Authority, adoption, and nationwide coverage
- Executive Order No. 343 adopts and institutionalizes the Panunumpa ng Katapatan sa Watawat as the official oath of allegiance for all Filipinos.
- The adoption covers every citizen, who is directed to learn the pledge.
- Citizens are required to reflect upon its words.
- Citizens must take to heart the dedication to nationhood contained in the pledge.
Basis and institutional provenance
- The pledge known as Panunumpa ng Katapatan sa Watawat is described as finalized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
- The pledge is described as finalized from a draft prepared by the Commission on the Filipino Language.
- The Order is anchored on the stated national commemoration of the centennial of the proclamation of Philippine Independence on 12 June 1998, which is linked to strengthening citizens’ sense of history and nationhood.
Policy and intent for national values
- Executive Order No. 343 institutionalizes the pledge because it is characterized as a pledge that evokes nationhood and values expected of freedom-loving and nationalistic Filipinos.
- Citizens are directed to internalize the pledge’s dedication to nationhood through learning, reflection, and wholehearted commitment.
Official pledge text and required content
- The official pledge is the Panunumpa ng Katapatan sa Watawat, with the following lines:
- “Ako ay Pilipino / Buong katapatang nanunumpa / Sa watawat ng Pilipinas / At sa bansang kanyang sinasagisag / Na may dangal, katarungan at kalayaan / Na pinakikilos ng sambayanang / Maka-Diyos, / Maka-tao, at / Makabansa.”
- The Order directs citizens to learn these words as the basis of the oath of allegiance.
Effectivity rule
- Executive Order No. 343 provides that it takes effect immediately.