Senator Manny Pacquiao(EPA/JOSEPH VIDAL / PRIB / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Pacquiao filed Senate Bill No. 1984 last January 14, renewing propositions to increase the rays of the eight-rayed sun in the country’s flag to represent Filipino Muslims who fought against Spain’s colonization.
He said Muslim heroes are “mostly unrecognized”, citing for instance Lapu-Lapu and Sultan Kudarat, who led battles against the Spaniards.
“Our Muslim heroes who equally struggled valiantly for our country’s independence must be given due recognition alongside with those already recognized in the most heraldic article of national importance, in the Philippine flag,” Pacquiao added.
In pushing this, he said the Phlilippine flag “should not only encapsulate a symbolism that survives the passage of time, but one which truly reflects the historical accounts and gives due recognition to those who went through heroic struggles over the course of national history.”