Flags of the Philippine Revolution

With the establishment of the Katipunan, Andres Bonifacio requested his wife, Gregoria de Jesus, to create a flag for the society. De Jesus devised a simple red flag bearing the society's acronym, KKK, in white and arranged horizontally at the center. This was the first official flag of the society.

Some members of the Katipunan used other variations. One variaton has the three Ks arranged in the form of a triangle. Some others used a red flag with only one K.

When the revolution heated up, the Magdiwang faction of the Katipunan, which operated in Cavite under Gen. Santiago Alvarez, adopted a flag consisting of a red banner with white sun, at the center of which is a white baybayin (the ancient Tagalog script) letter ka. The sun initially had an indefinite number of rays and was later standardized to eight rays, to represent the eight provinces that Spain first placed under martial law (Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija). This eight-rayed sun was later used in the national flag of the Philippines. The flag is actually incorrectly placed on this page. It is flipped horizontally.

The Magdalo faction of the Katipunan, which also operated in Cavite under Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, used a flag similar to the Magdiwang faction's. It features a white sun with a red baybayin letter ka.

This emblem has recently been revived by a breakaway faction of army officers calling themselves the Magdalo Group. These officers rebelled against the government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the behest of Senator Gregorio Honasan (see Oakwood Mutiny).

Andres Bonifacio, the Supremo of the Katipunan, had a personal flag which depicts a white sun with an indefinite number of rays on a field of red. Below the sun are three white Ks arranged horizontally. This flag was first unveiled on August 23, 1896 during the Cry of Pugadlawin where the assembled Katipuneros tore their cedulas (poll tax certificates) in defiance of Spanish authority. The flag was used later during the Battle of San Juan del Monte on August 30, 1896, the first major battle of the Philippine Revolution.

General Mariano Llanera who fought in the provinces of Bulacan, Tarlac, Pampanga, and Nueva Ecija used a black flag with a white K on the left and a white skull-and-bones on the right. Bonifacio referred to the flag as Bungo ni Llanera (Llanera's Skull).

General Pio del Pilar, the hero of Makati, used a red banner which has a white equilateral triangle on the mast with a K at each corner. At the center of the triangle was a mountain with the sun rising behind it. The flag was called Bandila ng Matagumpay (Victorious Flag) and was first used on July 11, 1895. The flag was also one of the first to depict an eight-rayed sun.

General Gregorio del Pilar, referred to as ang batang General ("the young General") for his youth, used a tricolor banner with a blue triangle at the mast and a red stripe at the top of the flag and a black stripe at the bottom. Del Pilar patterned his flag after that of Cuba's, which then was also revolting against Spain.