The Order of Sikatuna () is the national order of diplomatic merit of the Republic of the Philippines. It is conferred upon individuals who have rendered exceptional and meritorious services to the Republic of the Philippines, upon diplomats, officials and nationals of foreign states who have rendered conspicuous services in fostering, developing and strengthening relations between their country and the Philippines, or upon personnel of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), both in the Home Office and in the Foreign Service.
The Order of Sikatuna may be awarded by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the name and by authority of the President.
History The Order of Sikatuna was established by President Elpidio Quirino through Executive Order No. 571 dated February 27, 1953. Section 2 of the executive order states, "The Order of Sikatuna [...] commemorates the first treaty (Pacto de Sangre) between the Philippines and a foreign country..." In the Quirino order, the Order of Sikatuna commemorates the pacto de sangre or blood compact, more popularly known as sandugo. This was, according to the Executive Order, the first international treaty of friendship between Bohol native chieftain, Datu Sikatuna and Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi, between a Filipino and Spaniard. Lately, however, the Executive Order's premise has been put to question. The event was not the first blood compact since the first recorded happened 44 years before between Ferdinand Magellan, representing the Spanish crown, and raia Siaiu, king of the island-port of Mazaua. Magellan called the ceremony "casi casi", a Malayan term meaning "to be one and the same thing" or to be blood brothers. At the same time the first recorded Treaty of Peace was entered into on Tuesday, April 9, 1521, by datu Humabon of Cebu and Magellan.
The Order of Sikatuna's composition was expanded from the original four classes by Presidents Diosdado Macapagal and again by Ferdinand E. Marcos. In 2003, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo reformed the Philippine system of orders, medals, and decorations, through Executive Order No. 236, known as the Honors Code of the Philippines which codified the civilian orders, decorations and medals of the Republic of the Philippines. Among its provisions was one renaming the order as simply, "The Order of Sikatuna," and clarifying its protocolar standing.
Ranks Grand Collar (GCS) (Raja) – Conferred upon a former or incumbent Head of State and/or of government Grand Cross (GCrS) (Datu) – The Grand Cross shall have two distinctions: (i) Gold (Katangiang Ginto) and (ii) Silver (Katangiang Pilak). The Grand Cross may be conferred 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, Ambassador, Undersecretary, Assistant Secretary, or other person of a rank similar or equivalent to the foregoing Grand Officer (GOS) (Maringal na Lakan) – Conferred 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 (CS) (Lakan) – Conferred 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 (OS) (Maginoo) – Conferred upon a Second Secretary, Consul, assistant director, or other person of a rank similar or equivalent to the foregoing Member (MS) (Maharlika) – Conferred upon a Third Secretary, Vice Consul, Attaché, Principal Assistant, or other person of a rank similar or equivalent to the foregoing
Ribbon bars 1953–2003 + Order of Sikatuna Ribbon Bars (1953–2003) Member Officer Commander Grand Officer Grand Cross Grand Collar
Since 2003 + Order of Sikatuna Ribbon Bars (since 2003) Member Officer Commander Grand Officer Grand Cross Grand Collar
Awardees
Ambassadors
Aftab Ahmad Khan - Ambassador of Pakistan to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 1986. - Ambassador of Spain to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 1986. Stephen W. Bosworth - Ambassador of the United States to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 1987. Pasi Rutanen - Ambassador of Finland to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 1987. Knut Mørkved - Ambassador of Norway to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 1987. Kiyoshi Sumiya - Ambassador of Japan to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 1988. - Ambassador of Germany to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 1989. Bruno Torpigliani - Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 1990. Tsuneo Tanaka - Ambassador of Japan to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 1990. Nicholas Platt - Ambassador of the United States to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 1991. Edward Lee Kwong Foo - Ambassador of Singapore to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 1993. Rodolfo Severino, Jr. - Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Rank of Datu, 1997, Rank of Raja, November 2001. Malai Ahmad Murad - Ambassador of Brunei to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 1996. U San Thein - Ambassador of Myanmar to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 1999. Robert Collette - Ambassador of Canada to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 2003. Herbert Jess - Ambassador of Germany to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 2004. Francis J. Ricciardone, Jr. - Ambassador of the United States to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 2005.President Arroyo Confers Order of Sikatuna award on Ambassador Ricciardone Embassy of the United States in Manila. Retrieved December 22, 2006 Stanislav Slavicky - Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 2005.PGMA confers order of Sikatuna on outgoing Czech Republic envoy Gov.ph News Retrieved December 22, 2006. Wu Hongbo - Ambassador of China to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 2005.PGMA confers Sikatuna award to Chinese convoy Gov.ph News Retrieved December 22, 2006 Iskandar Bin Sarudin - Ambassador of Malaysia to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 2006.PGMA confers Order of Sikatuna to outgoing Malaysia Ambassador Gov.ph News Retrieved December 22, 2006. Joao Jose Gomes Caetano da Silva - Ambassador of Portugal