PILIPINAS

 

 

 

The Presidential Seal

 

THE KING OF SPAIN

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

1st and 2nd Republic

Third Republic

Fourth Republic

Fifth Republic

SYMBOLISM

 

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PRECEDING THE SEAL OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES ARE THE heraldic emblems of the Kings of Spain, being the sovereigns of the Spanish East Indies, and the seal of the President of the United States who was the head of state of the empire protecting the Government of the Philippines after 1902.

 

The arms of the King of Spain have undergone several changes after the arms of the first king owning the Philipine archipelago, King Philip II. The arms were always multi-quartered and surrounded by the collar of the Order of the Fleece of which the Spanish king was the grandmaster. On the arms was a single crested helmet or several helmets when the arms were symbolizing the supreme command of the King. They were crowned when symbolizing the king as the head of state.

In the time of the Provisional Government of 1868-’70 and the Republic of 1873-‘74 the dynastic arms in the center were omitted.

 

The arms of the King of Spain will be dealt with in the chapter about Spain.

 

The King of Spain

 

The arms of the last kings in possession of the Philippines were:

 

Arms: Quarterly of Castile, Leon, Aragon and Navarra, enté en point of Granada and with an escucheon Bourbon.

Order: The collar and Fleece of the Order of the Fleece (Spanish branch)

Mantle: Purpure,  fringed and tasseled Or, crowned with the royal crown of Spain.

 

 

Royal Spanish Arms in the time of Spanish Rule in the Philippines.

(Alphonso XII, 1874-1885)

 

The President of the United States

 

A seal for the President of the United States is in use since 1783. In the course of time it had different shapes.

 

Presidential Seal of the United States, 1912-1959

 

In 1945 it was ordered that

 

“the Coat of Arms of the President of the United States shall be of the following design:

 

SHIELD: Paleways of thirteen pieces Argent and Gules, a chief Azure; upon the breast of an American eagle displayed holding in his dexter talon an olive branch and in his sinister a bundle of thirteen arrows all Proper, and in his beak a White scroll inscribed “E PLURIBUS UNUM” Sable.

 

CREST: Behind and above the eagle a radiating glory Or, on which appears an arc of thirteen cloud puffs Proper, and a constellation of thirteen mullets Argent.

 

The whole surrounded by white stars arrange in the form of an annulet with one point of each star outward on the imaginary radiating center lines, the number of stars conforming to the number of stars in the union of the Flag of the United States as established by act of Congress, approved April 4, 1818, 3 Stat. 415.

 

The Seal of the President of the United States shall consist of the Coat of Arms encircled by the words “Seal of the President of the United States.”

 

The President of the Philippines

 

Presidents of the Philippines

 

FIRST REPUBLIC

Revolutionary Government/The Philippines under Spanish rule

Emilio F. Aguinaldo

1899-1901

COMMONWEALTH PERIOD

American Period

Manuel L. Quezon

1935-1944

Sergio S. Osmeña, Sr.

1944-1946

SECOND REPUBLIC

Japanese Occupation

Jose P. Laurel

1943-1945

THIRD REPUBLIC

Manuel L. Roxas

1946-1948

Elpidio R. Quirino

1948-1953

Ramon F. Magsaysay

1953-1957

Carlos P. Garcia

1957-1961

Diosdado P. Macapagal

1961-1965

Ferdinand E. Marcos

1965-1972

FOURTH REPUBLIC

Martial Law, “The New Republic” & Parliamentary Government

Ferdinand E. Marcos

1972-1986

FIFTH REPUBLIC

Under the new “People Power” Constitution

Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino

1986-1992

Fidel V. Ramos

1992-1998

Joseph Ejercito Estrada

1998-2001

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

2001-2010

Benigno S. Cojuangco-Aquino

2010-present

 

 

First and Second Republic

 

It is not known if Emilio Aguinaldo actually used a seal for himself. On his portrait he is accompanied by the national coat of arms encircled by a garland and placed on a disc. As there is no legend we cannot be sure if this is meant to be the presidential seal or just the national emblem.

 

The Governors General of the Philippines of American rule, as far as known, did not use a coat of arms or a seal but had a flag as a mark of distinction. This showed a party per fess, the chief paly of thirteen Argent and Gules and a base Azure a sea-lion Argent.

 

 

A High Commissioner to the Philippines was created by the Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934. He was the personal representative of the President of the United States to the Commonwealth of the Philippines during the period 1935-’42 / 1945-’46..

For the office a coat of arms, seal and flag were adopted.

