Philippines

Philip II of Spain

Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, during his expedition in 1542, named the islands of Leyte and Samar "Felipinas" after Philip II of Spain, then the Prince of Asturias. Eventually the name "Las Islas Filipinas" would be used to cover the archipelago's Spanish possessions.^[15] Before Spanish rule was established, other names such as Islas del Poniente (Western Islands), Islas del Oriente (Eastern Islands), Ferdinand Magellan's name, and San Lázaro (Islands of St. Lazarus) were also used by the Spanish to refer to islands in the region.^[16][17][18]

During the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of the República Filipina or the Philippine Republic.^[19] From the period of the Spanish–American War (1898) and the Philippine–American War (1899–1902)^[20] until the Commonwealth period (1935–1946), American colonial authorities referred to the country as The Philippine Islands, a translation of the Spanish name.^[21] The United States began the process of changing the reference to the country from The Philippine Islands to The Philippines, specifically when it was mentioned in the Philippine Autonomy Act or the Jones Law.^[22] The full official title, Republic of the Philippines, was included in the 1935 constitution as the name of the future independent state,^[23] it is also mentioned in all succeeding constitutional revisions.^[24][25]

Discover more about Etymology related topics

Names of the Philippines

Names of the Philippines

There have been several names of the Philippines in different cultures and at different times, usually in reference to specific island groups within the current archipelago. Even the name Philippines itself was originally intended to apply only to Leyte, Samar, and nearby islands. It was bestowed by the Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos or one of his captains Bernardo de la Torre in 1543 in honor of the crown prince Philip, later Philip II. Mindanao, which they reached first and assumed to be the greater land, they named after the reigning emperor Charles V, who was also Spain's king Carlos I. Over the course of Spanish colonization, the name was eventually extended to cover the entire chain. It has survived with minor changes. The Philippine Revolution called its state the Philippine Republic. The US military and civilian occupations called their territory the Philippine Islands. During the Third Philippine Republic, the state's official name was formally changed to the Philippines.

Philip II of Spain

Philip II of Spain

Philip II, also known as Philip the Prudent, was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He was also jure uxoris King of England and Ireland from his marriage to Queen Mary I in 1554 until her death in 1558. He was also Duke of Milan from 1540. From 1555, he was Lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands.

Ruy López de Villalobos

Ruy López de Villalobos

Ruy López de Villalobos was a Spanish explorer who led a failed attempt to colonize the Philippines in 1543, attempting to assert Spanish control there under the terms of the treaties of Tordesillas and Zaragoza. Unable to feed his men through barter, raiding, or farming and unable to request resupply from Mexico due to poor knowledge of the Pacific's winds and currents, López de Villalobos abandoned his mission and fled to the Portuguese-held Moluccas, where he died in prison. He is chiefly remembered for some sources crediting him with naming Leyte the "Philippine Island" in honor of the Spanish crown prince Philip. The name was later extended across the entire Philippine Archipelago and its nation.

Leyte

Leyte

Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.

Samar

Samar

Samar is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided into three provinces: Samar, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar. These three provinces, along with the provinces on the nearby islands of Leyte and Biliran, are part of the Eastern Visayas region.

Prince of Asturias

Prince of Asturias

Prince or Princess of Asturias is the main substantive title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne of Spain. According to the Spanish Constitution of 1978:Article 57 [...] 2. The heir apparent or presumptive, from birth or event that makes him such, will have the dignity of Prince of Asturias and other titles traditionally linked to the successor of the Crown of Spain.

Philippine Revolution

Philippine Revolution

The Philippine Revolution, also called the Tagalog War, was a conflict waged by the Filipino revolutionaries against the Spanish colonial authorities in an attempt to win the country's independence.

Malolos Congress

Malolos Congress

The Malolos Congress, formally known as the National Assembly, was the legislative body of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines. Members were chosen in the elections held from June 23 to September 10, 1898. The assembly consisted of elected delegates chosen by balloting in provincial assemblies and appointed delegates chosen by the president to represent regions under unstable military and civilian conditions. The Revolutionary Congress was opened on September 15, 1898 at Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan. President Emilio Aguinaldo presided over the opening session of the assembly.

First Philippine Republic

First Philippine Republic

The Philippine Republic, now officially known as the First Philippine Republic, also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was established in Malolos, Bulacan during the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire (1896–1898) and the Spanish–American War between Spain and the United States (1898) through the promulgation of the Malolos Constitution on January 22, 1899, succeeding the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines. It was formally established with Emilio Aguinaldo as president. It maintained governance until April 1, 1901.

Philippine–American War

Philippine–American War

The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, was fought between the First Philippine Republic and the United States from February 4, 1899, until July 2, 1902. Tensions arose after the United States annexed the Philippines under the Treaty of Paris at the conclusion of the Spanish–American War rather than acknowledging the Philippines' declaration of independence, developing into the eruption of open battle. The war can be seen as a continuation of the Philippine struggle for independence that began in 1896 with the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule.

Commonwealth of the Philippines

Commonwealth of the Philippines

The Commonwealth of the Philippines was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 to 1945 when Japan occupied the country. It was established following the Tydings–McDuffie Act to replace the Insular Government, a United States territorial government. The Commonwealth was designed as a transitional administration in preparation for the country's full achievement of independence. Its foreign affairs remained managed by the United States.

Jones Law (Philippines)

Jones Law (Philippines)

The Jones Law was an Organic Act passed by the United States Congress. The law replaced the Philippine Organic Act of 1902 and acted as a constitution of the Philippines from its enactment until 1934, when the Tydings–McDuffie Act was passed. The Jones Law created the first fully elected Philippine legislature.

Prehistory (pre–900)

Chronological map of the Austronesian expansion

There is evidence of early hominins living in what is now the Philippines as early as 709,000 years ago.^[26] A small number of bones from Callao Cave potentially represent an otherwise unknown species, Homo luzonensis, that lived around 50,000 to 67,000 years ago.^[27][28] The oldest modern human remains found on the islands are from the Tabon Caves of Palawan, U/Th-dated to 47,000 ± 11–10,000 years ago.^[29] The Tabon Man is presumably a Negrito, who were among the archipelago's earliest inhabitants, descendants of the first human migrations out of Africa via the coastal route along southern Asia to the now sunken landmasses of Sundaland and Sahul.^[30]

The first Austronesians reached the Philippines from Taiwan in around 2200 BC, settling the Batanes Islands—where they built stone fortresses called ijangs—^[31]and northern Luzon. From there, they rapidly spread southwards to the rest of the islands of the Philippines and Southeast Asia.^[32][33] This population assimilated with the existing Negritos; this resulted in the modern Filipino ethnic groups, which display various ratios of genetic admixture between Austronesian and Negrito groups.^[34] Jade artifacts have been found dated to 2000 BC,^[35][36] with the lingling-o jade items crafted in Luzon made using raw materials originating from Taiwan.^[37] By 1000 BC, the inhabitants of the archipelago had developed into four kinds of social groups: hunter-gatherer tribes, warrior societies, highland plutocracies, and port principalities.^[38]

Early states (900–1565)

The Laguna Copperplate Inscription, the oldest known writing found in the Philippines

The earliest known surviving written record found in the Philippines is the Laguna Copperplate Inscription.^[39] By the 14th century, several of the large coastal settlements had emerged as trading centers and became the focal point of societal changes.^[40] Some polities had exchanges with other states across Asia.^[41][42] Trade with China is believed to have begun during the Tang dynasty, and grew more extensive during the Song dynasty;^[43] by the second millennium, some polities participated in the tributary system of China.^[44][41] Indian cultural traits, such as linguistic terms and religious practices, began to spread within the Philippines during the 14th century, likely via the Hindu Majapahit Empire.^[45][46] By the 15th century, Islam was established in the Sulu Archipelago and spread from there.^[47]

Polities founded in the Philippines from the 10th to the 16th centuries include Maynila,^[48] Tondo, Namayan, Pangasinan, Cebu, Butuan, Maguindanao, Lanao, Sulu, and Ma-i.^[49] The early polities were typically made up of three-tier social structures: a nobility class, a class of "freemen", and a class of dependent debtor-bondsmen.^[41][50] Among the nobility were leaders called datus, responsible for ruling autonomous groups called barangays or dulohan.^[51] When these barangays banded together, either to form a larger settlement or a geographically looser alliance,^[41][52] the more esteemed among them would be recognized as a "paramount datu",^[53][38] rajah, or sultan^[54] which headed the community state.^[55] Warfare developed and escalated during the 14th to 16th centuries,^[56] and throughout these periods population density is thought to have been low,^[57] which was also caused by the frequency of typhoons and the Philippines' location on the Pacific Ring of Fire.^[58] In 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the area, claimed the islands for Spain and was then killed by Lapulapu's men at the Battle of Mactan.^[59]

Spanish and American colonial rule (1565–1946)

Manila in 1847

Colonization began when Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi arrived from Mexico in 1565.^[60][61] Many Filipinos were brought back to New Spain as slaves and forced crew.^[62] In 1571, Spanish Manila became the capital of the Spanish East Indies,^[63][64] which encompassed Spanish territories in Asia and the Pacific.^[65] The Spanish successfully invaded the different local states by employing the principle of divide and conquer,^[66] bringing most of what is now the Philippines into a single unified administration.^[67][68] Disparate barangays were deliberately consolidated into towns, where Catholic missionaries were more easily able to convert the inhabitants to Christianity.^[69][70] From 1565 to 1821, the Philippines was governed as a territory of the Mexico City-based Viceroyalty of New Spain, and later administered from Madrid following the Mexican War of Independence.^[71] Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific trade^[72] on which plied Manila galleons constructed in Bicol and Cavite.^[73][74]

During its rule, Spain quelled various indigenous revolts,^[75] as well as defending against external military challenges.^[76][77] War against the Dutch from the west, in the 17th century, together with conflict with the Muslims in the south nearly bankrupted the colonial treasury.^[78]

Filipino Ilustrados in Spain formed the Propaganda Movement. Photographed in 1890.

