Philippine Coat of Arms: The sun, stars, eagle and lion

FIRST and foremost, I’d like to greet you a belated Independence Day! I hope you felt really patriotic staring up at the old red, blue and gold waving in the breeze, and looking at the glorious coat of arms of the republic – the shield with the sun and three stars, divided into blue and red like our exceptional flag; the seal that you see on every official document from your BIR forms to your passport; one of the symbols that defines us as a country – a symbol whose meaning you’re not exactly sure about.

As Filipinos, we deserve to know the symbolism behind our symbols (pardon the repetition), and because we recently celebrated our Independence Day, that gives me an excuse to explain.

At a cursory glance, you’ll notice immediately that our coat of arms looks like the flag – it’s got blue and red partitions, a sun, and three stars.

The sun, stars and colors symbolize the same things – the sun symbolizes unity, freedom, democracy and sovereignty; the eight rays symbolize the first eight provinces (Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Laguna and Batangas) that revolted against Spain; the three stars represent Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao; the blue partition represents peace, truth and justice; and the red partition represents patriotism and bravery.

Here’s what you probably didn’t notice – what do you see on the lower left, in the blue field? Looks like a bird, right? Most of you assume it’s the Philippine Eagle and leave it at that. It’s actually the American Bald Eagle, grasping the olive branch of peace in one talon and the arrows of war in the other. On the right side, in the red field, sits the Spanish lion-rampant – a golden reminder of the colonial history we had under Spain.

Efforts had been made by congress to remove the colonial animals in 1998, but the referendum was never passed and there they remain until this day, to serve as a reminder of our former masters.

Another fun fact – the wing of the eagle always seems to be touching the central oval holding the sun. This may have been unintentional, but it seems to symbolize that America holds a very special place in our national hearts and minds – add to that the fact that we don’t really celebrate our independence from the United States. That’s something to think about.

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