Philippine Legion of Honor

The Philippine Legion of Honor^[1] (Filipino: Lehiyong Pandangal ng Pilipinas; Spanish: Legión de Honor Filipina) was established by President Manuel Roxas, through Philippine Army Circular No. 60 dated July 3, 1947. The Philippine Legion of Honor was patterned after the Legion of Merit of the United States of America, and was meant to honor both civilians and members of the military, Filipino or foreign. Originally, like the U.S. Legion of Merit, the Philippine Legion of Honor had four classes, known as degrees, with Legionnaire being the basic rank, and Chief Commander being the highest. With the reform of the Philippine system of orders and decorations in 2003, the Philippine Legion of Honor's classes were renamed "ranks" instead of "degrees", and the ranks expanded.^[2][3]

Philippine Legion of Honor
Type	Single Grade Neck Order/Sash/Medal
Awarded for	Meritorious & Valuable Service
Presented by	Philippines
Eligibility	Military Personnel, Diplomats, Heads of States & Governments
Status	Currently Awarded
Established	1947; 78 years ago (1947)
First award	1947
Final award	Ongoing
Ribbons of Legionnaire degree
Precedence
Next (higher)	Civilian: Quezon Service Cross; Military: Medal of Valor
Equivalent	Civilian: Order of Lakandula, Order of Sikatuna; Foreign: Legion of Merit
Next (lower)	Civilian: Order of National Artists, Order of National Social Scientists, Order of National Scientists, Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan, Order of Lakandula - Special Class of Champion for Life; Military: Outstanding Achievement Medal
Related	Legion of Merit

Criteria

Today, the Philippine Legion of Honor is conferred upon a Filipino or foreign citizen in recognition of valuable and meritorious service in relation to the military affairs of the Republic of the Philippines. It is thus the primary order of military merit of the Republic of the Philippines.

To signify the importance of the civil service in military affairs in the preservation of the honor of the Republic of the Philippines and in nation building, the Philippine Legion of Honor is conferred on the anniversary of the declaration of Philippine Independence.

The Philippine Legion of Honor may be awarded by the Secretary of National Defense in the name and by authority of the President of the Philippines.

Ranks

The Philippine Legion of Honor in the rank of Commander

The civilian division of the Philippine Legion of Honor is composed of the following ranks:

• Chief Commander (CCLH) (Punong Komandante) - Conferred upon a civilian for life achievement in public service not otherwise qualifying for the Quezon Service Cross; or upon a former or incumbent head of state and/or of government^[4]
• Grand Commander (GCLH) (Marangal na Komandante) – Conferred upon a civilian for singular acts of service with a tangible impact on the Philippine military sphere; or upon a crown prince, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House, Chief Justice or the equivalent, foreign minister or other official of cabinet rank; or upon an Ambassador, Undersecretary, Assistant Secretary, or other person of a rank similar or equivalent to the foregoing for life achievement in the military field
• Grand Officer (GOLH) (Marangal na Pinuno) – Conferred upon a civilian for acts of exemplary merit benefiting the Republic of the Philippines; or upon a chargé d'affaires, e.p., Minister, Minister Counselor, Consul General heading a consular post, Executive Director, or other person of a rank similar or equivalent to the foregoing
• Commander (CLH) (Komandante) – Conferred upon a civilian for acts of conspicuous merit benefiting the Republic of the Philippines; or upon a Chargé d'affaires, a.i., Counselor, First Secretary, Consul General in the consular section of an Embassy, Consular officer with a personal rank higher than Second Secretary, Director, or other person of a rank similar or equivalent to the foregoing
• Officer (OLH) (Pinuno) – Conferred upon a civilian for acts of commendable merit benefiting the Republic of the Philippines; or upon a Second Secretary, Consul, Assistant Director, or other person of a rank similar or equivalent to the foregoing
• Legionnaire (LLH) (Lehiyonaryo) – Conferred upon a civilian for acts of merit benefiting the Republic of the Philippines; or upon a Third Secretary, Vice Consul, Attaché, Principal Assistant, or other person of a rank similar or equivalent to the foregoing.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines has its own regulations governing the conferment of the Philippine Legion of Honor.