 

The coat of arms showed the blazon of the flag of the former Governor General, crested of the American Eagle.

The coat of arms was the main charge of the Seal of the High Commissioner consisting of an oval shield with the legend: UNITED STATES HIGH COMMISIONER  TO THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

 

 

The flag showed the seal in full color between four five-pointed stars in the corners on a blue, golden fringed cloth.[1]

 

With the inauguration of the autonomous Commonwealth of the Philippines (1935), a flag was also adopted for President Manuel L. Quezon. This consisted of  a blue cloth and the full new achievement of the Commonwealth between four five-pointed yellow stars in the corners.

 

No presidential flag or seal is known from the time of the second republic.

 

Third Republic

 

A Presidential Seal was adopted  in 1947 after the gaining of independence in 1946. The use of the Presidential Seal is solely for and by the highest magistrate of the land.

The Presidential Seal closely follows U.S.A. usage and the redaction of the Law imitates the redaction of the American Law concerning the Presidential Seal. The emblem on it however, is not a version of the actual National Arms but is an adaption of the emblem on the former national seals of 1899 and 1943.

 

 

Presidential seal, 1947

 

The seal was first used by President Manuel Roxas in 1947. It was patterned after the Seal of the President of the United States which in turn was patterned after the Great Seal of the United States, and designed by Captain Galo Ocampo of the Philippine Heraldry Committee, the designer of the Coat of Arms of the Philippines. The seal was officially adopted on January 7, 1947, when Executive Order No. 38 of 1947 was ratified. The law describes the seal as follows:

 

SECTION 1. The coat of arms of the President of the Philippines shall be of the following design:

 

SHIELD: the eight-rayed Philippine sun rayonnant; on the center an equilateral triangle in gules; over-all the traditional lion (ultramar) of the ancient or original coat of arms of the City of Manila on guard with sword or at hilt; on three points of triangle three mullets

 

SEC. 2. The seal of the President of the Philippines shall consist of the coat of arms of the President of the Philippines encircled by the words ‘Seal of the President of the Philippines’.

 

 

In 1951 the colors of seal were laid down and a circle of stars, the number of which should be according to the number of provinces, was added.

 

 

Presidential Seal with 49 stars

 

On July 4, 1951, President Elpidio Quirino, signed Executive Order No. 451 into law prescribing that:

 

 ...the color of the sun and the sea lion shall be in golden yellow and, additionally provide that the design shall be surrounded by stars forming an annulet in a number equivalent to the number of provinces of the Republic as of 04 July 1951. ”

 

At the time of signing, the Philippines had 52 provinces.

 

 

Presidential seal with 55 stars


The text SEAL OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES was changed to SAGISAG NG PANGULO NG PILIPINAS prior to the Marcos revision:

 

 

 Presidential seal with 65 stars and legend in Filipino.

 

Fourth Republic

 

 

 

Presidential seal with 76 stars

 

During the government of President Ferdinand E. Marcos, the seal was revised. The sea lion of Manila was replaced by an eagle (maybe the Philippine Eagle: “Pithecophaga jefferyi” known as “Haribon” or “Haring Ibon”), and some versions had the triangle point downward. The text would also be in script.

 

 

 

Fifth Republic

 

 

Presidential seal with 73 stars

 

Under the government of President Corazon C. Aquino (1986-1992), the seal was more or less restored to the Galo Ocampo original but with Filipino text.

 

On August 27, 1998, President Joseph Estrada (1998-2001) signed Executive Order No. 19, amending Executive Orders No. 38 of 1947, as amended, in view of the fact that since July 4, the number of provinces has increased to 78 and that there is a need to continuously change the number of stars in the amulet to match the number of provinces in the country at a given time.

After Estrada’s Executive Order came into law, Roxas’s Executive Order read:

 

Section 1. The Coat of Arms of the President of the Philippines shall be of the following design:

Shield: the eight-rayed Philippine sun rayonnant in golden yellow; on the center, an equilateral triangle in gules (red); overall the traditional sea lion of the Coat of Arms granted to the City of Manila in 1596, on guard with sword, or at hilt and one mullet in golden yellow in the corner of each of the three angles of the equilateral triangle: one mullet representing Luzon; one, Visayas; and another, Mindanao.

The whole, surrounded by stars in the form of an annulet with one point of each star outward on the imaginary radiating center lines, the number of stars conforming to the number of provinces of the Republic at any given time.

