malacanan:

The PML Tumblr Team would like to invite you all for coffee and/or tea in our lovely little corner of the Internet––the all-new Presidential Museum and Library website!

Want to learn more about the Office of the President? Curious about where the name “Malacañan” came from? In the mood for some Palace ghost stories? We’ve got all that and more, so click away to your heart’s content.

Origins of the symbols of our national flag, infographic from the Presidential Museum and Library.  The circular, and cosmopolitan, nature of our Revolution, then, is aptly and ably demonstrated by our flag: a triangle, representing the Katipunan and, in turn, an iconization of the ideals, trends, and events that inspired it—from the Eye of Providence in the Great Seal of the United States that inspired the Masonic Triangle and which, in turn, came to be enshrined in the motto of Revolutionary France—Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité—and prominently enshrined in the flags of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines; the stripes and colors derived from the American flag, the banner of the first republican revolution against European monarchy; the sun and stars of the revolutionary banners of the former colonies of Spain: all these combined to create a national flag that has endured and has been enshrined in our nationhood.
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Origins of the symbols of our national flag, infographic from the Presidential Museum and Library. 

The circular, and cosmopolitan, nature of our Revolution, then, is aptly and ably demonstrated by our flag: a triangle, representing the Katipunan and, in turn, an iconization of the ideals, trends, and events that inspired it—from the Eye of Providence in the Great Seal of the United States that inspired the Masonic Triangle and which, in turn, came to be enshrined in the motto of Revolutionary France—Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité—and prominently enshrined in the flags of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines; the stripes and colors derived from the American flag, the banner of the first republican revolution against European monarchy; the sun and stars of the revolutionary banners of the former colonies of Spain: all these combined to create a national flag that has endured and has been enshrined in our nationhood.

malacanan:

The June 6, 1863 issue of the Sydney Herald painted a grim portrait of Manila after the earthquake:

It is impossible to describe the spectacle of desolation the city presents. the cathedral, the palace, the tobacco factory, custom-house, Government offices, and nearly all of the churches, with their towers, are a heap of ruins or threatening every minute to fall.

[PHOTO: ”Manila: Earthquake, 1863”]

malacanan: On March 25, 1936, President Manuel L. Quezon issued Executive Order No. 23, which specified the design of the Philippine flag. Note that the color of the sun and stars were a golden yellow, brighter than the previous color used. During the Commonwealth, the Philippine and American flags were flown side-by-side. In 1941, President Quezon also moved the commemoration of Flag Day from October to June 12, marking the date of Aguinaldo’s proclamation. We’re celebrating Flag Days until June 12. Learn more about the historical development of the Philippine flag. Budding vexillologists, read up!
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malacanan:

On March 25, 1936, President Manuel L. Quezon issued Executive Order No. 23, which specified the design of the Philippine flag. Note that the color of the sun and stars were a golden yellow, brighter than the previous color used.

During the Commonwealth, the Philippine and American flags were flown side-by-side.

In 1941, President Quezon also moved the commemoration of Flag Day from October to June 12, marking the date of Aguinaldo’s proclamation.

malacanan: Fernando Amorsolo applying the finishing touches on his portraits of three Philippine presidents—Manuel Roxas, Manuel L. Quezon, and Sergio Osmeña. These presidential portraits were made specifically for the Philippine embassy in Washington D.C. Amorsolo would again paint the official portraits of the above Presidents, as well as those of Jose P. Laurel and Elpidio Quirino; those Amorsolo portraits are currently on display in Malacañan Palace. Today is the 121st birth anniversary of Fernando Amorsolo, National Artist for Painting. [Learn more about the Order of National Artists.]
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malacanan:

Fernando Amorsolo applying the finishing touches on his portraits of three Philippine presidents—Manuel Roxas, Manuel L. Quezon, and Sergio Osmeña. These presidential portraits were made specifically for the Philippine embassy in Washington D.C.

