arms, which shares many features of the national flag, was designed by Filipino artist and heraldist Captain Galo B. Ocampo.

During the 1896 Philippine Revolution, the Filipino leaders had no permanent political symbol, but, two different emblems were easily adopted. Both consisted of an equilateral triangle, but differed on what symbols were placed 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, officially the first President of the Philippines, adopted the mythological sun and the three stars in each angle of the equilateral triangle as his emblem.

During the American Occupation, a law was enacted prescribing a new coat of arms for the islands. The Spanish era arms of the City of Manila were used 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 Thirteen Colonies; 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 as its crest 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, 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 sea lion was made gold instead of silver and 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 coat of arms of the 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 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 various branches of the government with their own symbols, 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 1941 coat of arms was short lived and the 1938 iteration of the symbol was restored. Both symbols were also used as a presidential symbol through executive orders. 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 into the national seal, replacing the words Republic of the Philippines, which were originally inscribed in a scroll beneath the arms. The decree for this purpose was approved by the Office of the President on June 9, 1978. However, during the administration of President Corazon Aquino in 1986, the decree was revoked and reinstated the full English name of the country. The Administrative Code of 1987 provided that the inscription on the scroll could also be rendered in the national language. The original English words were replaced by its Filipino translation, Republika ng Pilipinas, pursuant to Republic Act No. 8491 on February 12, 1998, coinciding with the centennial of the Philippine declaration of independence.

After the expulsion of the Spanish colonial government by the Philippine Revolutionary Army and the Malolos Constitution was ratified, the government had formally been established. Image Description Year/Period Legal basis First Philippine Republic (1898–1901) Emblem of the First Philippine Republic, an unrecognized independent sovereign state by Emilio Aguinaldo, shows an equilateral triangle in the center of which is the sun with eight rays and at each angle a five pointed star. Had been used until his capture by the American forces in 1901 in the Philippine–American War. 1898–1901 Malolos Constitution

After the signing of the 1898 Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish–American War, Spain ceded control of the Philippines and several other possessions to the United States of America. The following arms were used in the period after the cession, during the Commonwealth, and throughout the Second World War. Image Description Year/Period Legal basis American period (1898–1946) Coat of arms of the Philippine Islands designed by Gaillard Hunt. Used by the Insular Government, which reported to the U. S. Bureau of Insular Affairs. The banderole bore the words "Philippine Islands". 1905–1935 Act No. 1365 First version of the Commonwealth arms, used by the Commonwealth of the Philippines. First used under President Manuel Quezon, it was also used by the Philippine government in exile when the country was occupied by Japan during the Second World War. This version had the sea lion change tincture from Argent to Or, while the banderole was revised to read "Commonwealth of the Philippines". After World War II, the Commonwealth retained its coat of arms, which was used until the dissolution of the Commonwealth. 1935–1940 Act No. 4258 Short lived second version of the Commonwealth arms, approved on August 19, 1940, under Commonwealth Act No. 602. Its use was not widespread and the previous arms were restored on February 23, 1941, by Commonwealth Act No. 614. 1940–1941 Commonwealth Act No. 602 The restored first version of the coat of arms. It was also used by the Philippine government in exile when the country was occupied by Japan during the Second World War. 1941–1946 Commonwealth Act No. 614 Japanese period (1942–1945) Emblem of the Second Philippine Republic. 1943–1945 Act No. 5 Coat of arms of the Second Philippine Republic. Introduced by the Japanese puppet state's government. The inscription on the banderole was "Pilipinas" (Philippines). The left side of shield is red while the right side is blue as per Act No. 17. Adopted on December 24, 1943. 1946–1978 Commonwealth Act No. 731 In 1978, President Ferdinand Marcos changed the inscription to the national motto at the time, Isang Bansa, Isang Diwa (One Nation, One Spirit). 1978–1985 Presidential Decree No. 1413, s. 1978 In 1985, the shade of blue was changed from "National Flag Blue" (Cable No. 80077) standardized in 1955 to "Oriental Blue" (Cable No. 80176), the same change was made on the flag of the Philippines. 1985–1986 Executive Order No. 1010, s. 1985 The pre 1978 coat of arms was restored on September 10, 1986, by Memorandum Order No. 34 following the 1986 People Power Revolution. The scroll bore the country's official name in English. The Administrative Code of 1987 provided that the inscription on the scroll could also be rendered in the national language. Upon the changes of its coat of arms in 1998, the name of the country at the scroll is shown in Filipino. 1986 1998 Memorandum Order No. 34, s. 1986 The arms as per the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines (Republic Act 8491), the scroll's inscription bears the country's official name in Filipino, Republika ng Pilipinas (Republic of the Philippines) and the lion and eagle charges were removed. These arms, however, remain unused since the referendum legally required to ratify them has not yet been called. 1998 (introduced) Republic Act 8491 The standardized version of the Arms currently in use. The banderole bears the country's official name in Filipino, Republika ng Pilipinas (Republic of the Philippines), with slightly lighter shades of blue and red on the shield with the old symbols. 1998–present

A stylized form of the arms was formerly used on the jersey of the Philippine men's national basketball team (until 2012), and appears with the word "Pilipinas" emblazoned above it. In addition, many coats of arms of national and private institutions, as well as Philippine towns and cities, are inspired by the national coat of arms.