Administration of the Philippine islands was considered a drain on the economy of New Spain,^[76] and there were debates to abandon it or trade it for other territory. However, this was opposed because of economic potential, security, and the desire to continue religious conversion in the islands and the surrounding region.^[79][80] The colony survived on an annual subsidy provided by the Spanish Crown,^[76] which averaged 250,000 pesos^[81] and was usually paid through the provision of 75 tons of silver bullion being sent from the Americas.^[82] British forces briefly occupied Manila from 1762 to 1764 during the Seven Years' War, with Spanish rule restored through the 1763 Treaty of Paris.^[83] The Spanish considered their war with the Muslims in Southeast Asia an extension of the Reconquista.^[84][85] The Spanish–Moro conflict lasted for several hundred years. In the last quarter of the 19th century, Spain conquered portions of Mindanao and Jolo,^[86] and the Moro Muslims in the Sultanate of Sulu formally recognized Spanish sovereignty.^[87][88]

In the 19th century, Philippine ports opened to world trade, and shifts started occurring within Filipino society.^[89][90] Shifts in social identity occurred, with the term Filipino changing from referring to Spaniards born in the Philippines to a term encompassing all people in the archipelago.^[91][92]

Revolutionary sentiments were stoked in 1872 after three activist Catholic priests were executed on weak pretences.^[93][94] This would inspire a propaganda movement in Spain, organized by Marcelo H. del Pilar, José Rizal, Graciano López Jaena, and Mariano Ponce, lobbying for political reforms in the Philippines.^[95] Rizal was executed on December 30, 1896, on charges of rebellion. This radicalized many who had previously been loyal to Spain.^[96] As attempts at reform met with resistance, Andrés Bonifacio in 1892 established the militant secret society called the Katipunan, who sought independence from Spain through armed revolt.^[97]

The Katipunan started the Philippine Revolution in 1896.^[98] Internal disputes led to an election in which Bonifacio lost his position and Emilio Aguinaldo was elected as the new leader of the revolution.^[99] In 1897, the Pact of Biak-na-Bato brought about the exile of the revolutionary leadership to Hong Kong. In 1898, the Spanish–American War began and reached the Philippines. Aguinaldo returned, resumed the revolution, and declared independence from Spain on June 12, 1898.^[100] The First Philippine Republic was established on January 21, 1899.^[101]

Filipino troops and General Gregorio del Pilar, c. 1898. Between 10,000 and 20,000 Filipino soldiers, as well as between 200,000 and 1,000,000 civilians, died as a result of the Philippine–American War.

The islands had been ceded by Spain to the United States along with Puerto Rico and Guam as a result of the latter's victory in the Spanish–American War in 1898.^[102][103] As it became increasingly clear the United States would not recognize the First Philippine Republic, the Philippine–American War broke out.^[104] The war resulted in the deaths of 250,000 to 1 million civilians, mostly because of famine and disease.^[105] Many Filipinos were also moved by the Americans to concentration camps, where thousands died.^[106][107] After the defeat of the First Philippine Republic in 1902, an American civilian government was established through the Philippine Organic Act.^[108] American forces continued to secure and extend their control over the islands, suppressing an attempted extension of the Philippine Republic,^[109][105] securing the Sultanate of Sulu,^[110][111] establishing control over interior mountainous areas that had resisted Spanish conquest,^[112] and encouraging large-scale resettlement of Christians in the once predominantly Muslim Mindanao.^[113][114]

Cultural developments strengthened the continuing development of a national identity,^[115][116] and Tagalog began to take precedence over other local languages.^[117] Governmental functions were gradually devolved to Filipinos under the Taft Commission^[118] and in 1935 the Philippines was granted Commonwealth status with Manuel Quezon as president and Sergio Osmeña as vice president.^[119] Quezon's priorities were defence, social justice, inequality and economic diversification, and national character.^[118] Tagalog was designated the national language,^[120] women's suffrage was introduced,^[121][122] and land reform mooted.^{[123][124][125]}

General Douglas MacArthur and Sergio Osmeña (left) coming ashore during the Battle of Leyte on October 20, 1944

During World War II the Japanese Empire invaded,^[126] and the Second Philippine Republic, under Jose P. Laurel, was established as a puppet state.^[127][128] From 1942 the Japanese occupation of the Philippines was opposed by large-scale underground guerrilla activity.^{[129][130][131]} Atrocities and war crimes were committed during the war, including the Bataan Death March and the Manila massacre.^[132][133] Allied troops defeated the Japanese in 1945. It is estimated that over one million Filipinos had died by the end of the war.^[134][135] On October 11, 1945, the Philippines became one of the founding members of the United Nations.^[136][137] On July 4, 1946, the Philippines was officially recognized by the United States as an independent nation through the Treaty of Manila, during the presidency of Manuel Roxas.^{[137][138][139]}

Independence (1946–present)

Efforts on post-war reconstruction and on ending a rebellion by remnants of the Hukbalahap communist rebel army that had previously resisted the Japanese continued during Roxas' and his successor, Elpidio Quirino's, terms;^{[140][141][142]} eventually, the movement was suppressed during Ramon Magsaysay's presidency^[143] but sporadic cases of communist insurgency continued to flare up long afterward.^[144] Under Magsaysay's successor, Carlos P. Garcia, the government initiated the "Filipino First" policy that actively promoted Filipino-owned businesses.^[145] Upon succeeding Garcia, Diosdado Macapagal moved the celebration of Independence Day from July 4 to June 12—the date of Emilio Aguinaldo's declaration—^[146][147] and pursued a claim on the eastern part of North Borneo.^[148][149]

In 1965, Macapagal lost the presidential election to Ferdinand Marcos. Early in his presidency, Marcos initiated numerous infrastructure projects funded mostly by foreign loans; this improved the economy and contributed to his reelection in 1969.^[150][151] Nearing the end of his last constitutionally-allowed term, Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972^[152] under the specter of communism^{[153][154][155]} and began to rule by decree;^[156] this period of his rule was characterized by political repression, censorship, and human rights violations.^[157][158] Numerous monopolies controlled by crony businessmen were established in key industries,^{[159][160][161]} including logging^[162] and broadcasting;^[163] a sugar monopoly led to a famine on the island of Negros.^[164] Together with his wife Imelda, Marcos was accused of corruption and embezzling billions of dollars in public funds.^[165][166] Marcos' heavy borrowing early in his presidency resulted in numerous economic crashes, exacerbated by a massive recession in the early 1980s which culminated in the economy contracting by 7.3% in both 1984 and 1985.^[167][168]

On August 21, 1983, Marcos' chief rival, opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr., was assassinated on the tarmac at Manila International Airport.^[169] Marcos called a snap presidential election in 1986.^[170] Marcos was proclaimed the winner, but the results were widely regarded as fraudulent.^[171] The resulting protests led to the People Power Revolution,^[172][173] which forced Marcos and his allies to flee to Hawaii, and Aquino's widow, Corazon Aquino, was installed as president.^[172]

The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991 produced the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century.^[174]

The return of democracy and government reforms beginning in 1986 were hampered by national debt, government corruption, and coup attempts.^[175][176] A communist insurgency^[177][178] and a military conflict with Moro separatists persisted,^[179] while the administration also faced a series of disasters, including the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991.^[180][181] Aquino was succeeded by Fidel V. Ramos, who liberalized the national economy through privatization and deregulation.^[182][183] Ramos' economic gains were overshadowed by the onset of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.^[184][185] Ramos' successor, Joseph Estrada, prioritized public housing for the masses,^[186] but faced corruption allegations^[187] which led to his overthrow by the 2001 EDSA Revolution and the succession of his vice president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, on January 20, 2001.^[188] Arroyo's nine-year administration was marked by economic growth^[189] but was tainted by corruption and political scandals.^[190][191] On November 23, 2009, 34 journalists and several civilians were killed in Maguindanao.^[192][193] Economic growth continued during Benigno Aquino III's administration, which pushed for good governance and transparency.^[194][195] Under Aquino III, the government signed a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that included a law establishing an autonomous Bangsamoro region, but a shootout with MILF rebels in Mamasapano^[196][197] caused a delay in the passage of the law.^[198][199]