Amorsolo would again paint the official portraits of the above Presidents, as well as those of Jose P. Laurel and Elpidio Quirino; those Amorsolo portraits are currently on display in Malacañan Palace.

malacanan: The Mansion House in Baguio City, originally a summer retreat for American Governors-General, has been the official summer residence of the Presidents of the Philippines since the Commonwealth. It was also the venue of various diplomatic gatherings, such as the New Year’s reception hosted by the U.S. High Commissioner in 1936 and the Baguio Conference of 1950. JLA: You didn’t think we were going to let summer pass without at least mentioning the summer capital of the Philippines, were you?
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malacanan:

The Mansion House in Baguio City, originally a summer retreat for American Governors-General, has been the official summer residence of the Presidents of the Philippines since the Commonwealth. It was also the venue of various diplomatic gatherings, such as the New Year’s reception hosted by the U.S. High Commissioner in 1936 and the Baguio Conference of 1950.

JLA: You didn’t think we were going to let summer pass without at least mentioning the summer capital of the Philippines, were you?

malacanan: The cooler climate in Baguio made it the ideal location for American Governors-General when the summer heat became uncomfortable.  ABOVE: 1905 Plan of improvements for Baguio, as commissioned by U.S. Secretary of War William Howard Taft and drawn up by Chicago architect and city planner Daniel Burnham. William E. Parsons was recommended by Burnham to oversee the implementation.  Parsons also designed the Governor-General’s residence at the edge of Pacdal Plateau, which was named the Mansion House after William Cameron Forbes’ ancestral home in the family-owned Naushon Island near the Massachusetts coast. Related: Come join the PML Tumblr Team in an academic discussion of whether these old maps make Manila look like a hedgehog or a pizza slice.
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malacanan:

The cooler climate in Baguio made it the ideal location for American Governors-General when the summer heat became uncomfortable. 

ABOVE: 1905 Plan of improvements for Baguio, as commissioned by U.S. Secretary of War William Howard Taft and drawn up by Chicago architect and city planner Daniel Burnham. William E. Parsons was recommended by Burnham to oversee the implementation. 

Parsons also designed the Governor-General’s residence at the edge of Pacdal Plateau, which was named the Mansion House after William Cameron Forbes’ ancestral home in the family-owned Naushon Island near the Massachusetts coast.

Related: Come join the PML Tumblr Team in an academic discussion of whether these old maps make Manila look like a hedgehog or a pizza slice.

malacanan: Upon President Emilio Aguinaldo’s capture in Palanan, Isabela, the Philippine Republic was abolished and the American Insular Government, under the jurisdiction of the U.S. War Department, was established. With the war over and Philippine leaders officially accepting American sovereignty over the islands, the Philippine flag was flown with the blue field on top. It was to be displayed that way henceforth during peacetime. Learn more about the history of the Philippine flag
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malacanan:

Upon President Emilio Aguinaldo’s capture in Palanan, Isabela, the Philippine Republic was abolished and the American Insular Government, under the jurisdiction of the U.S. War Department, was established.

With the war over and Philippine leaders officially accepting American sovereignty over the islands, the Philippine flag was flown with the blue field on top. It was to be displayed that way henceforth during peacetime.

malacanan: TODAY IN HISTORY: In 1898, Filipino revolutionaries engage Spanish forces in Alapan, Cavite. This was the first instance where the Filipino revolutionaries used the Philippine Flag (ABOVE, featuring red and blue with a white triangle framing three yellow stars and an anthropomorphic eight-rayed sun. Throughout the war, the flag was flown with the red field on top to denote a state of war). In commemoration, Republic Act 8491, enacted in 1998, designated May 28 as the start of Flag Days, ending on June 12, Independence Day. Learn more here.
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malacanan:

TODAY IN HISTORY: In 1898, Filipino revolutionaries engage Spanish forces in Alapan, Cavite.

This was the first instance where the Filipino revolutionaries used the Philippine Flag (ABOVE, featuring red and blue with a white triangle framing three yellow stars and an anthropomorphic eight-rayed sun. Throughout the war, the flag was flown with the red field on top to denote a state of war).

In commemoration, Republic Act 8491, enacted in 1998, designated May 28 as the start of Flag Days, ending on June 12, Independence Day. Learn more here.

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