Last modified: 2025-08-09 by 
zachary harden
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![[La Union, Philippines]](../images/p/ph-lun.gif)
from the Wikimedia Commons
See also:
The Philippine Province of La Union was formed in the 1850s of towns taken from
Ilocos Sur and Pangasinan--hence the name, and probably the handshake on the
shield. Its 1500 sq.km. of land is home to 656,000 inhabitants (by the 2000
census) dwelling in twenty towns, of which San Fernando is the provincial and
regional capital. I suspect that the yellow building in the center of the shield
is the provincial capitol.
Long before the Spanish (led by Juan de Salcedo) arrived, the people who lived
in what is now La Union had regular trade with China and Japan. They panned for
gold--de Salcedo sent fifty pounds of it to Manila after his first visit. The
foundation of the economy is farming and fishing. Unusually for the Philippines,
the province grows grapes commercially. In common with its neighbors, it
produces rice, tobacco, bananas, coconuts, other fruits and vegetables, and
fresh and dried fish. It shares many handicrafts with them: blanket-weaving,
basket-weaving, ceramics, shell-craft, ironwork, and jewelry. It is modernizing
its foreign trade with an international airport and seaport at San Fernando, and
working to develop local industry and expand tourism.
John Ayer, 2 April 2001
La Union changed its flag and seal. I do not have a date of when it happened, but the seal can be seen here. There is a technical blazon and plain language explaining the symbolism. Attached is the text from the aforementioned source:
"DESCRIPTION IN HERALDICAL TECHNICAL LANGUAGE
Parted per saltire azure and gules. On chief point between motto, LOVE, UNION, CONCORD, three hands firmly clasped; on base point, ship’s steering wheel; on dexter point, three cotton balls, and a tobacco plant; on sinister, a spinning wheel.
EXPLANATION:
The shield with seven points is divided into four parts by two diagonal lines crossing each other.
The upper and lower triangles are blue while the side triangles are red. On the upper triangle on a blue field are three hands firmly clasped together. They represent the people which were created from portions of the Provinces of Pangasinan, Ilocos and Benguet. The Province came to existence by virtue of a “Superior Decreto” on March 2, 1850 of Governor-General Antonio Maria Blanco. Four years later on April 18, 1854, the decree was approved by Queen Isabella II of Spain.
The words, LOVE, UNION, CONCORD from an apt motto of the province. LOVE is the Christian law. The Holy Bible admonishes that “He who does not love does not know God for God is love.” (1 John 4:8) But people, even if they love one another cannot accomplish mush if they are poles apart. They must be united together. Such is UNION. The Psalmist rhapsodizes: He sings, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.” (Ps 133:1) And if people are of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord, and gathered together in God’s name, then He is their midst.” (Phil 2:2) That is CONCORD.
On the right side of the shield, left of the beholder, on red background are three cotton balls and a tobacco plant symbolizing farming and agriculture and the province’s principal “cash” products.
On the left side of the shield, right of the beholder, likewise on a red background, is a native spinning wheel representing a developed weaving industry in the province.
On the bottom blue field is a ship’s steering wheel representing sailing, fishing, and other sea based industry and the port of San Fernando City which serves as a major link of the Province with international commerce.
COLOR SYMBOLISM:
BLUE represents peace, justice, equanimity, tranquility and calmness; RED symbolizes industry, initiative, activity and aggressiveness; GOLDEN YELLOW represents richness in aims and fullness of mind and heart."
As for the flag, the seal is on a white background.
Zachary Harden, 29 July 2025
From Facebook "Phils.Vex.Assn":
"The basic design of the flag of the Province of La Union is the
provincial seal centered on a plain field of white. Approximate flag
proportion (width:length) for most variants, based on photos, is 1:2,
with the seal diameter being around 7/10 of the flag width.
Variants can be grouped into two broad types, based on the color of
the seal ring and encircling text: black (most prevalent today) and
blue (more prevalent in the late '00s and early '10s).
Differences compared to the 1975 Symbols of the State flag rendering:
main flag color; completely different seal."
Jay Allen Villapando, 31 July 2016
![[La Union, Philippines]](../images/p/ph-lun_f.gif)
by Jaume Ollé,
12 January 2001
![[San Fernando, Philippines]](../images/p/ph-lun-sf.gif)
Source; image by Zachary Harden, 29 July 2025
![[Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University, Philippines]](../images/p/ph_dmmmsu.jpg)
image located by Jan Mertens, 12 July 2008
A university page showing the seal featured on the flag can be found at
http://www.dmmmsu.edu.ph.
Jan
Mertens, 12 July 2008