Notable recipients

Chief Commander (CCLH)

• Emilio Aguinaldo, 1957, former President of the Philippines^[3]
• Akihito, Emperor of Japan, 2002^[3]
• Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand, 1970^[5]
• Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei Darussalam, 1998^{[6][circular reference]}
• Gregorio Pio Catapang, 2015, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.^[3]
• Emmanuel T. Bautista, 2014, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.^[7]
• Chiang Kai-shek, 1949, President of the Republic of China^[3]
• Hillary Clinton, 2013, former United States Secretary of State^[3]
• Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961, former President of the United States^[3]
• John W. Foss, 1981, Chief, JUSMAG Philippines^[3]
• Francisco Franco, 1951, head of the Spanish state^[3]
• Daniel Inouye, United States Senator
• José P. Laurel, 1959, former President of the Philippines^[3]
• Chino Roces, 1988, founder and owner of Associated Broadcasting Company and the Manila Times^[3]
• Jaime L. Cardinal Sin, 1992, Archbishop of Manila^[3]
• Lorenzo M. Tañada, 1986, Longest consecutive serving Senator of the Philippines, Post-WWII Solicitor General, Constitutionalist, Nationalist, and Human Rights advocate^[3]
• Ferdinand Marcos, 1972, former President of the Philippines^[3]
• Imelda Marcos, First Lady of the Philippines^[3]
• Douglas MacArthur, 1961, Philippine field marshal^[3]
• Sergio Osmeña, 1994, former President of the Philippines^[3]
• Fidel V. Ramos, former President of the Philippines
• Jesse Robredo,^[8] Secretary of the Interior and Local Government, given posthumously on August 28, 2012.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1947, former President of the United States (posthumous)^[3]
• Sukarno, 1951, President of Indonesia^[3]
• Maxwell D. Taylor, 1955, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff^[3]
• Eduardo Año - 48th Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines

Grand Commander (GCLH)

• Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, 2010
• Fernando Zobel de Ayala, 2010
• Jaime Zobel de Ayala, 2009^[9]
• Gilbert Teodoro, 2009, former Secretary of National Defense^[3]
• Emilio Yap, 2006^[3]
• Napoleon G. Rama, 2011, Constitutional Commissioner
• Ronald dela Rosa, 2018, Chief Philippine National Police

Grand Officer (GOLH)

• Teodoro Locsin, Jr., 2002^[3]
• Roman Kintanar - 2007, for his work in various international cooperations for tropical cyclone and earthquake disaster mitigation programs^[10][11]

Commander (CLH)

• Try Sutrisno
• R.E. Martadinata
• Wismoyo Arismunandar
• L. B. Moerdani
• Widodo Budidarmo
• Sudomo
• Benigno Aquino Jr., 1954
• Eulogio Balao
• Sotero B. Cabahug, 1959
• Joseph J. Cappucci
• Tomas Confesor
• Carlos P. Romulo
• Gen. Alfredo M. Santos
• Lt. Gen. Cardozo Luna
• Bernard W. Kearney, 1959
• Jorge B. Vargas, 1960
• Abdul Haris Nasution, 1963
• Draper Kauffman, 1968
• Juan Ponce Enrile, 1974 and 1986
• Washington SyCip, 1991
• Halbi Mohd Yussof, 2006
• Moeldoko, 2014
• Harry B. Harris Jr, 2018
• Manny Pacquiao

Officer (OLH)

• Benigno Aquino Jr., 1950
• Florentino Das, 11 May 1956 (for exceptional feat of traveling by sea using his homemade boat from Hawaii to Siargao island)^[12]
• Manuel P. Manahan, 1950 (for the wartime publication of the underground newspaper Liberator)
• Manny Pacquiao, 2008 (Boxer, Philippine Army reservist)^[13]
• Efren Reyes, 1999 (Professional Billiards Player)^[14]
• Paeng Nepomuceno, 1999 (Tenpin Bowling Athlete)^[15][16][17]

Legionnaire (LLH)

• Teodoro M. Locsin, 1947, World War II guerilla