During the Philippine Revolution

Philippine Revolution

The Philippine Revolution , called the "Tagalog War" by the Spanish, was an armed military conflict between the people of the Philippines and the Spanish colonial authorities which resulted in the secession of the Philippine Islands from the Spanish Empire.The Philippine Revolution began in August...

, various flags were used by the Katipunan

Katipunan

The Katipunan was a Philippine revolutionary society founded by anti-Spanish Filipinos in Manila in 1892, whose primary aim was to gain independence from Spain through revolution. The society was initiated by Filipino patriots Andrés Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa, and others on the night...

 secret society and its various factions, and later, after the Katipunan

Katipunan

The Katipunan was a Philippine revolutionary society founded by anti-Spanish Filipinos in Manila in 1892, whose primary aim was to gain independence from Spain through revolution. The society was initiated by Filipino patriots Andrés Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa, and others on the night...

 had been dissolved, the Philippine Army

Philippine Army

The Philippine Army is the ground arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines . Its official name in Tagalog is Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas. On July 23, 2010, President Benigno Aquino III appointed Maj. Gen...

 and its civil government.

Other flags were the personal battle standards of different military zone commanders operating around Manila.

The flags shown in this article are the official flags recognized during the Philippine Centennial celebration in 1998. These flags are often erroneously included in the "Evolution of the Philippine Flag

Flag of the Philippines

The national flag of the Philippines is a horizontal flag bicolor with equal bands of royal blue and scarlet red, and with a white equilateral triangle at the hoist; in the center of the triangle is a golden yellow sun with eight primary rays, each containing three individual rays, which represent...

"; these are properly called "Flags of the Revolution". While many of the depicted symbols and layouts on some of the flags have inspired the national flag, there is no direct relationship.

Katipunan flags

With the establishment of the Katipunan

Katipunan

The Katipunan was a Philippine revolutionary society founded by anti-Spanish Filipinos in Manila in 1892, whose primary aim was to gain independence from Spain through revolution. The society was initiated by Filipino patriots Andrés Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa, and others on the night...

, Andrés Bonifacio

Andres Bonifacio

Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro was a Filipino nationalist and revolutionary. He was a founder and later Supremo of the Katipunan movement which sought the independence of the Philippines from Spanish colonial rule and started the Philippine Revolution...

 requested his wife, Gregoria de Jesús

Gregoria de Jesus

Gregoria de Jesús , also known as Aling Oriang, was the founder and vice-president of the women's chapter of the Katipunan of the Philippines. She was also the custodian of the documents and seal of the Katipunan. She married Andrés Bonifacio, the supremo of the Katipunan, and played a major role...

, to create a flag for the society. De Jesús devised a simple red flag bearing the society's acronym, KKK, in white and arranged horizontally at the center. This became the society's first flag.

Some Katipunan members used other variations. One variation has the three Ks arranged in the form of a triangle. Some others used a red flag with only one K.





When the revolution heated up, the Magdiwang faction of the Katipunan, which operated in Cavite

Cavite

Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Cavite is surrounded by Laguna to the east, Metro Manila to the northeast, and Batangas to the south...

 under Mariano Álvarez

Mariano Álvarez

Mariano Álvarez was a Filipino revolutionary and politician.-Pre-war life:Álvarez was born in Noveleta, Cavite. He received formal schooling at the San José College in Manila, and obtained a teacher's diploma. He returned to Cavite and worked as a schoolteacher in Naic and Maragondon. He was...

, adopted a flag consisting of a red banner with a white sun with the baybayin

Baybayin

Baybayin , is a pre-Spanish Philippine writing system. It is a member of the Brahmic family and is recorded as being in use in the 16th century...

 (the ancient Tagalog

Tagalog language

Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...

 script) letter ka (for K) at the center.





The Magdalo faction of the Katipunan, which also operated in Cavite

Cavite

Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Cavite is surrounded by Laguna to the east, Metro Manila to the northeast, and Batangas to the south...

 under Emilio Aguinaldo

Emilio Aguinaldo

Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy was a Filipino general, politician, and independence leader. He played an instrumental role during the Philippines' revolution against Spain, and the subsequent Philippine-American War or War of Philippine Independence that resisted American occupation...

, used a flag similar to the Magdiwang faction's, featuring a white sun with a baybayin

Baybayin

Baybayin , is a pre-Spanish Philippine writing system. It is a member of the Brahmic family and is recorded as being in use in the 16th century...

 letter ka. The sun initially had an indefinite number of rays and was later standardized to eight rays, to represent the eight provinces that Spanish colonial authorities placed under martial law (Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

, Cavite

Cavite

Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Cavite is surrounded by Laguna to the east, Metro Manila to the northeast, and Batangas to the south...

, Laguna

Laguna province

Laguna is a province of the Philippines found in the CALABARZON region in Luzon. Its capital is Santa Cruz and the province is located southeast of Metro Manila, south of the province of Rizal, west of Quezon, north of Batangas and east of Cavite. Laguna almost completely surrounds Laguna de Bay,...

, Batangas

Batangas

Batangas is a first class province of the Philippines located on the southwestern part of Luzon in the CALABARZON region. Its capital is Batangas City and it is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and Laguna to the north and Quezon to the east. Across the Verde Island Passages to the south is the...

