Philippines

The Republic of the Philippines, comprising three major archipelagoes- Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, is situated in Southeast Asia, sharing maritime borders with Indonesia, Malaysia, Palau, China, and Vietnam. Manila is the capital of the island nation. The archipelago is the 12th most populous nation and 37th largest economy in the world.

HISTORY:- The Negritos were believed to reside in the region around 30000 years ago. The Philippines went into trade with India, Indonesia, China, and Japan in the 14th century. The Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan explored the land in 1521 and claimed the island nation for Spain. After the Spanish-American War, 350 years of Spanish rule was ended when the archipelago was ceded to the United States in 1899 under the Treaty of Paris. Emilio Aguinaldo declared independence of the nation in 1898. Guerrilla warfare started against the U.S soldiers. The war continued until 1901, when Aguinaldo was arrested by the U.S army. The status of the country was changed into the Commonwealth of the Philippines in 1935. During the World War II, the Philippines was invaded and captured by Japan. After Japan’s defeat in 1945, the islands were occupied by American soldiers. The Philippines gained independence from the U.S in 1946, with Manuel A. Roxas y Acuña as the first president. In 1986 elections, Ferdinand E. Marcos won but the election was marked by fraud and vote rigging, which was resulted in Marcos’s exile. Corazon Aquino became the president in 1986.

GEOGRAPHY:- The Philippines is located at 13 00 N, 122 00 E in Southeastern Asia. The archipelago, comprising 7,107 islands, occupies total 300,000 sq km area in which 298,170 sq km area is captured by land and 1,830 sq km is captured by waters. The coastline is 36,289 km long along with the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea. The lowest point is Philippine Sea (0 m) and the highest point is Mount Apo 2,954 m. 65% of the archipelago is mountainous with narrow to extensive coastal lowlands in the remaining portions.

CLIMATE:- The climate of the Philippines is tropical marine with two rainy seasons: northeast monsoon (November to April) and southwest monsoon (May to October).

GOVERNMENT:- The Philippines is a republic. The constitution was adopted on 2nd February 1987 but it came to effect on 11th February 1987. The legal system is based on the Spanish law and the Anglo-American law. The three major branches of the government are:

Executive branch comprises the President (chief of state and head of government), the Vice President, and the cabinet. Both the president and vice president are elected on separate tickets by popular vote on a single 6-year term. The Cabinet is appointed by the president on the approval of Commission of Appointments.

Legislative branch comprises the bicameral Congress, consists of the Senate (24 seats), and the House of Representatives (239 seats).

Judicial branch comprises the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals and Sandigan-bayan.

Some major political parties of the Philippines are Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, Nationalist People's Coalition, Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino, Liberal Party, Aksiyon Demokratiko, and Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan. Suffrage is universal at the age of 18.

President              Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Vice President       Noli De Castro

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- The Philippines is divided into 17 regions, 81 provinces, 136 cities, 1,494 municipalities and 41,995 barangays.

CULTURE:- Filipino culture is a blend of Austronesian, Hispanic, American, Chinese, Arab, and Indianized cultures. In literature, folk music, folk dance, language, food, art and religion, Hispanic roots are prominent. The naming system and architecture are influenced by Spanish culture. Basketball and billiards are the most popular sports of the Philippines.

ECONOMY:- The Filipino economy, ranks among the Next Eleven countries, is being transformed from agriculture-based economy to industrialization. It has the 37th largest economy in the world.

GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $299.6 billion; per capita $3,400.

Real growth rate: 7.3%.

Inflation: 2.8%.

Unemployment: 7.3%.

Arable land: 19%.

Agriculture: Sugarcane, coconuts, rice, corn, bananas, cassavas, pineapples, mangoes; pork, eggs, beef; fish.

Labor force: 36.22 million; agriculture 35%, industry 15%, services 50% (2007 est.).

Industries: Electronics assembly, garments, footwear, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, wood products, food processing, petroleum refining, fishing.

Budget:  

Revenues: $24.63 billion

Expenditures: $24.9 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt: 55.8% of GDP (2007 est.)

Debt - external: $61.83 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Natural resources: Timber, petroleum, nickel, cobalt, silver, gold, salt, copper.

Exports: $48.38 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): electronic equipment, machinery and transport equipment, garments, optical instruments, coconut products, fruits and nuts, copper products, chemicals.

Imports: $53.96 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): raw materials, machinery and equipment, fuels, vehicles and vehicle parts, plastic, chemicals, grains.

Major trading partners: Japan, U.S., Netherlands, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea (2004).

Monetary unit: Peso

LANGUAGE:- Filipino and English are the official languages of the Philippines but eight major dialects, Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan are widely spoken in the archipelago.

CITIES:- Manila is the capital of the Philippines while Quezon City is the largest city of the archipelago. Other large cities are Davao City and Cebu City.

POPULATION:- The approximate population of the Philippines is 91,077,287 with an average growth rate of 1.8%.

Density per sq mi: 791

Literacy rate: 96% (2003 est.)

RACE:-

Tagalog 28.1%

Cebuano 13.1%

Ilocano 9%

Bisaya/Binisaya 7.6%

Hiligaynon Ilonggo 7.5%

Bikol 6%

Waray 3.4%

Other 25.3% (2000)

RELIGION:-

Roman Catholic 80.9%

Muslim 5%

Evangelical 2.8%

Iglesia ni Kristo 2.3%

Aglipayan 2%

Other Christian 4.5%

Other 1.8%

Unspecified 0.6%

None 0.1% (2000)

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 24.07 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 5.32 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 21.45 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.8 years

Total fertility rate: 3 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 500 (2003 est.)

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 199

UNICEF:- Power is decentralized for proper establishment of child rights. Joint efforts of UNICEF, WHO, UNFP, FAO, ILO, UNDP etc bring the results that Child mortality rates are declining, education system is improved. UNICEF tries to eliminate sexual abuse of children in the island.

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: total: 897 km (2002).

Highways: total: 200,037 km; paved: 19,804 km; unpaved: 180,233 km (2003). Waterways: 3,219 km.

Ports and harbors: Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Guimaras Island, Iligan, Iloilo, Jolo, Legaspi, Manila, Masao, Puerto Princesa, San Fernando, Subic Bay, Zamboanga.

Airports: 255 (2007).