| Flag |
Date |
Use |
Description |
| The Spanish East Indies (1535–1898) |
 |
1535–1730 |
Flag used when the Philippine Islands were a part of New Spain. |
The Cross of Burgundy: a red saltire resembling two crossed, roughly-pruned branches, on a white field. |
 |
1730–1761 |
Used during Spanish East Indies period. |
Flag of Spain under the reign of King Felipe V. |
 |
1761–1785 |
Used during Spanish East Indies period. |
Flag of Spain under the reign of King Felipe V's grandson, King Carlos III |
 |
1762–1764 |
Flag during the British occupation of the Philippines, as used in occupied Manila and Cavite |
The flag of the British East India Company before 1810: A flag with red and white stripes with the Kingdom of Great Britain's Union Flag as a canton. The Union flag bears red cross on a white field, commonly called St George's Cross, superimposed on a white saltire on a blue field, known as St Andrew's Cross. Also known as the "King's Colours." |
 |
1785–1873 |
Used during Spanish East Indies period. |
Three horizontal stripes of red, weld-yellow and red, the centre stripe being twice as wide as each red stripe with arms in the first third of the weld-yellow stripe. The arms are crowned and vertically divided, the left red field with a tower representing Castille, the right white field with a lion representing León. |
 |
1873–1874 |
Used by the Spanish East Indies under the First Spanish Republic. |
Three horizontal stripes: red, weld-yellow and red, the yellow strip being twice as wide as each red stripe with arms in the first third of the yellow stripe. Royal crown removed from arms. |
|
1874–1898 |
Used during Spanish East Indies after the restoration of the Spanish monarchy. |
The flag of the Kingdom of Spain used prior to the First Spanish Republic was reinstated. |
| Philippine Revolution – First Philippine Republic |
 |
1897–1898 |
First official flag of the Philippine republic and used during the Philippine Revolution |
The flag was created in Naic, Cavite and first displayed in 1897. It features an eight-rayed white sun with a mythical face on a field of red. |
(obverse) 
(reverse) |
1898–1901 |
The Three Stars and a Sun was a design that conceived by President Emilio Aguinaldo. The exact shade of blue is debated; three variants were used by subsequent governments. |
Sewn by Doña Marcela Marino de Agoncillo, Lorenza Agoncillo, and Delfina Herbosa de Natividad in Hong Kong and first flown in battle on May 28, 1898. It was formally unfurled during the Proclamation of Philippine Independence and the flag of the First Philippine Republic, on June 12, 1898 by President Aguinaldo. It contains a mythical sun (with a face) common to many former Spanish colonies; the triangle of Masonry; the eight rays representing the provinces that first revolted and were placed under Martial Law by the Spanish at the start of the 1896 Revolution. The flag was initially unfurled with the blue stripe above, but was flown with the red stripe above at the outbreak of the Philippine–American War in 1899. The flag has the words "Fuerzas Expeditionarias del Norte de Luzon" on its obverse and "Libertad Justicia e Igualdad" on its reverse. |
| American and Commonwealth Period (1898–1946) |
 |
1898–1908 |
Used while under direct administration from the United States of America. |
Thirteen horizontal stripes of alternating red and white representing the original Thirteen Colonies; in the canton, white stars on a blue field, the number of stars increased as the United States expanded its territory. |
 |
1908–1912 |
Variant after Oklahoma became a state |
 |
1912–1919 |
Variant after Arizona and New Mexico achieved statehood |
 |
1919–1936 |
From 1919, two flags were flown in the Philippines, the American flag and the flag conceived by Emilio Aguinaldo which was made the national flag of the Philippines |
The American flag remained unchanged since 1919. For the Philippine flag, the design conceived by Emilio Aguinaldo remained but the shades of blue and red were adopted from the American flag. The sun's face was removed, but its stylised rays were retained. It should be noted that there existed many versions of the flag as no official design had been codified. |
 |
1936–1946 |
Specifications codified; Defined under Executive Order No. 23, s. 1936. The shade of blue used was navy blue, following suit from the American Flag. The triangle was made equilateral and the sun was also further simplified, achieving its present form. Also used by the Commonwealth government-in-exile from 1942-1945 |
| Japanese Period (1942–1945) |
 |
1942–1943 |
Used during the Japanese Occupation. |
The Hinomaru as it appeared until 1999: a red sun-disc, shifted 1% left of centre, on a white field. |
 |
October 14, 1943 |
Used during the inauguration of the Second Republic. |
Emilio Aguinaldo's flag was hoisted upon proclamation of the Second Republic. However, the design as used by the Commonwealth remained. |
| Sovereignty (1946–present) |
|
1946–1985 |
Following independence, the 1936 design specifications codified by Manuel Quezon remains but the shades of blue and red varied through the years. In 1998, the flag gained its present definitive shades. |
Defined under Executive Order No. 23, s. 1936. The shade of blue used here is Navy Blue, following suit from the American Flag. |
 |
1985–1986 |
Altered by Executive Order No. 1010, s. 1985. The shade of blue was changed from Navy Blue to Light Blue, amidst debate on the shade used in the original flag. A pale Sky Blue was the actual colour used since it was more available at that time and not due to any specific historical precedent. |
|
1986–1998 |
1936 version of the flag restored after the 1986 People Power Revolution. |
 |
1998–present |
The Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines specifies the colours for the blue field Cable No. 80173; the white field, Cable No. 80001; the red field, Cable No. 80108; and the golden-yellow Stars and Sun, Cable No. 80068.[1][2] Colours introduced for the Centennial celebrations.[citation needed] |
Most of the flags of the provinces of the Philippines are in 1:2 ratio with the provincial seal/coat-of-arms on a field of single color, although a few have designs differing from that standard.
| Flag |
Date |
Use |
Description |
 |
|
Provincial flag of Bohol |
A tricolour with the white stripe being double the width of the blue and red stripes. Superimposed on the white stripe is the main portion of the seal of Bohol. It consists of two bolos representing the Tamblot Uprising and the Dagohoy Rebellion, the Chocolate Hills and the Sandugo between Miguel López de Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna. It also contains a little star representing Carlos P. Garcia, the only Boholano President of the Philippines (another star will be installed for every Boholano president). |
| Link to file |
|
Provincial flag of Batangas |
Horizontal tricolor of blue, white and red. The seal of the province is inscribed on the center of the flag. |
|
|
Provincial flag of Bukidnon |
Three equal horizontal stripes; white for honesty and purity; red for commerce, courage, bravery and heroism; black for authority and a Spear and Shield. |
 |
1970- |
Provincial flag of Cagayan |
Horizontal tricolor of blue, gold and red with the coat of arms of the province, surrounded by 29 stars, on the left side of the flag. |
 |
|
Provincial flag of Camarines Norte |
A tricolor of green, white, and yellow. |
|
|
Provincial flag of Southern Leyte |
A green flag with a golden fringe, white cross, coconut and abaca leaves and four orchids. |
Like the flags of most Philippine provinces, flags of municipalities usually just bear the seal of the municipality on a single color field but there are some municipality flags that differs from the standard
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