The most common misinterpretation about the rays of the Philippine flag is that it is a

representation of the first eight provinces—Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Manila,

Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Tarlac which joined the revolt for the country's
independence during the Spanish occupation. However, according to historian Xiao
Chua, the accurate representation of the eight rayed sun on the Philippine flag
symbolizes the eight provinces that were put under martial law interdict by the Spanish
colonial government during the Philippine revolution.
Though, it is written in history, and is also supported by sources, that the eight
provinces mentioned above were the ones to start the revolution in fighting for the
country’s independence. Such as before Rizal’s death he founded a progressive
organization called La Liga Filipina in Manila. After his death, its members came to an
agreement that a revolutionary secret society must be initiated and from there, the
Kataastaasang Kagalang-Kagalang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK) was
born and this organization that they built plotted ways of how to rebel against the
Spaniards. After some years, the Katipunero chapters were opened in the surrounding
provinces of Luzon namely: Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Manila, Nueva Ecija,
Pampanga, and Tarlac. With enough research about the addition of the “ninth ray” to
the Philippine flag, it seems to us that Senator Richard Gordon’s proposed bill is
unnecessary because if we were to add another ray on the Philippine flag, we should
also consider the different rebellions that happened in the past which should be
acknowledged and be represented in the Philippine flag. An example of other rebellions
that the Philippines should also acknowledge is the Filipino revolutionaries in the
Visayas, such as the battle of Mactan where Lapu-Lapu and his warriors defeated the
Spaniards. On the other hand, Muslim’s rebellion is not different from ours because
despite the difference of religion, we only wanted the same thing, fought for the same
thing: freedom. Additionally, it was written in history that the Moro people fought against
the Spaniards even before the Katipunan revolution.
Another point to consider is that the Moros are already in the Philippine flag. According
to Xiao Chua, in one of the speeches of Aguinaldo, he said that “the sun symbolizes the
light that we spread around the world and that would illuminate that nation which
includes the Igorots, Itas, and the Moros.” which means, the sun on the Philippine flag
represents all the citizen of the Philippines and whatever their ethnicity or religion
maybe won’t matter as long as they are a Filipino, and it also recognizes the sacrifices
and efforts made by our ancestors to achieve the freedom and peace we have today.