Republic of the Philippines

The Philippines (ˈfɪlᵻpiːnz/; Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas), is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City; both are part of Metro Manila.

To the North of the Philippines across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan; China and the territories of Hong Kong and Macao lie in the Northwest; Vietnam sits West across the South China Sea; Southwest lie Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia in the island of Borneo; the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia in the South; while to the Southeast it is bounded by the Philippine Sea, Indonesia and the island-nation of Palau; far East lie the United States territories of Guam the Northern Mariana Islands; small islands of Japan are found in the Northeast. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator makes the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons, but also endows it with abundant natural resources and some of the world's greatest biodiversity. At approximately 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi), the Philippines is the 72nd-largest country in the world.

With a population more than 100 million people, the Philippines is the seventh-most populated country in Asia and the 12th most populated country in the world. An additional 12 million Filipinos live overseas, comprising one of the world's largest diasporas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples. Exchanges with Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Islamic states occurred. Then, various nations were established under the rule of Datus, Rajahs, Sultans or Lakans.

The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in Homonhon, Eastern Samar in 1521 marked the beginning of Spanish colonization. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from Mexico City, in 1565, the first Spanish settlement in the archipelago was established. The Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This resulted in Roman Catholicism becoming the dominant religion in the country. During this time, Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific Manila–Acapulco galleon trade connecting Asia with the Americas.

As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, there followed in quick succession the Philippine Revolution, which spawned the short-lived First Philippine Republic, and the Philippine–American War. Aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until after World War II, when the Philippines was recognized as an independent nation. Since then, the Philippines has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which includes the overthrow of a dictatorship by a nonviolent revolution.

The nation's large population and economic potential have led it to be classified as a middle power. It is a founding member of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and the East Asia Summit. It also hosts the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank. The Philippines is considered to be an emerging market and a newly industrialized country, which has an economy transitioning from being one based on agriculture to one based more on services and manufacturing.

Geography

The Philippines is an archipelago composed of about 7,500 islands with a total land area, including inland bodies of water, of approximately 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi).[243] Its 36,289 kilometers (22,549 mi) of coastline makes it the country with the 5th longest coastline in 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 the Philippine Sea to the east, the South China Sea to the west, and the Celebes Sea to the south. The island of Borneo is located a few hundred kilometers southwest and Taiwan is located directly to the north. The Moluccas and Sulawesi are located to the south-southwest and Palau is located to the east of the islands.

Most of the mountainous islands are covered in tropical rainforest and volcanic in origin. The highest mountain is Mount 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 the Philippine Trench is the deepest point in the country and the third deepest in the world. The trench is located in the Philippine Sea.

The longest river is the Cagayan River in northern Luzon. Manila Bay, upon the shore of which the capital city of Manila lies, is connected to Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the Philippines, by the Pasig River. Subic Bay, the Davao Gulf, and the Moro Gulf are other important bays. The San Juanico Strait separates the islands of Samar and Leyte but it is traversed by the San Juanico Bridge. Situated on the western fringes of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity. The Benham Plateau to the east in the Philippine Sea is an undersea region active in tectonic subduction. Around 20 earthquakes are registered daily, though most are too weak to be felt. The last major earthquake was the 1990 Luzon earthquake.

There are many active volcanoes such as the Mayon Volcano, Mount Pinatubo, and Taal 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 the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, the area represents a habitat for biodiversity conservation, the site also contains a full mountain-to-the-sea ecosystem and has some of the most important forests in Asia.

Due to the volcanic nature 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, chromite, and zinc. Despite this, poor management, high population density, and environmental consciousness have resulted in these mineral resources remaining largely untapped. Geothermal energy is a product of volcanic activity that the Philippines has 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.

Info:

Motto: "Maka-Diyos, Maka-Tao, Makakalikasan at Makabansa" | "For God, People, Nature, and Country"
Anthem: "Lupang Hinirang" | Chosen Land
Capital: Manila
Official Language: Filipino | English 
Writing System: 26-letter Latin alphabet with the addition of ñ
Religion: Christianity
Demonym: Filipino (masculine) | Filipina (feminine) | Pinoy (colloquial masculine) | Pinay (colloquial feminine)
Legislature: Congress
Area: 300,000 km2
Currency: Peso (Filipino: piso) (₱) (PHP)
Time Zone: PST (UTC+8)
Date Format: mm-dd-yyyy | dd-mm-yyyy
Drives on the: right
Calling code: +63
ISO 3166 Code: PH
International TLD: .ph

Largest Cities of Philippines

1. Quezon City
2. Manila
3. Caloocan
4. Davao City
5. Cebu City
6. Zamboanga City
7. Antipolo
8. Pasig
9. Taguig
10. Cagayan de Oro
11. Parañaque
12. Dasmariñas
13. Valenzuela
14. Las Piñas
15. General Santos
16. Makati
17. Bacoor
18. Bacolod
19. Muntinlupa
20. San Jose del Monte

Flag of Philippines

The National Flag of the Philippines (Filipino: Pambansang Watawat ng Pilipinas), also called the Three Stars and a Sun (Tatlong Bituin at Isang Araw), is a horizontal flag bicolor with equal bands of royal blue and scarlet, and with a white, equilateral triangle at the hoist.

Official Website: Gov.ph

Did You Know?

