The Philippine coastwise emblem is a flag flown at main-mast of marine vessels engaged in coastwise trade in the Philippines. Coastwise trade in the country is defined as the transfer of either

merchandise Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of Product (business), products ("merch" colloquially) to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative w ...

passengers A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The vehicles may be bicycles, ...

between two seaports in the Philippines. The flag was first adopted in 1903, following the passage of the Coastwise Trade Act of 1902 by the

Insular Government of the Philippine Islands The Philippine Insular GovernmentThis form of the name appeared in the titles of US Supreme Court cases, but was otherwise rarely used. See s:Costas v. Government of the Philippine Islands/Opinion of the Court, Costas v. Government of the Phili ...

. Coastwise trade in the country is restricted to vessels with Philippine registry with a coastwise license secured from the

Maritime Industry Authority The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA, ; ) is an agency of the Philippine government under the Department of Transportation responsible for integrating the development, promotion and regulation of the maritime industry in the Philippines. Hi ...

. All licensed vessels must fly the Philippine coastwise emblem when entering or leaving Philippine seaports during daytime. Under law, the Philippine coastwise emblem is defined to consist of a white rectangular flags with two stars (one blue, one red; from the staff to tip) in the horizontal median line.

References

{{Lists of flags Flags introduced in 1903

Coastwise ''Coastwise'' is a play in three acts by Don Mullally and H. A. Archibald. The work premiered on Broadway at the Provincetown Playhouse on November 30, 1931, where it ran for a total of 37 performances. The play is set in a cabin in Northwestern ...

Maritime flags