The flag was designed in 1898 after the Americans and Spaniards ended their war and the United States promised an independence. It was only in 1946 that the independence was completed.

The symbols of the flag

The sun represents the beginning of a new era of self determination.

The 8 rays on the sun stand for 

the 8 provinces  that rose in revolt 

against Spanish rule in the late 19th century.

The 3 stars stands for the 3 principal geographic areas of the country; 

Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. 

The colors in the  flag

One country, two flags! 

Probably unique in the world is that a country has a flag for peacetime and a flag for wartime. The  flag showed above is, let us hope,  the one we'll see always. Blue on the top stands for peacetime. In wartime the flag will have the red stripe on the top.