Seal of the President of the Philippines

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The Seal of the President of the Philippines, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao is a symbol used to represent the history and dignity of the president of the Philippines. It was designed by Captain Galo B. Ocampo, secretary of the Philippine Heraldry Committee, and patterned after the Seal of the President of the United States. Its was first used by President Manuel Roxas in 1947.

1 Description and Symbolism
2 History
3 Evolution of the Presidential Seal
4 See also
5 References

[edit] Description and Symbolism

The seal is composed of the coat-of-arms of the President, which, according to Executive Order No. 310 of 2004 comprises 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 Luzon, 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 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" in black letters on the upper arc, the lower arc divided by three (3) five-pointed golden-yellow stars.

The coat-of-arms is then surrounded by a white circle, enclosed by two golden-yellow rims. The upper arc of the white circle contains the words SAGISAG NG PANGULO NG PILIPINAS ("Seal of the President of the Philippines") in black letters. The bottom of the outer rim is marked with three five-pointed golden-yellow stars.

The Philippine sun used in the coat-of-arms is adopted from the national flag, the eight rays represent the eight provinces placed under martial law at the onset of the revolution against Spain. On the sun there is an equilateral triangle, representing liberty, equality, and fraternity, which were the ideals of the Philippine revolution. The stars at the corners of the triangle represent Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, the three geographical island groups of the country.

At the center of the coat-of-arms is a sea lion, which is adopted 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 of arms was adopted from the coat-of-arms 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 sealion.

[edit] History

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, who also designed the Coat of Arms of the Philippines. The seal was officially prescribed on January 7, 1947, when Executive Order No. 38 of 1947 was signed into law. It prescribed the seal as:

—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'.

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 amulet 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.

On August 27, 1998, President Joseph Estrada 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 amulet 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.

[edit] Evolution of the Presidential Seal

A 1958 instance of the Seal. The text SEAL OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES would be changed to SAGISAG NG PANGULO NG PILIPINAS prior to the Marcos revision.

During the term of Ferdinand E. Marcos, the seal was again revised. The sea lion of Manila was changed to an eagle and some versions had the triangle point downward. The text would also be in script.

During the term of Corazon C. Aquino, the seal was more-or-less restored to the Ocampo original but with Filipino text; this seal would be in general use until Executive Order No. 310 is signed into law.