Flag of Panama

The national flag of Panama was made by María de la Ossa de Amador and was officially adopted by the "ley 48 de 1925". The Panamanian flag day is celebrated on November 4, one day after the Panamanian separation from Colombia, and is one of a series of holidays celebrated in November known as the Fiestas Patrias.
The first flag proposed in 1903 consisted of thirteen horizontal stripes of alternating red and yellow, with a blue canton containing two golden suns, joined by a narrow line to depict North and South America joined by the Isthmus of Panama. However, this was not accepted by the Panamanian leader, Manuel Amador Guerrero, whose family designed a new flag.
The stars and quarters are said to stand for the rival political parties, and the white is said to stand for the peace in which they operate. Blue was the color of the Conservatives and red was the color of the Liberals.

History

Bunau-Varilla proposal

The wife of Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla designed the first serious proposal for a Panamanian flag. Bunau-Varilla's design was based on the flag of the United States, possibly on account of that country's hand in Panamanian independence. Retaining the thirteen stripes, she changed the white stripes to yellow, emphasizing the Panamanian connection to Colombia and Spain. Bunau-Varilla replaced the stars in the blue canton with two interconnected yellow suns; the suns represent North and South America, and are connected because of Panama's position connecting the two continents. Bunau-Varilla's proposal was rejected by Manuel Amador Guerrero and his fellow revolutionaries because it was too similar to the U.S. flag, and they, therefore, gave the task of designing a flag to Guerrero's son.

María de la Ossa de Amador proposal

The original Panamanian flag was made by María de la Ossa de Amador, the first First Lady of Panama, on November 1, 1903. Manuel Amador Guerrero's son, Manuel Encarnación Amador, generally recognized as a skillful draftsman, sketched the flag and showed it to María de la Ossa de Amador, who, after much difficulty in avoiding the Colombian army, eventually produced three copies of the flag, with help from her sister-in-law Angélica Bergamonta de la Ossa and niece, María Emilia de la Ossa Bergamonta. All three flags were flown in Panama City upon independence, and distributed widely. The original flag differs from the present flag in that the upper left quadrant was blue. After independence, when blue was chosen as a color of one of the political parties, the quadrants were shifted to make the top left quadrant white.

Description

The Panamanian government officially described the flag in law on December 15, 1949, as follows:
This flag was to reflect the political situation of the time:

The blue was intended to represent the Conservative Party;
The red to represent the Liberal Party;
The white was intended to stand for peace and purity;
The blue star stands for the purity and honesty of the life of the country;
The red star represents the authority and law in the country, and together the stars stand for the new republic.
Color scheme

The official colors of the Panamanian flag were established by decree 337 of 2017 on December 22, 2017. The colors are:

Colours scheme	Blue	Red	White
RGB	7,35,87	218,18,26	255,255,255
Hexadecimal	#072357	#DA121A	#FFFFFF
Pantone	295C/296U	187C/186U	-
CMYK	100-46-0-70	0-100-79-20	0-0-0-0

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games listed the Pantone colours of the flag as red: 186 and blue: 300.

Protocol

Daily use

The Panamanian flag can only be hoisted if it is in good condition and it must be hoisted after seven in the morning and lowered before six in the evening. The rope of the flagpole must be white and braided with a thickness of 1/4 inch, and the flagpole must have a height of six times the width of the flag, except when the flag has a special dimensions. In the following places it must always be flown:

Buildings of both autonomous and semi-autonomous public institutions.
In all vessels with Panamanian registration.
In all foreign ships that arrive at ports of the Republic of Panama.
In the buildings of the delegations, embassies and consulates of the Republic of Panama.
In all the schools of the Republic during their working hours.

