National Coat of Arms

The Coat of Arms of the Republic Philippines bears some resemblance to the Philippine National Flag and the symbols are the same. The three five-pointed stars represent the three main geographical regions of the country which are Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The sun with its eight rays is also present as is the blue and red area. Although on the current coat of arms, the eagle in the blue area and the lion in the red area have been removed, it appears individuals are refusing to use this version. Instead, the former official version is being. The eagle and lion are symbolic of the two major periods of being a former colony. The eagle is representative of being a colony under the US and the lion that of Spain.

In addition, there is a scroll beneath which says REPUBLIKA NG PILIPINAS. The words on the scroll have changed several times. During 1946 - 1972 the scroll had the words REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES. During 1979 - 1986 the words were ISANG BANSA ISANG DIWA (this is the former motto; One Nation, One Spirit). The current words were adopted in 1986. The coat of arms shown here is the former official version. The current official was adopted in 1998 through Republic Act No. 8491. As mentioned above, the official current version is the same as the one shown here without the eagle and lion. The coat of arms shown here is fairly similar to the Commonwealth version adopted briefly in 1940.