President Duterte Arrives in Myanmar and Meets with the Filipino Community 14

The seal of the president of the Philippines ( fil, Sagisag ng Pangulo ng Pilipinas) is a symbol used to represent the history and dignity of the

president of the Philippines The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...

. Its original form was designed by Captain

Galo B. Ocampo Galo B. Ocampo (October 16, 1913 – September 12, 1985) was a Philippine artist. He was also the first Filipino to study heraldry and was a member of the International Institute of Genealogy and Heraldry in Madrid. Ocampo was born in Santa Rit ...

, secretary of the Philippine Heraldry Committee, and patterned after the

seal of the president of the United States The seal of the president of the United States is used to mark correspondence from the president of the United States to the U.S. Congress, and is also used as a symbol of the presidency itself. The central design, based on the Great Seal of the ...

.Executive Order No. 310
Manuel L. Quezon III, May 29, 2005 It was first used by President

Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (born Manuel Roxas y Acuña; ; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines, who served from 1946 until his death due to heart attacks in 19 ...

in 1947.

Description and Symbolism

The seal is composed of the coat of arms of the president, which, according to Executive Order No. 310 of 2004 consists of: Regarding the design of the seal, the executive order states the following: Some of the symbols in the arms are derived from the National Flag, and retain their meaning. The eight-rayed sun represent the eight provinces placed under

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

in 1896 at the onset of the Philippine Revolution. On the sun there is an

equilateral triangle In geometry, an equilateral triangle is a triangle in which all three sides have the same length. In the familiar Euclidean geometry, an equilateral triangle is also equiangular; that is, all three internal angles are also congruent to each oth ...

(colored red as opposed to the Flag's white), representing liberty, equality, and fraternity, which were ideals of the Revolution. The stars at the corners of the triangle represent the three major island groups of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, ...

and

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

. At the center of the coat of arms is a

sea-lion In heraldry, the term sea-lion (sometimes called a morse) refers to a legendary creature that has the head and upper body of a lion, but with webbed forelimbs and a fish tail. These occur most frequently as supporters, but also occur as crests a ...

, which is derived from the coat of arms of the city of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

granted by King Philip II of Spain in 1596. It has the upper half of a lion, and the lower half and curled tail of a fish. The sea-lion as a heraldic device ultimately comes from the lion on the coat of arms of Castile and León; since the islands were an overseas (''ultramar'') possession, the lion became a sea lion.

History

The seal was first used by President

in 1947. It was designed by Captain

of the Philippine Heraldry Committee, who also designed the

coat of arms of the Philippines The coat of arms of the Philippines ( fil, Sagisag ng Pilipinas; es, Escudo de Filipinas) features the eight-rayed sun of the Philippines with each ray representing the eight provinces (Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Manila, Laguna, Nueva Ecija ...

. The seal was officially prescribed on January 7, 1947, when Executive Order No. 38 of 1947 was signed. It prescribed the coat of arms and seal of the president as: On July 4, 1951, President

Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino (born Elpidio Quirino y Rivera; ; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the sixth president of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino ente ...

, signed Executive Order No. 457 into law prescribing that: : At the time of signing, the Philippines had 52 provinces. On August 27, 1998, President

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice presi ...

signed Executive Order No. 19, amending Executive Order No. 38 of 1947 (as amended) in view of the fact that 1951, the number of provinces has increased to 78 and that there is a need to synchronize the number of stars to match the number of provinces at a given time. After Estrada's executive order came into effect, Roxas's executive order read: On April 20, 2004, President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...

signed Executive Order No. 310, which standardized the seal and its derivative material. The seal as it appears on government documents and property has since been redesigned to conform with the executive order.

Historical seals

Image: Presidential Seal of the Philippines 1.png, The first seal, with the text SEAL OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES. This version was used in 1947 - 1951. Image: Presidential Seal of the Philippines 2.png, The Presidential seal dated 1965 . The ring of stars surrounding the presidential coat of arms was added in 1951. Image:Sagisag ng Pangulo ng Pilipinas.svg, A 1969 instance of the Seal. The English text was changed to "SAGISAG NG PANGULO NG PILIPINAS" at an unspecified time between 1965 and 1969, during the term of Ferdinand Marcos. Image: Presidential Seal of the Philippines 4.png, One of the presidential seals of President Ferdinand Marcos. This seal was last seen during Pres. Marcos' time last 1974. File:Seal of the President of the Philippines (1981-1986).svg, An alternate version of the 1981 seal. The triangle was inverted, and the Sea-lion of Manila was changed to an eagle. The text would also be in script and, together with the ring of stars set against the circular field, are rendered in gold color. Image: Presidential Seal of the Philippines 3.png , Under the government of President Corazon Aquino, the seal was restored to the Galo Ocampo original but with Filipino text; this seal would be in general use. File:Seal of the President of the Philippines.svg, Present Presidential seal as prescribed by Executive Order No. 310, which was signed into law on April 20, 2004.

References

Executive Order No. 38, s. 1947
Official Gazette
Executive Order No. 457, s. 1951
Official Gazette
Executive Order No. 19, s. 1998
Official Gazette
Executive Order No. 310, s. 2004
Official Gazette
The Presidential Seal

A presentation box with the Presidential Seal, circa 1969: "This seal predates the (1981) change in the presidential seal ordered by Ferdinand Marcos during his tenure as president."
{dead link, date=May 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Seal National symbols of the Philippines

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Description and Symbolism

History

Historical seals

See also

References