GENERAL INFORMATION COUNTRY NAME
: Republic of the Philippines
FORM OF GOVERNMENT
: Democratic
CAPITAL
: Manila
INTRODUCTION
The visitor to Metro
Manila commonly sees the Philippines
as the most westernized of Asian
countries and in many ways, it is.
But there is also a rich underlay of
Malay culture beneath the patina of
Spanish and American heritage.
National cultural life is a happy
marriage of many influences, as the
indigenous Malay culture is
assimilated and adapted to different
strains in a practice typical of
Malay temperament. An upsurge of
Philippine nationalism stimulated a
desire to preserve the ancient
heritage without restricting its
openness to foreign artistic
influence.
The Philippines is an
archipelago of 7,641 islands that
are categorized broadly under the
three main geographical divisions
from north to south: Luzon, Visayas
and Mindanao. It
stretches from the south of China to
the northern tip of Borneo. The
country has over a hundred ethnic
groups and a mixture of foreign
influences which have molded a
unique Filipino culture.
Before the Spanish
explorers came, Indo-Malays and
Chinese merchants had settled here.
In 1521, the Spaniards, led by
Ferdinand Magellan, discovered the
islands. The Spanish conquistadores
established a colonial government in
Cebu in 1565. They transferred the
seat of government to Manila in 1571
and proceeded to colonize the
country. The Filipinos resisted and
waged Asia's first nationalist
revolution in 1896. On June 12,
1898, Emilio Aguinaldo declared the
Philippines independent from Spain
and proclaimed himself president.
After ruling for 333 years, the
Spaniards finally left in 1898 and
were replaced by the Americans who
stayed for 48 years. On July 4,
1946, the Americans recognized
Philippine independence.
The Philippines is
the third largest English-speaking
country in the world. The country is
divided into three geographical
areas: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
It has 18 regions, 81 provinces, 145
cities, 1,489 municipalities, and
42,029 barangays. (Barangay - The
smallest political unit into which
cities and municipalities in the
Philippines are divided. It is the
basic unit of the Philippine
political system. It consists of
less than 1,000 inhabitants residing
within the territorial limit of a
city or municipality and
administered by a set of elective
officials, headed by a barangay
chairman or punong barangay).
GEOGRAPHY
The Philippines is anarchipelagocomposed
of about 7,500 islandswith a total land area,
including inland bodies of water, of
approximately 300,000 square
kilometers (115,831 sq mi). Its
36,289 kilometers (22,549 mi) of
coastline makes it the country with
the 5thlongest
coastlinein
the world. It is located between
116° 40', and 126° 34' E longitude
and 4° 40' and 21° 10' N latitude
and is bordered by thePhilippine
Seato
the east, theSouth
China Seato
the west, and theCelebes
Seato
the south. The island ofBorneois
located a few hundred kilometers
southwest and Taiwan is located
directly to the north. TheMoluccasandSulawesiare
located to the south-southwest andPalauis
located to the east of the islands.
Most of the
mountainous islands are covered intropical
rainforestand
volcanic in origin. The highest
mountain isMount
Apo. It measures up to 2,954 meters
(9,692 ft) above sea level and is
located on the island of Mindanao.The
Galathea Depth in thePhilippine
Trenchis
the deepest point in the country and
thethird
deepest in the world. The trench is
located in the Philippine Sea.
The longest river is
theCagayan
Riverin
northern Luzon.Manila
Bay, upon the shore of which the
capital city of Manila lies, is
connected toLaguna
de Bay, the largest lake in the
Philippines, by thePasig
River.Subic
Bay, theDavao
Gulf, and theMoro
Gulfare
other important bays. TheSan
Juanico Straitseparates
the islands of Samar and Leyte but
it is traversed by theSan
Juanico Bridge.
Situated on the
western fringes of the PacificRing
of Fire, the Philippines experiences
frequent seismic and volcanic
activity. TheBenham
Plateauto
the east in the Philippine Sea is an
undersea region active intectonicsubduction.Around
20earthquakesare
registered daily, though most are
too weak to be felt. The last major
earthquake was the1990
Luzon earthquake.
There aremany
active volcanoessuch
as theMayon
Volcano,Mount
Pinatubo, andTaal
Volcano. The eruption of Mount
Pinatubo in June 1991 produced the
second largest terrestrial eruption
of the 20th century.Not
all notable geographic features are
so violent or destructive. A more
serene legacy of the geological
disturbances is thePuerto
Princesa Subterranean River, the
area represents a habitat forbiodiversity
conservation, the site also contains
a full mountain-to-the-sea ecosystem
and has some of the most important
forests in Asia.