to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 2006.PGAM confers Order of Sikatuna to outgoing Portuguese Ambassador Gov.ph News Retrieved December 22, 2006. Graeme Matheson - Ambassador to New Zealand to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, Gold Distinction, 2011. Robert Gerard Brinks - Ambassador of the Netherlands to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, Silver Distinction, 2012. Alcides G. R. Prates - Ambassador of Brazil to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, Silver Distinction, 2012. Wadee Al-Batti - Ambassador of the Iraq to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, Silver Distinction, 2013. Harry K. Thomas Jr. - Ambassador of the United States to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 2013. Christopher Thornley - Ambassador of Canada to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 2013. Yohanes K Legowo, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 2014 Bill Tweddell - Ambassador of Australia to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, Gold Distinction, 2016. Dato Mohd Zamri bin Mohd Kassim - Ambassador of Malaysia to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, Gold Distinction, 2016. Johny Lumintang, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, Silver Distinction, 2017 Erik Førner - Ambassador of Norway to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, 2018. Jaroslav Olša, Jr. - Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, Gold Distinction, 2018. Amanda Gorely - Ambassador of Australia to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, Silver Distinction, 2018. Dato’ Razlan Abdul Rashid - Ambassador of Malaysia to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, Silver Distinction, 2018. Jan Top Christensen - Ambassador of Denmark to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, Gold Distinction, 2019 Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia - Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Rank of Datu, Gold Distinction, 2019.Farewell Call of Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See, 11 December 2019. Retrieved on 12 December 2019. Koji Haneda - Ambassador of Japan to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, Gold Distinction, 2020. Dr. Jozsef Bencze - Ambassador to Hungary to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, Gold Distinction, 2020. Sinyo Harry Sarundajang, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, Gold Distinction, Posthumous, 2021 Saskia de Lang - Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, Silver Distinction, 2022. Hae Kyong (HK) Yu - Ambassador of Australia to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, Gold Distinction, 2025. Dr Titanilla Tóth - Ambassador of Hungary to the Philippines, Rank of Datu, Silver Distinction, 2026 ({Cite web|title=Philippine News Agency|url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1280608}) Endo Kazuya – Ambassador of Japan to the Philippines, Grand Cross with Distinction, 2026.
Heads of states and governments Plaek Phibunsongkhram - Prime Minister of Thailand, 1955 Ngo Dinh Diem - 1st President of the Republic of Vietnam, 1956 King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia, 1956 Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek - President of the Republic of China, 1960 Dwight D. Eisenhower - 34th President of the United States, 1960 Syed Putra of Perlis - Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, 1961Their Majesties Virtual Malaysia's Tribute to the 48th National Day Celebration Retrieved December 23, 2006. Crown Prince Akihito of Japan, 1962 Generalissimo Francisco Franco - Head of the Spanish State, 1962 Antonio Segni - 4th President of Italy, 1962 King Rama IX of Thailand, 1963 Heinrich Lübke - 6th President of Germany, 1964 Philibert Tsiranana - 1st President of the Malagasy Republic, 1964 Hirohito, 1966 Suharto - 2nd President of Indonesia, 1968 King Mahendra of Nepal, 1971 Lee Kuan Yew - 1st Prime Minister of Singapore, 1974 Kakuei Tanaka - Prime Minister of Japan, 1974 Juan Carlos de Borbon - Prince of Spain, 1974 Nicolae Ceaușescu - 1st President of Romania, 1975 Dr. Benjamin Sheares - 2nd President of Singapore, 1976 King Hussein of Jordan, 1976 Kriangsak Chamanan - Prime Minister of Thailand, 1978 Fra' Angelo de Mojana di Cologna - 77th Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, 1979 Yasuhiro Nakasone - Prime Minister of Japan, 1983 Raúl Alfonsín - President of Argentina, 1986 Virgilio Barco Vargas - 27th President of Colombia, 1987 Muhammad Khan Junejo - 10th Prime Minister of Pakistan, 1988 Francesco Cossiga - 8th President of Italy, 1988 Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darrussalam, 1988 François Mitterrand - 21st President of France, 1989 Chuan Leekpai - Prime Minister of Thailand, 1993 Kim Young-sam - 7th President of South Korea, 1994 Ja'afar of Negeri Sembilan - Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, 1995 Ernesto Pérez Balladares - 33rd President of Panama, 1995 Carlos Menem - President of Argentina, 1995 Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle - 31st President of Chile, 1995 Konstantinos Stephanopoulos - President of Greece, 1997 Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa - 1st Prime Minister of Bahrain, 2001 Ion Iliescu - 2nd President of Romania, 2002 Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan, 2002 George W. Bush - 43rd President of the United States, 2003 Barack Obama - 44th President of the United States, 2014 Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - 6th President of Indonesia, 2015 Shinzo Abe - Prime Minister of Japan, 2015 Fra' Matthew Festing - 79th Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, 2015 Takeo Fukuda - Prime Minister of Japan, 2017
Others Alberto Martín-Artajo - Foreign Minister of Spain, Rank of Lakan, 1953 Carlos P. Romulo - Filipino diplomat, Rank of Maharlika, 1953, Rank of Rajah, 1982 Vũ Văn Mẫu - Foreign Minister of South Vietnam, Rank of Lakan, 1956 Narciso Ramos - former Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Rank of Datu, 1970