Rodrigo Duterte, elected president in 2016,^[200] launched an ambitious infrastructure program^[201][202] and an anti-drug campaign^[203][204] which reduced drug proliferation^[205] but has also led to extrajudicial killings.^[206][207] The implementation in 2018 of the Bangsamoro Organic Law led to the creation of the autonomous Bangsamoro region in Mindanao.^[208] In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic reached the country^[209][210] causing the gross domestic product to shrink by 9.5%, the country's worst annual economic performance since 1947.^[211] Marcos' son, Bongbong Marcos, won the 2022 presidential election, together with Duterte's daughter, Sara Duterte, as vice president.^[212]

Discover more about History related topics

History of the Philippines

History of the Philippines

Earliest hominin activity in the Philippine archipelago is dated back to at least 709,000 years ago. Homo luzonensis, a species of archaic humans, was present on the island of Luzon at least 67,000 years ago. The earliest known anatomically modern human was from Tabon Caves in Palawan dating about 47,000 years. Negrito groups were the first inhabitants to settle in the prehistoric Philippines. By around 3000 BC, seafaring Austronesians, who form the majority of the current population, migrated southward from Taiwan.

Prehistory of the Philippines

Prehistory of the Philippines

The prehistory of the Philippines covers the events prior to the written history of what is now the Philippines. The current demarcation between this period and the early history of the Philippines is April 21, 900, which is the equivalent on the Proleptic Gregorian calendar for the date indicated on the Laguna Copperplate Inscription—the earliest known surviving written record to come from the Philippines. This period saw the immense change that took hold of the archipelago from Stone Age cultures in 50000 BC to the emergence of developed thalassocratic civilizations in the fourth century, continuing on with the gradual widening of trade until 900 and the first surviving written records.

Hominini

Hominini

The Hominini form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae ("hominines"). Hominini includes the extant genera Homo (humans) and Pan and in standard usage excludes the genus Gorilla (gorillas).

Callao Cave

Callao Cave

Callao Cave is one of 300 limestone caves located in the Barangays of Magdalo and Quibal in the municipality of Peñablanca, about 24 km (15 mi) northeast of Tuguegarao City, the capital of Cagayan province within the Peñablanca Protected Landscape and Seascape in the western foothills of the Northern Sierra Madre Mountains on Luzon island in the Philippines. The town Peñablanca's name refers to the predominance of white limestone rock formations in the area. First excavated in 1980 by Maharlika Cuevas, the seven-chamber show cave is the best known natural tourist attraction of the Cagayan province and in February 2020 has officially been recognized as an important cultural property of the Philippines.

Homo luzonensis

Homo luzonensis

Homo luzonensis, also locally called "Ubag" after a mythical caveman, is an extinct, possibly pygmy, species of archaic human from the Late Pleistocene of Luzon, the Philippines. Their remains, teeth and phalanges, are known only from Callao Cave in the northern part of the island dating to before 50,000 years ago. They were initially identified as belonging to modern humans in 2010, but in 2019, after the discovery of more specimens, they were placed into a new species based on the presence of a wide range of traits similar to modern humans as well as to Australopithecus and early Homo.

Early modern human

Early modern human

Early modern human (EMH) or anatomically modern human (AMH) are terms used to distinguish Homo sapiens that are anatomically consistent with the range of phenotypes seen in contemporary humans, from extinct archaic human species. This distinction is useful especially for times and regions where anatomically modern and archaic humans co-existed, for example, in Paleolithic Europe. Among the oldest known remains of Homo sapiens are those found at the Omo-Kibish I archaeological site in south-western Ethiopia, dating to about 233,000 to 196,000 years ago, the Florisbad site in South Africa, dating to about 259,000 years ago, and the Jebel Irhoud site in Morocco, dated about 315,000 years ago.

Palawan

Palawan

Palawan, officially the Province of Palawan, is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of 14,649.73 km2 (5,656.29 sq mi). The capital city is Puerto Princesa. Palawan is known as the Philippines' Last Frontier and as the Philippines' Best Island.

Negrito

Negrito

The term Negrito refers to several diverse ethnic groups who inhabit isolated parts of Southeast Asia and the Andaman Islands. Populations often described as Negrito include: the Andamanese peoples of the Andaman Islands, the Semang peoples of Peninsular Malaysia, the Maniq people of Southern Thailand, as well as the Aeta of Luzon Island, Ati, and Tumandok of Panay Island, Agta of Sierra Madre and Mamanwa of Mindanao Island and about 30 other officially recognized ethnic groups in the Philippines.

Batanes

Batanes

Batanes, officially the Province of Batanes, is an archipelagic province in the Philippines, administratively part of the Cagayan Valley region. It is the northernmost province in the country, and also the smallest, both in population and land area. The capital is Basco, located on the island of Batan.

Ijang

Ijang

Ijangs are the terraced and defended settlements on hill tops and ridges in the Batanes Islands in the Philippines. These high rocky formations can serve as fortress or refuge against attacking enemies for the Ivatan people.

Luzon

Luzon

Luzon is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines 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 city. With a population of 64 million as of 2021,  it contains 52.5% of the country's total population and is the fourth most populous island in the world. It is the 15th largest island in the world by land area.

Ethnic groups in the Philippines

Ethnic groups in the Philippines

The Philippines is inhabited by more than 182 ethnolinguistic groups, many of which are classified as "Indigenous Peoples" under the country's Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997. Traditionally-Muslim peoples from the southernmost island group of Mindanao are usually categorized together as Moro peoples, whether they are classified as Indigenous peoples or not. About 142 are classified as non-Muslim Indigenous People groups, and about 19 ethnolinguistic groups are classified as neither indigenous nor moro. Various migrant groups have also had a significant presence throughout the country's history.

The Philippines is generally mountainous; uplands make up 65 percent of the country's total land area.^[213][214]

The Philippines is an archipelago composed of about 7,640 islands,^[215][216] covering a total area, including inland bodies of water, of around 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi),^[6][7][c] with cadastral survey data suggesting it may be larger.^[219] Stretching 1,850 kilometres (1,150 mi) north to south^[220] from the South China Sea to the Celebes Sea,^[221] the Philippines is bordered by the Philippine Sea to the east,^[222][223] and the Sulu Sea to the southwest.^[224] The country's 11 largest islands are Luzon, Mindanao, Samar, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Mindoro, Leyte, Cebu, Bohol, and Masbate; together, they constitute about 95% of the country's total land area.^[225] The Philippines' coastline measures 36,289 kilometers (22,549 mi), the world's fifth-longest;^[226] the country's exclusive economic zone covers 2,263,816 km² (874,064 sq mi).^[227]

The highest mountain is Mount Apo, measuring up to 2,954 meters (9,692 ft) above sea level and located on the island of Mindanao.^[228] Running east of the archipelago, the Philippine Trench extends 10,540-meter (34,580 ft) down at the Emden Deep.^[229][230] The longest river is the Cagayan River in northern Luzon, measuring about 520 kilometers (320 mi).^[231] Manila Bay, upon the shore of which the capital city of Manila lies,^[232] is connected to Laguna de Bay,^[233] the largest lake in the Philippines, by the Pasig River.^[234]

Mayon is an active stratovolcano, located in the south of the island of Luzon^[235]

Situated on the western fringes of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity.^[236] The Philippine region is seismically active and has been progressively constructed by plates converging towards each other in multiple directions.^{[237][238][239]} Around five earthquakes are registered daily, though most are too weak to be sensed.^[240][239] The last major earthquakes were the 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake and the 1990 Luzon earthquake.^[241] The Philippines has 23 active volcanoes; of these, Mayon, Taal, Canlaon, and Bulusan have the most number of recorded eruptions.^[242][243]

The Philippines has valuable^[244] mineral deposits as a result of its complex geologic structure and high level of seismic activity.^[245][246] The country is thought to have the second-largest gold deposits after South Africa, along with a large amount of copper deposits,^[247] and the world's largest deposits of palladium.^[248] Other minerals include chromite, nickel, and zinc. Despite this, a lack of law enforcement, poor management, opposition because of the presence of indigenous communities, and past instances of environmental damage and disaster have resulted in these mineral resources remaining largely untapped.^[247][249]

Biodiversity

The carabao is the national animal of the Philippines. It symbolizes, strength, power, efficiency, perseverance and most of all, hard work.^[250]