Due to thevolcanicnature
of the islands, mineral deposits are
abundant. The country is estimated
to have the second-largest gold
deposits after South Africa and one
of the largest copper deposits in
the world.It
is also rich in nickel, chromites,
and zinc. Despite this, poor
management, high population density,
and environmental consciousness have
resulted in these mineral resources
remaining largely untapped.Geothermal
energyis
a product of volcanic activity that
the Philippines have harnessed more
successfully. The Philippines is the
world's second-biggest geothermal
producer behind the United States,
with 18% of the country's
electricity needs being met by
geothermal power.
Luzonis
the largest and most populous in the Philippine and the 15th
largest in the world. Located in the northern region of the
archipelago it is the economic and political center of the
nation being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as
well as Quezon City, the country's most populous. With a
population of 52.99 million as of 2015, it is the fourth
most populous island in the world (after Java, Honshu and
Great Britain), containing about 53% of the country's total
population.
It is
home to the Cordillera, Sierra
Madre, and Caraballo mountain
ranges, volcanoes such as Mayon,
Taal, and Pinatubo and the country’s
largest lake, Laguna de Bay. Luzon
is where you will find the capital,
Manila. Metro Manila is the seat of
government and the premier
international gateway. Embracing the
capital of Manila and several cities
and municipalities, it is the heart
of the country’s social, economic
and cultural life.
The
Visayas,
is one of the Philippines' 3 main island
groups
and
characterized by natural and
cultural diversity. The beaches of Boracay are regarded as some of the
world’s best. In Boracay you will
find most of the exotic Philippine
hotels and resorts. Cebu is the
cradle of Christianity and Bohol has
one of the world’s most intriguing
geological formations.
In Central Visayas, Cebu City’s Spanish colonial
architecture includes the triangular Fort San Pedro and the
Basilica del Santo Niņo. Bohol Island’s Chocolate Hills are
a group of more than 1,000 conical, grass-covered mounds
that turn brown in the dry season. In Corella, rare bug-eyed
primates called tarsiers are protected at the Philippine
Tarsier Sanctuary.
Mindanao is
the second largest and southernmost major island in
the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the
three island groups in the country (the other two
being Luzon and the Visayas), consisting of the island of
Mindanao and smaller outlying islands. Davao City is the
largest city in Mindanao. As of the 2010 census, the
island's population itself is 20,281,545 people, while the
Mindanao island group has 21,968,174 inhabitants. Davao City
is the most populous in Mindanao as 1,632,991 population,
and the 2nd is Zamboanga City as 861,799 population, the 3rd
is Cagayan de Oro City as 675,950 population, and followed
by General Santos City as 594,446 population as of 2015
census.
Parts of
south-western Mindanao island group, particularly the
provinces of Maguindanao, Basilan, Lanao
Del Sur, Sulu,
and Tawi-Tawi (part of the Autonomous Region of Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM)), are home to a sizeable Muslim population,
making the island group, along with Palawan, the only area
of the Philippines with a significant Muslim presence. The
island has seen a communist insurgency as well as
armed Moro separatist movements.
Mindanao is
considered the food basket of the Philippines. Eight of the
top 10 agri-commodities exported from the Philippines come
from here. Mindanao is also dubbed with the moniker as The
Philippines' Land of Promise.
TIME ZONE:
GMT + 8 hours. Check
out the Philippine Standard Time
CAPSULE HISTORY
Before the Spanish
conquistadores came, a thriving
community flourished on the banks of
the Pasig River. It was called "Maynilad",
after the nilad plant whose
star-shaped flowers clustered in
abundance along the low-lying river
banks.
The lord of the
riverside kingdom was Raha Sulayman
who held court on the south side of
the river while his uncle, Lakandula,
ruled on the north side. The
Spaniards were set on conquering
this community. After the savage
Battle of Bangkusay, where they
overtook the natives with their
awesome firepower, the Spaniards
conquered Manila. In this Battle,
Sulayman was killed.
Realizing its
strategic position as a trading
center and military outpost, Miguel
Lopez de Legaspi, head of the
Spanish expedition, promptly
declared Manila the capital of the
new colonies won by Spain. On June
24, 1571, Manila was declared the
capital of the entire achipelago.
Delighted by this conquest, the King
of Spain awarded the city a coat of
arms and the grandiose title: "The
Noble and Ever Loyal City". Soon,
Manila became a replica of a
European medieval city. There were
churches, palaces and city halls
built in the Spanish baroque style.
Work began on building a wall around
the city to keep the pirates and
Moros at bay. It took 150 years to
finish this wall. The end result was
an astounding eight foot-thick,
three mile-long wall, with two forts
and a bastion, 370 guns in place,
manned by a force of 5,000 men and
10,000 reserves. This walled city
became known as Intramuros.
Beautiful as it was,
Intramuros stood as a perfect
illustration of the discrimination
at that time against the natives
called Indios. Although it was built
by Indio workers and Chinese
artisans, Intramuros was meant only
for the clergy and the Spanish
nobility. The natives could not
enter except to work as servants.