• The Philippines are named after King Philip II of Spain. Explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the Eastern Visayas Felipenas first, and the name was later applied to the entire archipelago. The country’s official name is the Republic of the Philippines.
• The Philippines was the first country in Southeast Asia to gain independence after World War II, in 1946.
• The Philippines has the highest rate of discovery of new animal species with 16 new species of mammals discovered just in the last 10 years.
• Pop singer Bruno Mars is half Filipino and half Puerto Rican. His childhood nickname was “Little Elvis.” His real name is Peter Gene Bayot Hernandez. His stage name was inspired by the chubby wrestler Bruno Sammartino.
• The world’s biggest pair of shoes was made in Marikina City, Philippines, in 2002. The wingtips measured about 17.4 feet (5.3 m) in length, 7.9 feet (2.4 m) in width, and almost 6.6 feet (2 m) in height. Their cost was 2 million Philippine pesos.
• The world record for most women breastfeeding simultaneously was 3,541, set in Manila, Philippines, on May 4, 2006.
• Of the top 10 largest shopping malls in the world, three are found in the Philippines: SM Megamall, SM North Edsa, and SM Mall of Asia.
• The world’s largest pearl was discovered by a Filipino diver in the Palawan Sea in 1934. Known as the “Pearl of Lao Tzu,” or “Pearl of Allah,” the gem weighs 14 pounds (6.35 kg) and measures 9.5 inches (24 cm) long and 5.5 inches (.4 cm) in diameter. It has a value of over US$40 million. It is believed to be 600 years old.
• The Philippines is the world’s largest exporter of coconuts and tropical fruits, such as papaya and mangosteen.
• The only place in the world where skunks are found other than America is Indonesia and the Philippines, where they are called stink badgers.
• Jellyfish Lake in the Philippines contains more than 13 million jellyfish.
• The Philippines is the second largest archipelago in the world and is made up of 7,107 islands located in the South China Sea, Philippine Sea, Sulu Sea, Celebes Sea, and the Luzon Strait.
• The Philippines is the only majority Christian nation in Asia. Eighty percent of its population identifies as Roman Catholic.
• Mt. Pinatubo on the Philippine island of Luzon erupted on June 15, 1991, and created the largest mushroom cloud in the world. Its eruption ejected 10 billion metric tons of magma and 20 million tons of sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere.
• According to Filipino custom, it is considered rude to open gifts immediately after they are given.
• The Philippines is the only country in the world whose flag is hoisted upside down when the country is at war.
• The Conus gloriamus, the rarest and most expensive seashell in the world, is one of the 12,000 species of seashells found in the Philippines. The first examples of these shells sold at auction for about US$5,000.
• The Philippines is home to the world’s longest snake, the Reticulated Python (Python reticulatus), which also happens to be the world’s longest reptile. It can grow to 28.5 feet (8.7 m) in length
• There are between 120 and 175 individual languages spoken in the Philippines, 171 of which are living while the other four no longer have any known speakers. English and Filipino, based on Tagalog, are the country’s two officially recognized languages.
• The Philippines is the world’s largest supplier of nurses, supplying roughly 25% of all overseas nurses worldwide.
• The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River in Palawan, Philippines, is 5 miles (8.2 km) long. Until the discovery of a 6.2-mile (10-km) underground river in Mexico, the Puerto Princesa River was known as the longest subterranean waterway in the world.
• The Taal Volcano on the Philippine island of Luzon is one of the world’s 17 Decade Volcanoes, which are volcanoes being specially monitored given their active state and explosive history. Taal is also located in a lake, which has another lake inside of it, with an even smaller island inside of that lake.
• A Filipino named Roberto del Rosario patented the first working karaoke machine in 1975, calling it the “Sing Along System.” The Japanese later translated its name to “karaoke,” which means “singing without accompaniment."
• In the Philippine island province of Camiguin, there are more volcanoes (7) than towns (5). There hasn’t been an eruption since the mid-1950s, but the island has the most number of volcanoes per square kilometer in the world.
• The Mindanao Trench, which is near the Philippines in the Pacific Ocean, is the second deepest spot under the world’s oceans at 6.5 miles, or 34,440 feet (10,497 m). It was first explored by the German ship Emden in 1927.
• Of the eight known species of giant clams in the world, seven are found in the Philippines.
• The Philippines is home to the world’s smallest hoofed animal, the Philippine mouse-deer. Locally known as the Pilandok (Tragulus nigricans), this creature stands about 15.8 inches (40 cm) tall at the shoulder level.
• One of the most interesting and traditional Philippine dishes is balut, which is essentially a boiled, fertilized duck egg with a half-formed chick inside. It is said to be an aphrodisiac. Other unique dishes include camaro, which are field crickets cooked in soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar; papaitan, which is a goat or cow innards stew flavored with bile; Soup #5, which is a soup made out of bull testicles; and asocena, or dog meat.
• The Philippines is the world’s second biggest geothermal producer after the United States with 18% of the country’s electricity needs being met by geothermal power.
• The jeepney is sometimes referred to as the “King of the Philippine roads.” It is a descendant of the Jeeps American troops drove in the Philippines during World War II. Second- and third-generation jeepneys have air conditioning units and closely resemble minibuses. They can carry up to 16 passengers.
• The traditional embroidered Filipino male garment, the barong Tagalog or baro, is woven from piña, pineapple plant fibers, or jusi, banana tree fibers, and worn on formal occasions.
• In the rural Philippines, most women give birth at home and then have the baby’s placenta buried beneath the house, often with an object symbolizing what the parents hope the child will grow up to be. In the cities, this practice is prohibited by the health authorities.
• Basketball is the most popular sport in the Philippines. The Philippines Basketball Association (PBS) is the first and oldest league in Asia and the second oldest in the world after the United States’ National Basketball Association (NBA).
• The Aswang, a mythical female vampire-like figure in Filipino folklore who eats unborn children, has been the subject of at least one American horror film and was featured in an episode of the CW television hit Supernatural called “Fresh Meat."

References

• Wikipedia
• Wikimedia
• Random History