The Philippines is a megadiverse country,^[251][252] having among the highest rates of discovery and endemism (67%)^[253] in the world.^[254] With an estimated 13,500 plant species in the country, 3,200 of which are endemic,^[255] Philippine rainforests have an array of flora;^[256][257] around 8,000 species of angiosperms, 1,100 ferns, and 998 orchid species^[258] have been identified.^[259] The Philippines has around 167 terrestrial mammals (102 endemics), 235 reptiles (160 endemics), 99 amphibians (74 endemics), 686 birds (224 endemics),^[260] and more than 20,000 insect species.^[259]

As an important part of the Coral Triangle ecoregion,^[261][262] Philippine maritime waters produce unique and diverse marine life^[263] and contain the highest diversity of shorefish species in the world.^[264] The country hosts more than 3,200 fish species (121 endemic),^[265] with new records and species of marine life continually being discovered.^{[266][267][268]} Philippine waters also sustain the cultivation of fish, crustaceans, oysters, and seaweeds.^[269]

Eight major types of forests are distributed throughout the Philippines: dipterocarp, beach forest, pine forest, molave forest, lower montane forest, upper montane or mossy forest, mangroves, and ultrabasic forest.^[270] As of 2021, the Philippines has 7 million hectares of forest cover, according to official estimates, though experts contend that the actual figure is likely much lower.^[271] Deforestation, often the result of illegal logging, is an acute problem in the Philippines; forest cover has declined from 70% of the Philippines's total land area in 1900 to about 18.3% in 1999,^[272] although government reforestation efforts have reversed the deforestation trend and raised the national forest cover by 177,441 hectares (438,470 acres) from 2010 to 2015.^[273] The Philippines has more than 200 protected areas;^[274] which, as of 2023^[update], has been expanded to cover 7.79 million hectares.^[275] Three sites in the Philippines have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their outstanding natural value: the Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea,^[276] the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River,^[277] and the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary.^[278]

Climate

Köppen climate classification of the Philippines

The Philippines has a tropical maritime climate that is usually hot and humid. There are three seasons: a hot dry season from March to May; a rainy season from June to November; and a cool dry season from December to February.^[279] The southwest monsoon, known as the habagat, lasts from May to October and the northeast monsoon (amihan) from November to April.^[280] The coolest month is January; the warmest is May. Temperatures at sea level across the Philippines tend to be in the same range regardless of latitude; average annual temperature is around 26.6 °C (79.9 °F) but can reach as low as 18.3 °C (64.9 °F) in Baguio at an elevation of 1,500 meters (4,900 ft) above sea level.^[281] The country's average relative humidity is high, at around 82%.^[280] Annual rainfall measures as much as 5,000 millimeters (200 in) in the mountainous east coast section but less than 1,000 millimeters (39 in) in some of the sheltered valleys.^[279]

Sitting astride the typhoon belt, the Philippines is visited by around 19 typhoons in a typical year,^[282] usually from July to October,^[279] and 8 or 9 of these make landfall.^[283][284] The wettest recorded typhoon to hit the Philippines dropped 2,210 millimeters (87 in) in Baguio from July 14 to 18, 1911.^[285] The Philippines is highly exposed to climate change and is among the world's ten countries most vulnerable to climate change risks.^[286][287]

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Geography of the Philippines

Geography of the Philippines

The Philippines is an archipelago that comprises 7,641 islands with a total land area of 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi). It is the world's fifth largest island country. The eleven largest islands contain 95% of the total land area. The largest of these islands is Luzon at about 105,000 square kilometers (40,541 sq mi). The next largest island is Mindanao at about 95,000 square kilometers (36,680 sq mi). The archipelago is around 800 kilometers (500 mi) from the Asian mainland and is located between Taiwan and Borneo.

List of islands of the Philippines

List of islands of the Philippines

The islands of the Philippines, also known as the Philippine Archipelago, comprises about 7,641 islands, of which only about 2,000 are inhabited. More than 5,000 islands of the archipelago are yet to be given official names.

Archipelago

Archipelago

An archipelago, sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.

Celebes Sea

Celebes Sea

The Celebes Sea, or Sulawesi Sea, of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by the Sangihe Islands chain, on the south by Sulawesi's Minahasa Peninsula, and on the west by northern Kalimantan in Indonesia. It extends 420 miles (675 km) north-south by 520 mi (840 km) east-west and has a total surface area of 110,000 square miles (280,000 km2), to a maximum depth of 20,300 feet (6,200 m). South of the Cape Mangkalihat, the sea opens southwest through the Makassar Strait into the Java Sea.

Luzon

Luzon

Luzon is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines 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 city. With a population of 64 million as of 2021,  it contains 52.5% of the country's total population and is the fourth most populous island in the world. It is the 15th largest island in the world by land area.

Mindanao

Mindanao

Mindanao is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of the same name that also includes its adjacent islands, notably the Sulu Archipelago. According to the 2020 census, Mindanao has a population of 26,252,442 people, while the entire island group has an estimated population of 27,021,036 according to the 2021 census.

Negros

Negros

Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of 13,309 km2 (5,139 sq mi). Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region are mainly called Negrenses. As of 2020 census, the total population of Negros is 4,656,945 people. 

Palawan (island)

Palawan (island)

Palawan is the largest island of the province of Palawan in the Philippines and fifth-largest by area and tenth-most populous island of the country, with a total population of 994,101 as of 2020 census. The north west coast of the island is along the South China Sea, while the south east coast forms part of the northern limit of the Sulu Sea. Much of the island remains traditional and is considered by some as under-developed. Abundant wildlife, jungle mountains, and some white sandy beaches attract many tourists, as well as international companies looking for development opportunities.

Panay

Panay

Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of 12,011 km2 (4,637 sq mi) and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census.  Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City of Iloilo is its largest settlement with a total population of 457,626 inhabitants as of 2020 census.

Mindoro

Mindoro

Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luzon and northeast of Palawan. Mindoro is divided into two provinces: Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro. San Jose is the largest settlement on the island with a total population of 143,430 inhabitants as of 2015. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea. Mount Halcon is the highest point on the island, standing at 8,484 feet (2,586 m) above sea level located in Oriental Mindoro. Mount Baco is the island's second highest mountain with an elevation of 8,163 feet (2,488 m), located in the province of Occidental Mindoro.

Leyte

Leyte

Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.

Bohol

Bohol

Bohol, officially the Province of Bohol, is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. Its capital is Tagbilaran. With a land area of 4,821 km2 (1,861 sq mi) and a coastline 261 km (162 mi) long, Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines.

Malacañang Palace is the official residence of the president of the Philippines.

The Philippines has a democratic government in the form of a constitutional republic with a presidential system.^[288] The president functions as both head of state and head of government^[289] and is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.^[288] The president is elected by direct election for a single six-year term.^[290] The president appoints and presides over the cabinet.^[291] The bicameral Congress is composed of the Senate, serving as the upper house, with members elected to a six-year term, and the House of Representatives, serving as the lower house, with members elected to a three-year term.^[292] Philippine politics tends to be dominated by those with well-known names, such as members of political dynasties or celebrities.^[293][294]

The Supreme Court of the Philippines building

Senators are elected at-large^[292] while the representatives are elected from both legislative districts and through sectoral representation.^[295] The judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court, composed of a chief justice as its presiding officer and fourteen associate justices,^[296] all of whom are appointed by the president from nominations submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council.^[288]

There have been attempts to change the government to a federal, unicameral, or parliamentary government since the Ramos administration.^[297] There is a significant amount of corruption in the Philippines,^{[298][299][300]} which some historians attribute to the system of governance put in place during the Spanish colonial period.^[301][302]

Foreign relations

Diplomatic missions of the Philippines

As a founding and active member of the United Nations,^[303] the Philippines has been elected to the Security Council.^[304] The country is an active participant in peacekeeping missions, particularly in East Timor.^[305][306] The Philippines is also a founding and active member of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations),^[307][308] and is a member of the East Asia Summit,^[309] the Group of 24, and the Non-Aligned Movement.^[310][311] The country has also since 2003 been seeking to obtain observer status in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation,^[312][313] and was a member of now-dissolved military alliance SEATO.^[314][315] Over 10 million Filipinos live and work in 200 countries,^[316][317] increasing the Philippines' soft power.^[318]

Beginning in the 1990s, the Philippines sought trade and economic liberalization.^[319] The country is a member of the World Trade Organization^[320] and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.^[321] The Philippines has entered into the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership free trade agreement (FTA) in 2023,^[322][323] and, through ASEAN, has signed FTAs with China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.^[324] The Philippines has bilateral FTAs with Japan and four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.^[325]

The Philippines has a long relationship with the United States, covering economics, security, and people-to-people relations.^[326] A Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries was signed in 1951 and supplemented with the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement and the 2016 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.^[327] The Philippines supported American policies during the Cold War and participated in the Korean and Vietnam wars.^[328][329] In 2003 the Philippines was designated a major non-NATO ally.^[330] Under President Duterte, ties with the United States have briefly^[331] weakened in favor of improved relations with China and Russia.^{[332][333][334]} In 2021, it was revealed the United States would defend the Philippines including the South China Sea.^[335]