Outside the walls, in the arabales
or suburbs, lived the Indios, the
Chinese and other foreigners. The
diversity of trade and culture in
the suburbs made it alive and
interesting. Tondo, Binondo, Sta.
Cruz, and Quiapo bustled with
commerce. These places were home to
the merchants, carpenters,
blacksmiths, carriage makers,
masons, and other artisans.
Over the centuries,
the Spanish rule was occasionally
threatened by attacks from the sea
and by internal uprisings. The
Chinese, Dutch and British all tried
to lay siege on Manila but were
unsuccessful. But the 1880's saw the
birth of a reform movement led by
Marcelo H. Del Pilar, Lopez Jaena
and Jose Rizal (the national hero).
This reform movement ultimately led
to a revolution and by 1898, the
days of the Castilian rule were
numbered. The most lasting legacy of
the Spanish rule was the Catholic
religion which makes the Philippines
the only Christian nation in Asia. But as soon as the
Spaniards left, the Americans took
over. 1902 was the beginning of the
American era, a period characterized
by the expansion of public
education, advances in health care
and the introduction of democratic
government. The outbreak of war in
the Pacific in 1941 disrupted
American rule. Manila was declared
an open city and the Americans
withdrew their defenses. For three
years, Manila was occupied by the
Japanese imperial forces. Life at
that time was made difficult by
strict Japanese military rule. When
the American troops entered Manila
to liberate it, they had to bomb the
city to dislodge the tenacious
Japanese. Manila was devastated.
On July 4, 1946, a
year after the end of the war, the
Philippine flag was hoisted
signalling the recognition of
Philippine independence.
THE PEOPLE
The Filipino is
basically of Malay stock with a
sprinkling of Chinese, American,
Spanish and Arab blood. The
Philippines has a population of 76.5
million as of May 2000 (with a
projected population of 88.7 million
for 2007), and it is hard to
distinguish accurately the lines
between stocks. From a long history
of Western colonial rule,
interspersed with the visits of
merchants and traders, evolved a
people of a unique blend of east and
west, both in appearance and
culture.
The Filipino
character is actually a little bit
of all the cultures put together.
The bayanihan or spirit of kinship
and camaraderie that Filipinos are
famous for, is said to be taken from
Malay forefathers. The close family
relations are said to have been
inherited from the Chinese. The
piousness comes from the Spaniards
who introduced Christianity in the
16th century. Hospitality is a
common denominator in the Filipino
character and this is what
distinguishes the Filipino.
Filipinos are probably one of the
few, if not the only,
English-proficient Oriental people
today. Filipino is the official
national language, with English
considered as the country's
unofficial one. The Filipinos are
divided geographically and
culturally into regions, and each
regional group is recognizable by
distinct traits and dialects - the
sturdy and frugal Ilocanos of the
north, the industrious Tagalogs of
the central plains, the carefree
Visayans from the central islands
and the colorful tribesmen and
religious Moslems of Mindanao.
Tribal communities can be found
scattered across the archipelago.
The Philippines has more than 111
dialects spoken, owing to the
subdivisions of these basic regional
and cultural groups. Some 80 percent of
the population is Catholic, Spain's
lasting legacy. About 15 percent is
Moslem and these people can be found
basically in Mindanao. The rest of
the population is made up mostly of
smaller Christian denominations and
Buddhist. The country is marked
by a true blend of cultures; truly
in the Philippines, East meets West.
The background of the people is
Indonesian and Malay. There are
Chinese and Spanish elements as
well. The history of American rule
and contact with merchants and
traders culminated in a unique blend
of East and West, both in the
appearance and culture of the people
of the Filipinos, or people of the
Philippines. Hospitality, a trait
displayed by every Filipino, makes
these people legendary in Southeast
Asia. Seldom can you find such
hospitable people who enjoy the
company of their Western visitors.
Perhaps due to their long
association with Spain, Filipinos
are emotional and passionate about
life, in a way that seems more Latin
than Asian.
Ethnic Groups: 91.5%
Christian Malay, 4% Muslim Malay
,1.5% Chinese and 3% other.
CULTURE AND ARTS
The
major cultural agencies of
government are the Cultural Center
of the Philippines, the National
Historical Institute, the National
Museum, The National Library, the
Records Management and Archives
Office, and the Commission on the
Filipino Language. The Heads of
these cultural agencies are all
ex-officio members of the NCCA Board
and all except the Commission on the
Filipino Language are together under
the National Commission on Culture
and Arts.
CLIMATE
The Philippines has a
tropical climate with relatively
abundant rainfall and gentle winds.
There are three pronounced seasons:
the wet or rainy season from June to
October, the cool, dry season from
November to February, and the hot,
dry season from March to May.
