Flag of the Republic of the Philippines
The national flag of the Philippines features an eight-rayed sun and three stars, all in gold, on a white equilateral triangle on the mast. The upper half of the remaining area is blue while the lower half is red. The proportion of the flag is 2:1. The flag was first conceptualized by Emilio Aguinaldo. The first flag was sewn in Hong Kong by Marcela de Agoncillo, her daughter Lorenza, and Josefina Herbosa de Natividad, niece of the country's national hero José Rizal. According to the June 12, 1898 Declaration of Philippine Independence, the white triangle is the distinctive emblem of the Katipunan which by means of its blood compact inspired the Philippine peoples to rise in revolution. The three stars represent the three geographical island groups of the country: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, although in the Declaration of Philippine Independence, one of the three stars originally represented the island of Panay, instead of the Visayas. Both representations convey the same idea: the unity of separate peoples and cultures into one Nation. The eight rays of the sun represent the first eight provinces, Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Laguna, and Batangas, which revolted against Spanish rule. While many people today think of Manila as a city, the addition of Manila to this grouping is historically accurate as in 1898, Manila and its suburbs were administered as a separate and independent province. This province is today known as the National Capital Region.