 

The Present Seal 2004

 

 

Presidential seal with 79 stars

 

On the actual seal is the coat-of-arms of the President, which, according to Executive Order No. 310 of 2004 consists of:

 

A circular blue shield with an eight-rayed golden-yellow Philippine sun at the center. Overlapping the Philippine sun is a red equilateral triangle. Inside and at the center of the equilateral triangle is the traditional golden-yellow sea lion (Utramar) of the Coat-Of-Arms granted to the City of Manila in 1596, on guard with a sword on its right paw, at hilt.

Inside and at the corner of each of the three (3) angles of the equilateral triangle, a five-pointed golden-yellow star to represent Luzón, Visayas, and Mindanao, respectively.

 

The elements enumerated above are encircled at the outer edge of the blue shield by five-pointed golden-yellow stars, with one point of each star pointing outward on the imaginary radiating center lines, the number of stars conforming to the number of provinces of the Republic of the Philippines at any given time.

 

The Executive Order also stipulates that:

 

“The Seal of the President of the Philippines shall consist of the Coat-of-Arms of the President of the Philippines, and a white circle around the Coat-of-Arms enclosed by two (2) golden-yellow marginal rings. The white circle shall contain the words SAGISAG NG PANGULO NG PILIPINAS (“Seal of the President of the Philippines”) in black letters on the upper arc, the lower arc divided by three (3) five-pointed golden-yellow stars.”

 

Symbolism

 

The Philippine Sun Rayonnant symbolizes liberty and freedom. It is taken from the national flag of the first Republic. The eight rays represent the eight provinces placed under martial law at the onset of the revolution against Spain.

 

The Katipunan triangle in red symbolizes liberty, equality, and fraternity, which were the ideals of the Philippine Revolution. The Three Stars are for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, the three archipelagos of the country.

 

The Sealion at the center of the coat-of-arms is the heraldic symbol of the Philippines. It is taken from the coat-of-arms of the city of Manila. It has the arms, head, and upper body of a lion, and the tail of a sea creature. The sea lion on the coat-of-arms was adopted from the coat-of-arms (crest) of the Spanish kingdoms of Castile and León and was granted in 1596. Because the Philippines was an overseas (Ultramar) colony, the lion became a sea lion.

 

The Stars in the circular border around the Sun represent as many provinces as there are in the Republic.

 

Intelligence Service

 

 

Brief History

The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) was created by virtue of Executive Order (EO) 235 signed by then President Elpidio Quirino on 7 July 1949 in response to the need for a central entity that would coordinate the intelligence collection activities of the various government instrumentalities. As such, the NICA was responsible for coordination all government activities relative to national intelligence and preparing national intelligence estimates of local and foreign situations for the formulation of national policies by the President.

In 1958, under the Reorganization Plan 54-A as implemented by EO 291, the NICA was given the legal and specific powers and functions to carry out more effectively its mission of providing guidance in decision-making and national policy formulation.

Following the declaration of martial law, the President Ferdinand Marcos signed Presidential Decree 51 on 16 November 1972, abolishing NICA and creating the National Intelligence and Security Authority (NISA). The NISA had the same mission as the old organization but the broader powers. The Director General (DG), NISA had direct supervision over the National Security Council Secretariat, functional direction and control over the Civil Intelligence and Security Agency (CISA) as well as the intelligence functions of the AFP Intelligence Community. The CISA was responsible primarily for counterintelligence and exercised functional supervision and control over civil security units of all governmental offices. The DG, NISA was also the Chairman of the National Intelligence Board, which served as his advisory body on matters pertaining to the integration and coordination of intelligence activities.

 

From: http://www.nica.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=4

 

National Security Council

 

 

The National Security Council (NSC) is the principal advisory body on the proper coordination and integration of plans and policies affecting national security.

The NSC consists of two distinct bodies - the Council Proper and the National Security Council Secretariat.The Council Proper is a collegial body chaired by the President. It includes concerned officials of the Cabinet and Congress, as members, as well as other government officials and private citizens who may be invited by the President.

The Council was created during the Quirino Administration through Executive Order (EO) No. 330, dated 01 July 1950. It was reorganized by virtue of EO No. 115, series of 1986.

The NSC Secretariat is a permanent body that provides technical support to the Council Proper. It is headed by the Director General / National Security Adviser.

 

The motto on the seal reads: KAUNLARAN KAPAYAPAAN KATATAGAN (Development of Peace and Stability)

 

From: http://www.nsc.gov.ph/

 


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© Hubert de Vries 2010-08-27. Updated 2011-09-20; 2020-06-09

 

 



[1] Info: Paolo Paddeu www.watawat.net