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Philippines: How our flag flew again

1919 reintroduction

by Manuel L. Quezon III, 9 January 2002

Article by Jose A. Quirino

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Article by Jose A. Quirino

Philippines Free Press
HOW OUR FLAG FLEW AGAIN
June 9, 1956

The flag was prohibited for 12 years. Tears of joy were shed when flag law was repealed

By Jose A. Quirino

ONE of the saddest events in Philippine history occurred on September 6, 1907, the day the Filipino flag was proscribed. The incidents which led to the first proscription of the Sun and Stars (the public display of the flag was also prohibited during the early part of the Japanese occupation) and the subsequent lifting of such a proscription bear recalling.

By the time the first Philippine republic was proclaimed and by the time the flag was proclaimed as the republic's political symbol on June 12, 1898, almost all Filipinos realized the importance of a national standard in united them in the fight for independence. Even with the establishment of a civil government by the American authorities of the turn of the century, Filipinos still kept their own versions of the national standard. Long before the Flag Act was approved, the public display of the Filipino flag was banned. Any person who used any button, pin, watch chain, or trinket with the colors or design of the Philippine flag could be prosecuted and incarcerated by the Constabulary. The ban was an unwritten one, though according to international customs and usage, the ruling power could formally proscribe the display of the flag. But still, during the military occupation, the display or possession of the flag was cons