When the flag is hoisted, the most due respect must be shown, also at the time of its lowering; people with hats or caps should remove them from their heads and cross their right hand over their chest with the hat on it and women should place their right hand over their heart. It should always be vigorously hoisted and ceremoniously lowered. In case of adverse weather conditions, the flag must be lowered immediately and taken to a safe place where it will be folded. At the time of lowering the flag, it must not touch the ground or anything below it.
When hoisting or lowering in a formed group, three people must be placed in front of the pole on the side corresponding to the upper ring of the support:

The one who raises and lowers the flag;
The one who keeps the rope taut;
The one who receives or displays the flag.

The flag and the anthem are different symbols and therefore each one has a different protocol. The flag is never raised at the time of singing the national anthem, it must always be raised before singing it. The bugle call or drum roll is optional, at the time of hoisting, according to decree 244 of 1971.

Civic act

Every Monday, at 7 in the morning including on national holidays, in both private and official schools the civic act is carried out, it must have the following elements:

All staff on campus at that time.
An escort made up of three people.
A master of ceremonies.

The act itself consists of the following steps:

Flag walk
Oath
Secondary acts
Singing of the National Anthem
Oath

The oath to the Panamanian flag was devised by Ernestina Sucre and was adopted by Law 24 of 1959 and confirmed by Law 34 of 1949 in the single text that reflects the reforms of Law 2 of 2012. The oath must always be recited after the flag has been raised.
It is said as follows, raising the right hand at a 90º angle and showing the palm of the hand:

Using the flag on other sites

It is allowed by law that residences be decorated with pennants, banners, banners and others that are variants of the colors of the national flag. On the following occasions, decoration with the national flag or pennants, banners and the like is allowed:

On national holidays
On days when achievements of the republic are celebrated
On national days of friendly countries
On the dates of death of illustrious Panamanians as a shroud after being authorized by the Executive Branch.

The national flag by law, its use in places of nightlife, brothels, in advertising messages, commercial signs, commercial products and animals is prohibited.
Foreign citizens are allowed to use their national flag on the aforementioned occasions, also at the time of celebrations of their respective nations, as long as the Panamanian flag is placed with the same respect, size and quality as foreign flags.

Fold

To fold the flag two people are necessary. After removing the hooks from the rope and stretching the flag out, it is shaken to remove any foreign body that rests on the flag. It is then inspected for any damage or fading of the colors. It is folded in half, leaving the blue and white cantons with the red star facing up ; then it is folded in half again so that the corner with the blue star and the red corner are facing upwards. Finally, it is folded in the shape of a right triangle, starting with the red corner, proceeding until it is completely folded. In the end, the white canton should cover the entire exterior of the flag.

Placement

The national flag has rules and regulations regarding its use in different events worldwide. Among these are the following:

On balconies it is used as follows:
*Horizontal: It is placed the way it is hoisted on a pole.
*Vertical: it is placed with the corner of the blue star to the upper left side of the observer.
In the parades and parades : in the days of national holidays, of achievements of great importance for the republic or in the funerals of an illustrious Panamanian, the national flag will be placed at the head of the parade and of each delegation to participate in it, this one with an escort. The pole must not have an inclination greater than 45º.
In case other flags go next to it, the flag will go in case of being an even number of flags in the right center; if there is an odd number of flags, it will go to the center of these. In case of carrying flags behind it, they will go with the same size and quality as the Panamanian flag.
When it is placed with other flags : in case of being placed with an even number of flags, it is placed in the left center of the observer. In case of being placed with an odd number of flags, it must be placed in the center of the group. When the Panamanian flag is displayed with a flag of another nation with crossed flagpoles, the Panamanian flag must be to the left of the observer and its flagpole over the other flagpole. The flag must reach the highest point of the mast first when flown alongside flags of other nations; when lowering it must arrive last.
At funerals : when used to cover a coffin, it should be placed so that the ties are at the head of the deceased and the white quarter with the blue star on the left side.
It should always go to the right of altars and a speaker.
Two Panamanian flags must never be crossed.
The flag does not bow to anyone or anything, on any occasion.