, Bulacan

Bulacan

Bulacan , officially called the Province of Bulacan or simply Bulacan Province, is a first class province of the Republic of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Region in the island of Luzon, north of Manila , and part of the Metro...

, Pampanga

Pampanga

Pampanga is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Pampanga is bordered by the provinces of Bataan and Zambales to the west, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija to the north, and Bulacan to the southeast...

, Bataan

Bataan

Bataan is a province of the Philippines occupying the whole of the Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. The province is part of the Central Luzon region. The capital of Bataan is Balanga City and it is bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north...

, and Nueva Ecija

Nueva Ecija

Nueva Ecija is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Palayan City...

). An eight-rayed sun was later used in the national flag of the Philippines.

Personal flags

	As the Katipunan's Supremo, Andrés Bonifacio Andres Bonifacio Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro was a Filipino nationalist and revolutionary. He was a founder and later Supremo of the Katipunan movement which sought the independence of the Philippines from Spanish colonial rule and started the Philippine Revolution...  had a personal flag which depicts a white sun with an indefinite number of rays on a field of red. Below the sun are three white Ks arranged horizontally. This flag was first unveiled on August 23, 1896 during the Cry of Pugadlawin where the assembled Katipunan members tore their cedulas Community tax certificate (Philippines) A community tax certificate , also known as a residence certificate, is a legal identity document in the Philippines...  (community tax certificates) in defiance of Spanish authority. The flag was used later during the Battle of San Juan del Monte Battle of San Juan del Monte The Battle of San Juan del Monte, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Pinaglabanan or Battle of San Juan was fought on August 30, 1896, and is considered the first real battle for Philippine independence from Spain.-The battle:...  on August 30, 1896, the first major battle of the Philippine Revolution Philippine Revolution The Philippine Revolution , called the "Tagalog War" by the Spanish, was an armed military conflict between the people of the Philippines and the Spanish colonial authorities which resulted in the secession of the Philippine Islands from the Spanish Empire.The Philippine Revolution began in August... .
	General Mariano Llanera who fought in the provinces of Bulacan, Tarlac, Pampanga, and Nueva Ecija used a black flag with a white K on the left and a white skull and crossed bones on the right, resembling the Jolly Roger Jolly Roger The Jolly Roger is any of various flags flown to identify a ship's crew as pirates. The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly Roger today is the skull and crossbones, a flag consisting of a human skull above two long bones set in an x-mark arrangement on a black field. This design was used by... . Bonifacio referred to the flag as Bungo ni Llanera or Llanera's Skull.
	General Pio del Pilar Pio del Pilar Pío del Pilar is a Revolutionary General of the Philippines. He was born as Pío Castañeda Isidro. To safeguard his family and prevent them from harassment, he changed his surname to del Pilar...  used a red banner which has a white equilateral triangle on the mast with a K at each corner. At the center of the triangle was a mountain with the sun rising behind it. The flag was called Bandila ng Matagumpay (Flag Of the Triumphants) and was first used on July 11, 1895. The flag was also one of the first to depict an eight-rayed sun.
	General Gregorio del Pilar Gregorio del Pilar Gregorio del Pilar y Sempio was one of the youngest generals in the Philippine Revolutionary Forces during the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War. He is most known for his role and death at the Battle of Tirad Pass...  used a tricolor banner with a blue triangle at the mast and a red stripe at the top of the flag and a black stripe at the bottom. Del Pilar patterned his flag after that of Cuba's Flag of Cuba The flag of Cuba was adopted on May 20, 1902, containing a field with three blue stripes and two white stripes, and a red equilateral triangle at the hoist with a white 5-pointed star.... , which then was also revolting against Spain.

First official Filipino flag

At the Naic Assembly of March 17, 1897, the Katipunan military leaders decided to adopt a flag with a new design. This new flag was red and depicted a white sun with eight rays and a face. This flag became the first official flag of the Filipinos. The flag was used for less than a year because the Filipino leaders signed a truce with Spanish authorities Pact of Biak-na-Bato The Pact of Biak-na-Bato, signed on December 14, 1897, created a truce between Spanish Colonial Governor-General Fernando Primo de Rivera and Emilio Aguinaldo to end the Philippine Revolution...  on December 14 to 15, 1897.

Modern revival

A flag reminiscent of the Katipunan flags of the past was used by a breakaway faction of army officers Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines is composed of the Philippine Army, Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force...  calling themselves Bagong Katipuneros, but labeled the Magdalo Group by the press. These officers mutinied Mutiny Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...  against the government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...  at the behest of Senator Gregorio Honasan and once again led by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV Antonio Trillanes IV Antonio "Sonny" Fuentes Trillanes IV is a former Navy Lieutenant Senior Grade and concurrently serving as a senator of the Philippines since 2007.... (see Oakwood mutiny Oakwood mutiny The Oakwood mutiny occurred in the Philippines on July 27, 2003. A group of 321 armed soldiers who called themselves "Bagong Katipuneros" led by Army Capt. Gerardo Gambala and LtSG...  and Manila Peninsula mutiny).