What you can and can’t do to the PH flag

Among those prohibited under RA 8491, or the “Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines,” include using the Philippine flag as a tablecloth or a part of any advertisement

 

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On March 24, 2025, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) shared an image of the Philippine flag that was altered and placed in a poster by supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte. 

According to the NHCP, this violates Republic Act No. 8491 or the “Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines,” which prohibits the addition of any “word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawings, advertisement, or imprint of any nature on the National Flag,” writes an NHCP post on Facebook.

Just a few days later, the NHCP would also flag yet another violation—this time a campaign poster.

When graphic designers or any tech-savvy individual can easily access an image of the Philippine flag and edit it in any way imaginable—especially during campaign season for the 2025 midterm elections—what else does RA 8491 cover? What can and can’t you do to the flag?

READ: PH flag altered by Duterte supporters violates law – historical body

What RA 8491 prohibits

Section 34 of RA 8491 lists several instances that would be considered violations:

1. To mutilate, deface, defile, trample on, or cast contempt any act or omission casting dishonor or ridicule upon the flag over its surface
2. To dip the flag to any person or object by way of compliment or salute
3. To use the flag:
   1. As a drapery, festoon, or tablecloth
   2. As covering for ceilings, walls, statues, or other objects
   3. As a pennant on the hood, side, back, and top of motor vehicles
   4. As a staff or whip
   5. For unveiling monuments or statues
   6. As trademarks or for industrial, commercial, or agricultural labels or designs
4.  Display the flag:
   1. Under any painting or picture
   2. Horizontally face-up. It shall always be hoisted aloft and be allowed to fall freely
   3. Below any platform
   4. In discotheques, cockpits, night and day clubs, casinos, gambling joints, and places of vice or where frivolity prevails
5. To wear the flag in whole or in part as a costume or uniform
6. To add any word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawings, advertisements, or imprint of any nature on the flag
7. To print, paint, or attacha  representation of the flag on handkerchiefs, napkins, cushions, and other articles of merchandise
8. To display in public any foreign flag, except in embassies and other diplomatic establishments, and in offices of international organizations
9. To use, display, or be part of any advertisement or infomercial
10. To display the flag in front of buildings or offices occupied by aliens

 

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So shouldn’t pins, jerseys, and stickers with the Philippine flag be illegal?

Though these stipulations are part of an enacted law, in practice, these aren’t all strictly followed. For one, government officials themselves are routinely seen wearing Philippine flag pins. National athletes also have the flag on their jerseys and uniforms, and Philippine flag car stickers are rather commonplace.

So are these violations of RA 8491? On paper, yes. The act prohibits the inclusion of the flag “in whole or in part as a costume or uniform.” It also forbids the flag’s placement on “handkerchiefs, napkins, cushions, and other articles of merchandise.” That much is clear.

However, the law isn’t always interpreted in its literal form. The letter of the law may prohibit all the aforementioned acts yet at its heart, RA 8491 only ensures that the flag is treated with reverence and respect. And if it is worn by a Filipino athlete on the world stage—though it may not exactly be by the book—for as long as the flag isn’t being used as a car cover, towel, or any form of outright disrespect, then it is highly unlikely that you’d get the attention of the NHCP.