WHEREAS, we, as a nation, will commemorate the centennial of the proclamation of Philippine Independence on 12 June 1998 which celebration becomes more meaningful to the citizenry if their sense of history and nationhood is properly evoked;

WHEREAS, the "Panunumpa ng Katapatan sa Watawat" finalized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts from a draft prepared by the Commission on the Filipino Language is a soul stirring pledge that we can all truly ours, evincing as it does, a sense of nationhood and the values that every freedom-loving and nationalistic Filipino ought to possess;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by the powers vested in me by law, do hereby adopt and institutionalize the "Panunumpa ng Katapatan sa Watawat" as the official oath of allegiance for all Filipinos. I hereby direct each and every citizen to learn the "Panunumpa ng Katapatan sa "Watawat", reflect upon its words and take to heart the dedication to nationhood that the pledge contains:

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.
This Executive Order takes effect immediately.

Adopted: 12 June 1996