Since 1975, the Philippines has attached great importance to its relations with China^[336] and has established significant cooperation with the country.^{[337][338][339]} Japan is the biggest bilateral contributor of official development assistance to the Philippines;^[340][341] although historical tensions exist because of the events of World War II, much of the animosity has faded.^[342] Historical and cultural ties continue to affect relations with Spain.^[343][344] Relations with Middle Eastern countries are shaped by the high number of Filipinos working in these countries,^[345] and by issues related to the Muslim minority in the Philippines;^[346] concerns have been raised regarding issues such as domestic abuse and war affecting^[347] the approximately 2.5 million overseas Filipino workers in the region.^[348]

The Philippines has claims in the Spratly Islands which overlap with claims by China, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The largest of its controlled islands is Thitu Island, which contains the Philippines's smallest town.^[349][350] The Scarborough Shoal standoff in 2012, where China took control of the shoal from the Philippines, led to an international arbitration case^[351] which the Philippines eventually won^[352] but China had rejected,^[353] and has made the shoal a prominent symbol in the wider dispute.^[354]

Military

BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) is the lead ship of her class of guided missile frigates of the Philippine Navy

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) consist of three branches: the Philippine Air Force, the Philippine Army, and the Philippine Navy.^[355] The AFP is a volunteer force.^[356] Civilian security is handled by the Philippine National Police under the Department of the Interior and Local Government.^[357] As of 2022^[update], the AFP has a total manpower of around 280,000, in which 130,000 are active military personnel, 100,000 are reserves, and 50,000 are paramilitaries.^[358]

In 2021, $4.090.5 billion, or 1.04 percent of GDP was spent on military forces.^[359][360] Most of the Philippines' defense spending goes to the Philippine Army, which leads operations againts internal threats such as the communist and Muslim separatists insurgencies; the country's preoccupation with internal security affairs contributed to the decline of Philippine naval capabilities beginning in the 1970s.^[361] A military modernization program was launched in 1995^[362] and expanded in 2012 to build a more capable defense system.^[363]

The Philippines has prolonged struggles against local insurgencies, separatism, and terrorism.^{[364][365][366]} In Bangsamoro, the largest separatist organizations, the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, signed final peace agreements with the government in 1996 and 2014, respectively.^[367][368] Other more militant groups like the Abu Sayyaf have kidnapped foreigners for ransom, particularly in the Sulu Archipelago;^[369][370] their presence decreased through successful security provided by the Philippine government.^[371][372] The Communist Party of the Philippines and its military wing, the New People's Army, have been waging guerrilla warfare against the government since the 1970s and although significantly dwindling militarily and politically after the return of democracy in 1986,^[365][373] has been engaged in ambushes, bombings, and assassinations of government officials and security forces.^[374]

Administrative divisions

Map of the Philippines showing the location of all the regions and provinces

The Philippines is divided into 17 regions, 82 provinces, 146 cities, 1,488 municipalities, and 42,036 barangays.^[375] Regions other than Bangsamoro serve primarily to organize the provinces of the country for administrative convenience.^[376] As of 2020^[update], Calabarzon was the most populated region while the National Capital Region (NCR) was the most densely populated.^[377]

The Philippines is governed as a unitary state, with the exception of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM),^[378] although there have been several steps towards decentralization within the unitary framework.^[379][380] A 1991 law devolved some powers to local governments.^[381]

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Government of the Philippines

Government of the Philippines

The Government of the Philippines has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and democratic constitutional republic in which the president functions as both the head of state and the head of government of the country within a pluriform multi-party system.

Political history of the Philippines

Political history of the Philippines

Early polities in what is now the Philippines were small entities known as barangays, although some larger states were established following the arrival of Hinduism and Islam through regional trade networks. The arrival of Spanish settlers began a period of Spanish expansion which led to the creation of the Captaincy General of the Philippines, governed out of Manila. While technically part of New Spain, the Philippines functioned mostly autonomously. The reliance on native leaders to help govern led to the creation of an elite class known as the principalia. Spanish control was never firmly established over much of its claimed territory, with some inland and Islamic regions remaining effectively independent.

Malacañang Palace

Malacañang Palace

Malacañang Palace, officially known as Malacañan Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila district of San Miguel, and is commonly associated with Mendiola Street. The term Malacañang is often used as a metonym for the president, their advisers, and the Office of the President of the Philippines. The sprawling Malacañang Palace complex includes numerous mansions and office buildings designed and built largely in the bahay na bato and neoclassical styles. Among the presidents of the present Fifth Republic, only Gloria Macapagal Arroyo actually lived in the main palace as both her office and her residence, with all others residing in nearby properties that form part of the larger palace complex. The palace has been seized several times as a result of protests starting with the People Power Revolution of 1986, the 1989 coup attempt, the 2001 Manila riots, and the EDSA III riots.

Democracy

Democracy

Democracy is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation, or to choose governing officials to do so. Who is considered part of "the people" and how authority is shared among or delegated by the people has changed over time and at different rates in different countries. Features of democracy often include freedom of assembly, association, property rights, freedom of religion and speech, inclusiveness and equality, citizenship, consent of the governed, voting rights, freedom from unwarranted governmental deprivation of the right to life and liberty, and minority rights.

Head of state

Head of state

A head of state is the public persona who officially embodies a state in its unity and legitimacy. Depending on the country's form of government and separation of powers, the head of state may be a ceremonial figurehead or concurrently the head of government and more.

Head of government

Head of government

The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a group of ministers or secretaries who lead executive departments. In diplomacy, "head of government" is differentiated from "head of state" although in some countries, for example the United States, they are the same person.

Commander-in-chief

Commander-in-chief

A commander-in-chief or supreme commander is the person who exercises supreme command and control over an armed force or a military branch. As a technical term, it refers to military competencies that reside in a country's executive leadership, a head of state, head of government, or other designated government official.

Armed Forces of the Philippines

Armed Forces of the Philippines

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy. The President of the Philippines is the Commander-in-Chief of the AFP and forms military policy with the Department of National Defense, an executive department acting as the principal organ by which military policy is carried out, while the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines serves as the overall commander and the highest-ranking officer in the AFP.

Direct election

Direct election

Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected.

Cabinet (government)

Cabinet (government)

A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countries, it is a collegiate decision-making body with collective responsibility, while in others it may function either as a purely advisory body or an assisting institution to a decision-making head of state or head of government. Cabinets are typically the body responsible for the day-to-day management of the government and response to sudden events, whereas the legislative and judicial branches work in a measured pace, in sessions according to lengthy procedures.

Bicameralism

Bicameralism

Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single group. As of 2022, roughly 40% of world's national legislatures are bicameral, while unicameralism represents 60% nationally, and much more at the subnational level.

Congress of the Philippines

Congress of the Philippines

The Congress of the Philippines is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, although colloquially the term "Congress" commonly refers to just the latter, and an upper body, the Senate. The House of Representatives meets in the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City while the Senate meets in the GSIS Building in Pasay.

The Philippines has a population of 109,035,343 as of May 1, 2020.^[382] In 2015, 51.2% of the Philippine population lived in urban areas.^[383] The capital city of Manila and the country's most populous city, Quezon City, lie within Metro Manila. Around 12.8 million or 13% of the national population live in Metro Manila,^[383] the country's most populated metropolitan area^[384] and the 5th most populous in the world.^[385]

The Philippines has a median age of 22.7, in which 60.9% of the population is aged 15 to 64.^[8] Average annual population growth rate in the Philippines continues to decrease,^[386] although government attempts to further reduce population growth have been a contentious issue.^[387] Poverty incidence dropped to 18.1% in 2021^[388] from 25.2% in 2012.^[389]

v t e Largest cities in the Philippines 2020 Philippine census of population and housing
	Rank	Name	Region	Pop.	Rank	Name	Region	Pop.
Quezon City Manila	1	Quezon City	National Capital Region	2,960,048	11	Valenzuela	National Capital Region	714,978	Davao City Caloocan
	2	Manila	National Capital Region	1,846,513	12	Dasmariñas	Calabarzon	703,141
	3	Davao City	Davao Region	1,776,949	13	General Santos	Soccsksargen	697,315
	4	Caloocan	National Capital Region	1,661,584	14	Parañaque	National Capital Region	689,992
	5	Zamboanga City	Zamboanga Peninsula	977,234	15	Bacoor	Calabarzon	664,625
	6	Cebu City	Central Visayas	964,169	16	San Jose del Monte	Central Luzon	651,813
	7	Antipolo	Calabarzon	887,399	17	Makati	National Capital Region	629,616
	8	Taguig	National Capital Region	886,722	18	Las Piñas	National Capital Region	606,293
	9	Pasig	National Capital Region	803,159	19	Bacolod	Western Visayas	600,783
	10	Cagayan de Oro	Northern Mindanao	728,402	20	Muntinlupa	National Capital Region	543,445

