page_title: National symbols of the Philippines
section_title: Development of the symbols
hierarchical_section_title: National symbols of the Philippines / Development of the symbols
caption_attribution_description: Justice Frank Murphy of the U.S. Supreme Court
context_page_description: The national symbols of the Philippines consist of symbols that represent Philippine traditions and ideals and convey the principles of sovereignty and national solidarity of the Filipino people. Some of these symbols namely the national flag, the Great Seal, the coat of arms and the national motto are stated in the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines, which is also known as Republic Act 8491. In the Constitution of the Philippines, the Filipino language is stated as the national language of the Philippines. Aside from those stated symbols in the Constitution and in Republic Act 8491, there are only six official national symbols of the Philippines enacted through law, namely sampaguita as national flower, narra as national tree, the Philippine eagle as national bird, Philippine pearl as national gem, arnis as national martial art and sport and the Filipino Sign Language as the national sign language. Thus, there is a total of twelve official national symbols passed through Philippine laws.
  There are symbols such as the carabao, mango and anahaw that are widely known as national symbols but have no laws recognizing them as official national symbols.
context_section_description: The Republic Act (RA) 8491, also known as Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines, stipulates the code for national flag, anthem, motto, coat-of-arms and other heraldic items and devices of the Philippines. According to Article XIV Section 6 of the Constitution of the Philippines, the national language of the Philippines is Filipino.  Apart from RA 8491 and the Constitution, the Philippines has only six official national symbols enacted either through a proclamation by the executive department or through a Republic Act by the legislative department, namely sampaguita, narra, the Philippine eagle, the Philippine pearl, arnis and the Filipino Sign Language.
  In 1934, during the Commonwealth era, Governor-General Frank Murphy declared sampaguita and narra as national flower and national tree, respectively, through Proclamation No. 652.  Philippine President Fidel Ramos proclaimed the Philippine eagle as the national bird in 1995 through Proclamation No. 615. Ramos also declared the South Sea Pearl or Philippine Pearl as the national gem in 1996 through Proclamation No. 905. In 2009, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared arnis as the national sport and martial art through Republic Act 9850. On October 30, 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11106, a law declaring the Filipino Sign Language as the national sign language of the Filipino deaf and the official sign language of the Philippine government involving communications to the deaf.
caption: Governor-General Frank Murphy declared sampaguita and narra as national symbols during the Commonwealth era.
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