Temperature in Manila
ranges from 21°C to 32°C with a 27°C
average. The coolest month is
January and the warmest is May. Both
temperature and humidity levels
reach the maximum in April and May,
but these are generally good months
for aqua sports and mountain
trekking. Some of the most colorful
festivals are held during these
months.
LANGUAGE
Two official
languages --- Filipino and English.
Filipino, which is based on Tagalog,
is the national language. English is
also widely used and is the medium
of instruction in higher education.
This is the list
of recognized regional languages in the Philippines as
ordered and permitted by the Department
of Education (Philippines) under
the Mother Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education (MTB-MLE)
strategy:
The
Philippines Department of Education decided to implement the
program starting school year 2012. The adoption of regional
languages as medium of teaching is based on studies which
tend to show that using the mother tongue as the language of
instruction in the classroom literacy among Filipinos
bolster, comprehension and critical thinking skills of
Filipino children in the school and facilitate learning of
second language such as English and the Philippines national
language called Filipino. Filipino is tagalog-based which
means that speakers of Tagalog are speakers of the
Philippine national language.
Filipino is that
native language which is used
nationally as the language of
communication among ethnic groups.
Like any living language, Filipino
is in a process of development
through loans from Philippine
languages and non-native languages
for various situations, among
speakers of different social
backgrounds, and for topics for
conversation and scholarly
discourse. There are about 76 to 78
major language groups, with more
than 500 dialects.
RELIGION
Historically, the
Filipinos have embraced two of the
great religions of the world - Islam
and Christianity. Islam was
introduced during the 14th century
shortly after the expansion of Arab
commercial ventures in Southeast
Asia. Today, it is limited to the
southern region of the country.
Christianity was
introduced as early as the 16th
century with the coming of Ferdinand
Magellan in 1521.
Protestantism was
introduced by the first Presbyterian
and Methodist missionaries who
arrived with the American soldiers
in 1899.
Two Filipino
independent churches were organized
at the turn of the century and are
prominent today. These are the
Aglipay (Philippine Independent
Church) and the Iglesia Ni Kristo
(Church of Christ) founded in 1902
and 1914, respectively. Recently,
the Aglipay signed a covenant with
the Anglican Church. The Iglesia ni
Kristo has expanded its membership
considerably. Its churches, with
their unique towering architecture
are landmarks in almost all
important towns, provincial capitals
and major cities.
The new Philippine
Constitution was ratified in early
1987, signaling the country's
return to democracy.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH:
Chief of state:
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (since 30 June 2016) and
Vice-President Maria Leonor "Leni"
G. Robredo
(since 30 June 2016); note - the
president is both the chief of state
and head of government.
Cabinet: Cabinet
appointed by the President with the
consent of the Commission of
Appointments' elections: president
and vice-president elected on
separate tickets by popular vote for
six-year terms; election last held
10 May 2016.
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH:
Bicameral Congress or
Kongreso consists of the Senate or
Senado (24 seats: one-half elected
every three years; members elected
by popular vote to serve six-year
terms) and the House of
Representatives or Kapulungan Ng Mga
Kinatawan (214 seats: members
elected by popular vote to serve
three-year terms. Additional members
may be appointed by the President
but the Constitution prohibits the
House of Representatives from having
more than 250 members) Elections:
Senate - last held 16 May 2016 (next
elections to be held on May 2019);
House of Representatives - elections
last held 16 May 2016 (next
elections to be held on May 2019) .
JUDICIAL BRANCH:
Supreme Court
(justices are appointed by the
president on the recommendation of
the Judicial and Bar Council and
serve until 70 years of age).
ECONOMY
The Philippines is currently one of the most dynamic
economies in the East Asia region, with sound economic
fundamentals and a globally recognized competitive
workforce. Growth has been robust in the past five years,
registering an average 6.2 percent from 2010-2015,
significantly higher than average 4.5 percent annual growth
in 2000-2009.
A new administration entered office on June 30, at a time
when the economy grew at the fastest pace among its East
Asian peers.The
Philippine economy grew at an annual rate of 6.9 percent in
the first half of 2016, up from 5.5 percent during the same
period in 2015, exceeding growth of China, Malaysia,
Thailand and Vietnam. On the production side, the services
and industry sectors remained the main engines of growth,
while agriculture further weakened due to the lingering
effects of El Niņo. On the demand side, growth was driven by
robust private consumption and capital formation. This was
further supported by more than 10 percent expansion in
public spending in the first half of 2016. Net exports,
however, caused a drag on growth due to weak external
demand.
is
the largest and most populous in the Philippine and the 15th
largest in the world. Located in the northern region of the
archipelago it is the economic and political center of the
nation being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as
well as Quezon City, the country's most populous. With a
population of 52.99 million as of 2015, it is the fourth
most populous island in the world (after Java, Honshu and
Great Britain), containing about 53% of the country's total
population.