Ethnic groups

Dominant ethnic groups by province

There is substantial ethnic diversity with the Philippines, a product of the seas and mountain ranges dividing the archipelago along with significant foreign influences.^[289] According to the 2010 census, the country's largest ethnic groups were Tagalog (24.4 percent), Visayans/Bisaya [excluding Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Waray] (11.4 percent), Cebuano (9.9 percent), Ilocano (8.8 percent), Hiligaynon (8.4 percent), Bikol (6.8 percent), and Waray (4 percent).^[8][390] As of 2010, there were 110 enthnolinguistic groups numbered at around 14–17 million persons comprising the country's indigenous peoples;^[391] these include the Igorot, the Lumad, the Mangyan, and the tribes of Palawan.^[392]

Negritos are considered among the earliest inhabitants of the islands.^[393] These minority aboriginal settlers are an Australoid group and are left over from the first human migration out of Africa to Australia and were likely displaced by later waves of migration.^[394] At least some Negritos in the Philippines have Denisovan admixture in their genomes.^[395][396] Ethnic Filipinos generally belong to several Southeast Asian ethnic groups classified linguistically as part of the Austronesian or Malayo-Polynesian speaking people.^[397] There is some uncertainty over the origin of this Austronesian speaking population. It is likely that ancestors related to Taiwanese aborigines brought their language and mixed with existing populations in the area.^[398][399] The Lumad and Sama-Bajau ethnic groups have ancestral affinity with the Austroasiatic Mlabri and Htin peoples of mainland Southeast Asia. There was a westward expansion of Papuan ancestry from Papua New Guinea to eastern Indonesia and Mindanao detected among the Blaan and Sangir.^[400]

Under Spanish rule there was some immigration from elsewhere in the empire, especially from the Spanish Americas.^{[401][402][403]} According to the Kaiser Permanente (KP) Research Program on Genes, Environment, and Health (RPGEH), a substantial proportion of Filipinos sampled have "modest" amounts of European descent consistent with older admixture.^[404] In addition to this, the National Geographic project concluded in 2016 that people living in the Philippine archipelago carried genetic markers in the following percentages: 53% Southeast Asia and Oceania, 36% Eastern Asia, 5% Southern Europe, 3% Southern Asia, and 2% Native American^[405] (from Latin America).^[402]

A map showing all ethnolinguistic groups in the Philippines

Descendants of mixed-race couples are known as mestizo or tisoy,^[406] which originally referred only to Filipinos of European or Spanish descent.^[407][408] While a distinct minority, Chinese Filipinos are well integrated into Filipino society;^[289][409] mostly the descendants of immigrants from Fujian in China after 1898,^[410] Chinese Filipinos number around 2 million, although there are an estimated 20% of Filipinos who have partial Chinese ancestry, stemming from precolonial and colonial Chinese migrants.^[411] As of 2023, there are almost 300,000 American citizens living in the country;^[412] there are also up to 250,000 Amerasians scattered across the cities of Angeles, Manila, and Olongapo.^[413] Other important non-indigenous minorities include Indians^[414][415] and Arabs.^[416] There are also Japanese people, which include escaped Christians (Kirishitan) who fled the persecutions of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.^[417]

Languages

Ethnologue lists 186 individual languages in the Philippines, 182 of which are living languages, while 4 no longer have any known speakers. Most native languages are part of the Philippine branch of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, which is a branch of the Austronesian language family.^[397] In addition, various Spanish-based creole varieties collectively called Chavacano exist.^[419] There are also many Philippine Negrito languages that have unique vocabularies that survived Austronesian acculturation.^[420]

Filipino and English are the official languages of the country.^[421] Filipino is a standardized version of Tagalog, spoken mainly in Metro Manila.^[422] Both Filipino and English are used in government, education, print, broadcast media, and business, with third local languages often being used at the same time.^[423] The Philippine constitution provides for the promotion of Spanish and Arabic on a voluntary and optional basis.^[421] Spanish, which was widely used as a lingua franca in the late nineteenth century, has since declined greatly in use,^[424] although Spanish loanwords are still present today in Philippine languages,^{[425][426][427]} while Arabic is mainly taught in Islamic schools in Mindanao.^[428]

Nineteen regional languages act as auxiliary official languages used as media of instruction:^[4]

Other indigenous languages such as, Cuyonon, Ifugao, Itbayat, Kalinga, Kamayo, Kankanaey, Masbateño, Romblomanon, Manobo, and several Visayan languages are prevalent in their respective provinces.^[397] The Filipino Sign Language is the national sign language of the Philippines and the language of instruction of deaf education.^[429]

Religion

Catholic devotees attend Mass at the Santo Niño Basilica during the annual Sinulog festival in Cebu

Although the Philippines is a secular state which protects freedom of religion, an overwhelming majority of Filipinos consider religion very important,^[430] and irreligion is extremely low.^{[431][432][433]} Christianity is the dominant faith,^[434][435] shared by about 89% of the population.^[436] As of 2013^[update], the country had the world's third largest Roman Catholic population, and was the largest Christian nation in Asia.^[437] Census data from 2020 found that 78.8 percent of the population professed Roman Catholicism; other Christian denominations include Iglesia ni Cristo (2.6 percent), Philippine Independent Church (1.4 percent), and Seventh-day Adventist Church (0.8 percent).^[438] Protestants make up about 6% of the population.^[439] The Philippines is a major sender of Christian missionaries around the world and serves as a training center for foreign priests and nuns.^[440][441]

Islam is the country's second largest religion, representing 6.4 percent of the population of the Philippines according to census returns in 2020.^[438] The majority of Muslims live in Mindanao and nearby islands;^[435] most practice Sunni Islam under the Shafi'i school.^[442]

Around 0.23% of the population practice indigenous Philippine folk religions,^[438] whose practices and folk beliefs are often syncretized with Christianity and Islam.^[443][444] Buddhism is practiced by around 0.04% of the population,^[438] concentrated among Filipinos of Chinese descent.^[445]

Health

Life expectancy in the Philippines (1938–2021)

Health care in the Philippines is supplied by the national and local governments, although private expenditures account for majority of healthcare spending.^[446][447] Per capita health expenditure in 2021 was ₱9,839.23,^[448] while total health expenditure share in GDP for the same year was 6%.^[449] The budget allocation for healthcare in 2023 was ₱334.9 billion.^[450] The enactment of the Universal Health Care Act in 2019 by President Duterte facilitated the automatic enrollment of all Filipinos in the national health insurance program.^[451][452] One-stop shops called Malasakit Centers have since 2018 been set up in several government-operated hospitals to provide medical and financial assistance to indigent patients.^[453]

Life expectancy, as of 2022^[update], is 70.14 years (66.6 years for males and 73.86 years for females).^[454] Access to medicines has improved due to Filipinos' growing acceptance of generic drugs.^[455] The leading causes of death in the Philippines in 2017 were ischaemic heart diseases, neoplasms, cerebrovascular diseases, pneumonia, and diabetes.^[456] Incidence of communicable diseases is correlated with natural disaster occurrences, most notably floods.^[457]

The Philippines has 1,387 hospitals, 33% of which are government-run; a total of 23,281 barangay health stations, 2,592 rural health units, 2,411 birthing homes, and 659 infirmaries provide primary care services throughout the country.^[458] Since 1967, the Philippines had become the largest global supplier of nurses for export;^[459] seventy percent of nursing graduates go overseas to work, causing a problem in the retention of skilled practitioners.^[460]

Education

Founded in 1611, the University of Santo Tomas is the oldest extant university in Asia.^[461]

Primary and secondary schooling in the Philippines is divided between a 6-year elementary period, a 4-year junior high school period, and a 2-year senior high school period.^[462] Public education provided by the government is free in elementary and secondary levels and in most public higher education institutions.^[463][464] Special science high schools for gifted students have been established since 1963.^[465] The government provides technical-vocational training and development through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.^[466][467] In 2004, the government has begun offering alternative education to out-of-school children, youth, and adults to improve the country's literacy;^[468][469] in the same year, madaris were mainstreamed in 16 regions nationwide, mainly in Muslim areas in Mindanao under the auspices and program of the DepEd.^[470]

As of 2019^[update], the Philippines has 1,975 higher education institutions, among which 246 are public and 1,729 are private.^[471] Public universities are all non-sectarian entities and are classified mainly as state-administered or local government-funded.^[472][473] The national university is the University of the Philippines (UP), a system of eight constituent universities.^[474] The country's top ranked universities are the UP, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, and University of Santo Tomas.^{[475][476][477]}

In 2019^[update], the Philippines had a basic literacy rate of 93.8% among five years old or older,^[478] and a functional literacy rate of 91.6% among ages 10 to 64.^[479] Education takes up a significant proportion of the national budget, receiving an allocation of ₱900.9 billion from the ₱5.268 trillion 2023 budget.^[450]

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Demographics of the Philippines

Demographics of the Philippines

Demography of the Philippines records the human population, including its population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects. The Philippines annualized population growth rate between the years 2015–2020 was 1.63%. According to the 2020 census, the population of the Philippines is 109,035,343. The first census in the Philippines was held in the year 1591 which counted 667,612 people.

List of cities in the Philippines

List of cities in the Philippines

This is a list of chartered cities in the Philippines. Philippine cities are classified into three groups: highly urbanized cities, independent component cities, and component cities.

Manila

Manila

Manila, officially City of Manila, is the capital of the Philippines and its second-most populous city. Manila is located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon. It is highly urbanized and as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated city proper. Manila is considered to be a global city and is rated as an Alpha – City by Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC). It was the first chartered city in the country, and was designated as such by the Philippine Commission Act 183 of July 31, 1901. It became autonomous with the passage of Republic Act No. 409, "The Revised Charter of the City of Manila", on June 18, 1949. Manila is considered to be part of the world's original set of global cities because its commercial networks were the first to extend across the Pacific Ocean and connect Asia with the Spanish Americas through the galleon trade; when this was accomplished, it was the first time an uninterrupted chain of trade routes circling the planet had been established. Manila is among the most-populous and fastest-growing cities in Southeast Asia.

Quezon City

Quezon City

Quezon City, also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C., is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was founded on October 12, 1939, and was named after Manuel L. Quezon, the second president of the Philippines.

Metro Manila

Metro Manila

Metropolitan Manila, officially the National Capital Region, is the seat of government and one of three defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines. It is composed of 16 highly urbanized cities and one Unrecognized state: the city of Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, San Juan, Taguig,Ohio, and Valenzuela,as well as the municipality of Pateros. The region encompasses an area of 619.57 square kilometers (239.22 sq mi) and a population of 13,484,462 as of 2020.  It is the second most populous and the most densely populated region of the Philippines. It is also the 9th most populous metropolitan area in Asia and the 5th most populous urban area in the world.

List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines

List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines

The Philippines has three metropolitan areas, as defined by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

List of largest cities

List of largest cities

The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metropolitan regions.

Poverty in the Philippines

Poverty in the Philippines

According to official government statistics, in 2021, the Philippine poverty rate rose to 18.1%, or roughly 19.99 million Filipinos, after the COVID-19 pandemic hampered years of government poverty reduction efforts; this was higher than the 16.6% or 17.67 million recorded in 2018 but lower than the 25.2% poverty rate recorded in 2012.

List of cities and municipalities in the Philippines

List of cities and municipalities in the Philippines

This is a complete list of cities and municipalities in the Philippines. The Philippines is administratively divided into 81 provinces. These, together with the National Capital Region, are further subdivided into cities and municipalities.

Regions of the Philippines

Regions of the Philippines

In the Philippines, regions are administrative divisions that primarily serve to coordinate planning and organize national government services across multiple local government units (LGUs). Most national government offices provide services through their regional branches instead of having direct provincial or city offices. Regional offices are usually but not necessarily located in the city designated as the regional center.

Skyscrapers in Makati, considered as the financial center of the Philippines^[480]

The national economy of the Philippines is the 40th largest in the world, with an estimated 2022^[update] gross domestic product (nominal) of $401.6 billion.^[481] A newly industrialized country,^[482][483] the Philippine economy has been transitioning from one based upon agriculture to an economy with more emphasis upon services and manufacturing.^[482][484] As of 2022^[update], the country's labor force was around 49 million, and the unemployment rate stood at 4.3%.^[485] Gross international reserves totaled $100.666 billion as of January 2023^[update].^[486] Debt-to-GDP ratio decreased to 60.9% as of end-2022 from 17-year high 63.7% at the end of third quarter 2022 and continues to show resiliency amid the COVID-19 pandemic.^[487] The country's unit of currency is the Philippine peso (₱^[488] or PHP^[489]).^[490]

A proportional representation of Philippines exports, 2019

The Philippines is a net importer^[491] but is also a creditor nation.^[492] As of 2020^[update], the country's' main export markets were China, United States, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore;^[493] primary exports included integrated circuits, office machinery/parts, electrical transformers, insulated wiring, and semiconductors.^[493] The Philippines' primary import markets in 2020 were China, Japan, South Korea, United States, and Indonesia.^[493] Major export crops of the Philippines include coconuts, bananas, and pineapples; the country is the world's largest producer of abaca,^[494] and in 2020, was both the world's biggest exporter of nickel ore and gold clad metals and the world's biggest importer of copra.^[493]

Filipinos planting rice. Agriculture employs 24% of the Filipino workforce as of 2022^[update].^[485]

Regional development is uneven, with Manila in particular – gaining most of the new economic growth at the expense of the other regions.^[495][496] The 1997 Asian financial crisis affected the Philippine economy, resulting in a lingering decline of the value of the peso and falls in the stock market, although the effects in the country were not as severe as other Asian nations because of the fiscal conservatism of the government.^[184]

Remittances from overseas Filipinos contribute significantly to the Philippine economy;^[497] in 2022, it reached a record US$36.14 billion, accounting for 8.9% of the national GDP.^[498] The Philippines is a top destination for business process outsourcing (BPO) operations.^[499] Around 1.3 million Filipinos are employed by the BPO sector, mostly in customer-service.^[500] In 2010^[update], the Philippines overtook India as the world's main center of BPO services.^{[501][502][503]}

Science and technology

Headquarters of the International Rice Research Institute in Los Baños, Laguna

The Philippines has one of the largest agricultural research systems in Asia despite a relatively low spending on agricultural research and development.^[504][505] The country has developed new varieties of crops, including rice,^[506][507] coconuts,^[508] and bananas.^[509] Research organizations in the country include the Philippine Rice Research Institute^[510] and International Rice Research Institute,^[511] both of which focus on the development of new rice varieties and rice crop management techniques.^[512]

The Philippine Space Agency—the Philippines' national space agency—maintains the country's space program.^[513][514] The country bought its first satellite in 1996.^[515] In 2016, the Philippines' first micro-satellite, Diwata-1, was launched aboard the United States' Cygnus spacecraft.^[516]

The Philippines has a high concentration of cellular phone users^[517] and a high level of mobile financial services utilization.^[518] Text messaging is a popular form of communication and, in 2007, the nation sent an average of one billion SMS messages per day.^[519] The Philippine telecommunications industry has been dominated by the PLDT-Globe Telecom duopoly for more than two decades;^[520] the entry of Dito Telecommunity in 2021 disrupted the mobile telecom market, leading to an improvement in the country's telco services.^[521]

Tourism

Tourists at Chocolate Hills, conical karst hills found in Bohol

The Philippines is a popular retirement destination for foreigners because of its climate and low cost of living;^[522] the country is also a top destination among diving enthusiasts.^[523][524] Top tourist spots include Boracay, which was named as the best island in the world by Travel + Leisure in 2012;^[525] El Nido in Palawan; Cebu; Siargao; and Bohol.^[526]

The tourism sector contributed 5.2% to the Philippine GDP in 2021, lower than the 12.7% recorded in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,^[527] and provided 5.7 million jobs in 2019.^[528] The Philippines attracted 8.2 million international visitors in 2019, 15.24 percent higher than the previous year;^[529] majority of tourists came from East Asia (59%), North America (15.8%), and ASEAN countries (6.4%).^[530]

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Economy of the Philippines

Economy of the Philippines

The Philippines is a developing mixed-market economy, which is one of the growing emerging markets with economic dynamism that sustain growth momentum. It is a founding member of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Philippine economy is the world's 40th largest by nominal GDP and 17th largest in Asia according to the International Monetary Fund in 2022.

List of countries by GDP (nominal)

List of countries by GDP (nominal)

Gross domestic product (GDP) is the market value of all final goods and services from a nation in a given year. Countries are sorted by nominal GDP estimates from financial and statistical institutions, which are calculated at market or government official exchange rates. Nominal GDP does not take into account differences in the cost of living in different countries, and the results can vary greatly from one year to another based on fluctuations in the exchange rates of the country's currency. Such fluctuations may change a country's ranking from one year to the next, even though they often make little or no difference in the standard of living of its population.

Gross domestic product

Gross domestic product

Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold in a specific time period by a country or countries, generally "without double counting the intermediate goods and services used up to produce them". GDP is most often used by the government of a single country to measure its economic health. Due to its complex and subjective nature, this measure is often revised before being considered a reliable indicator. GDP (nominal) per capita does not, however, reflect differences in the cost of living and the inflation rates of the countries; therefore, using a basis of GDP per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) may be more useful when comparing living standards between nations, while nominal GDP is more useful comparing national economies on the international market. Total GDP can also be broken down into the contribution of each industry or sector of the economy. The ratio of GDP to the total population of the region is the per capita GDP.

Debt-to-GDP ratio

Debt-to-GDP ratio

In economics, the debt-to-GDP ratio is the ratio between a country's government debt and its gross domestic product (GDP). A low debt-to-GDP ratio indicates that an economy produces goods and services sufficient to pay back debts without incurring further debt. Geopolitical and economic considerations – including interest rates, war, recessions, and other variables – influence the borrowing practices of a nation and the choice to incur further debt.

COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines

COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines

The COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines has resulted in, as of March 9, 2023, 4,077,109 reported cases, resulting in 66,160 reported deaths, the fifth-highest in Southeast Asia, behind Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The first case in the Philippines was identified on January 30, 2020, and involved a 38-year-old Chinese woman who was confined at San Lazaro Hospital in Metro Manila. On February 1, 2020, a posthumous test result from a 44-year-old Chinese man turned out positive for the virus, making the Philippines the first country outside China to record a confirmed death from the disease.

Currency

Currency

A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money in common use within a specific environment over time, especially for people in a nation state. Under this definition, the British Pound Sterling (£), euros (€), Japanese yen (¥), and U.S. dollars (US$) are examples of (government-issued) fiat currencies. Currencies may act as stores of value and be traded between nations in foreign exchange markets, which determine the relative values of the different currencies. Currencies in this sense are either chosen by users or decreed by governments, and each type has limited boundaries of acceptance; i.e., legal tender laws may require a particular unit of account for payments to government agencies.

Integrated circuit

Integrated circuit

An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of miniaturized transistors and other electronic components are integrated together on the chip. This results in circuits that are orders of magnitude smaller, faster, and less expensive than those constructed of discrete components, allowing a large transistor count. The IC's mass production capability, reliability, and building-block approach to integrated circuit design has ensured the rapid adoption of standardized ICs in place of designs using discrete transistors. ICs are now used in virtually all electronic equipment and have revolutionized the world of electronics. Computers, mobile phones and other home appliances are now inextricable parts of the structure of modern societies, made possible by the small size and low cost of ICs such as modern computer processors and microcontrollers.

Coconut production in the Philippines

Coconut production in the Philippines

Coconut production plays an important role in the national economy of the Philippines. According to figures published in December 2009 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, it is the world's second largest producer of coconuts, producing 19,500,000 tonnes in 2009. Production in the Philippines is generally concentrated in medium-sized farms.

Copra

Copra

Copra is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from copra is rich in lauric acid, making it an important commodity in the preparation of lauryl alcohol, soaps, fatty acids, cosmetics, etc. and thus a lucrative product for many coconut-producing countries. The palatable oil cake, known as copra cake, obtained as a residue in the production of copra oil is used in animal feeds. The ground cake is known as coconut or copra meal.

Agriculture in the Philippines

Agriculture in the Philippines

Agriculture in the Philippines is an important sector in the economy with crops like bananas, coconuts, pineapples, rice and sugarcanes are being mass-produced for exportation but the challenge remains as it steadily running into deficit amid growing population. As of 2022, the sector employs 24% of the Filipino workforce and it accounted for 8.9% of the total GDP.

1997 Asian financial crisis

1997 Asian financial crisis

The 1997 Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East and Southeast Asia during the late 1990s. The crisis began in Thailand in July 1997 before spreading to several other countries with a ripple effect, raising fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1999 was rapid, and worries of a meltdown quickly subsided.

Fiscal conservatism

Fiscal conservatism

Fiscal conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, and laissez-faire economics. Fiscal conservatives advocate tax cuts, reduced government spending, free markets, deregulation, privatization, free trade, and minimal government debt. Fiscal conservatism follows the same philosophical outlook of classical liberalism. This concept is derived from economic liberalism.

Transportation

Traditional (left) and modern (right) jeepneys in Quezon City. Public utility vehicles older than 15 years are gradually being phased out in favor of eco-friendly Euro 4-compliant vehicles.^[531]

Transportation in the Philippines is facilitated by road, air, rail and waterways. Roads are the dominant form of transport, carrying 98% of people and 58% of cargo.^[532] As of December 2018, there are 210,528 kilometers (130,816 mi) of roads in the Philippines.^[533] The backbone of land-based transportation in the country is the Pan-Philippine Highway, which connects the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao.^[534] Inter-island transport is boosted by the 919-kilometer (571 mi) Strong Republic Nautical Highway, an integrated set of highway segments and ferry routes covering 17 cities.^[535][536] Jeepneys are a popular and iconic public utility vehicle;^[537] other public land transport include buses, UV Express, TNVS, Filcab, taxis, and tricycles.^[538][539] Traffic is a significant issue within Manila and on arterial roads connecting to the capital.^[540][541]

Despite wider historical use,^[542] rail transportation in the Philippines is limited^[543] to transporting passengers within Metro Manila, and the provinces of Laguna^[544] and Quezon,^[545] with a separate short track in the Bicol Region.^[543] As of 2019^[update], the country had a railway footprint of only 79 kilometres (49 mi), which it had plans to expand up to 244 kilometres (152 mi).^[546] There are plans to revive freight rail to reduce road congestion.^[547][548]

As of 2022^[update], the Philippines has 90 national government-owned airports, of which eight are international and 41 are classified as principal.^[549] The Ninoy Aquino International Airport, formerly known as the Manila International Airport, accommodates the highest number of passengers.^[549] The country's flag carrier, Philippine Airlines, is Asia's oldest commercial airline;^[550][551] Cebu Pacific is the country's leading low-cost carrier.^[552]

A variety of boat types are used throughout the Philippines;^[553] most are double-outrigger vessels, known as banca^[554]/bangka.^[555] Modern ships use plywood in place of logs and motor engines in place of sails;^[554] these ships are used both for fishing and for inter-island travel.^[555] The Philippines has over 1,800 seaports;^[556] of these, the principal seaports of Manila, Batangas, Subic Bay, Cebu, Iloilo, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, and Zamboanga form part of the ASEAN Transport Network.^[557][558]

Energy

Ambuklao Dam along the Agno River in Bokod, Benguet

As of 2019, the Philippines has a total installed power capacity of 25,531 MW, in which 41% is generated from coal, 17% from oil, 15% from hydropower, 14% from natural gas, and 8% from geothermal sources.^[559] The Philippines is the world's third-biggest geothermal energy producer, behind the United States and Indonesia.^[560] The country's largest dam is the 1.2-kilometre (0.75 mi) long San Roque Dam built along the Agno River in Pangasinan.^[561] The Malampaya gas field, discovered in the early 1990s off the coast of Palawan, reduced the country's reliance on oil imports and has been providing about 40% of Luzon's energy requirements or 30% of the country's energy needs.^[562][563]

Plans to harness nuclear energy have begun since the early 1970s during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos in response to the 1973 oil crisis.^[564] In 1984, the Philippines completed Southeast Asia's first nuclear power plant in Bataan,^[565] which was designed to generate 621 MW of electricity.^[564] Political issues after Marcos' ouster and safety concerns following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster prevented the plant from being commissioned,^[566][564] and plans to operationalize the plant remain a contentious issue.^[565][567]

Water supply and sanitation

A water district office in Banate, Iloilo

Water supply and sanitation in areas outside Metro Manila is provided by the government through local water districts established in cities or towns.^{[568][569][570]} Metro Manila is served by Manila Water Company and Maynilad Water Services. Excluding shallow wells for domestic use, groundwater users are required to secure permits from the National Water Resources Board.^[569]

Most sewage in the Philippines is disposed of into septic tanks.^[569] In 2015, the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation noted that 74% of the Philippine population had access to improved sanitation, and that "good progress" had been made between 1990 and 2015.^[571] As of 2016^[update], 96% of Filipino households have an improved source of drinking water, and 92% of households had sanitary toilet facilities, although connections of these toilet facilities to appropriate sewerage systems remain largely insufficient especially in rural and urban poor communities.^[572]

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Jeepney

Jeepney

Jeepneys, sometimes called jeeps, are minibus-like public utility vehicles, serving as the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. They are known for their crowded seating and kitsch decorations, which have become a widespread symbol of Philippine culture and art. A Sarao jeepney was exhibited at the Philippine pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair as a national image for the Filipinos.

Quezon City

Quezon City

Quezon City, also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C., is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was founded on October 12, 1939, and was named after Manuel L. Quezon, the second president of the Philippines.

Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program

Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program

The Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) was launched by the Department of Transportation of the Philippines in 2017, with the goal of making the country's public transportation system efficient and environmentally friendly by 2020. The program calls for the phasing-out of jeepneys, buses and other Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs) that are at least 15 years old and replacing them with safer, more comfortable and more environmentally-friendly alternatives over the next three years. Currently, there are 220,000 jeepney units operating throughout the country.

European emission standards

European emission standards

The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and European Economic Area member states and the United Kingdom, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a series of European Union directives staging the progressive introduction of increasingly stringent standards.

Pan-Philippine Highway

Pan-Philippine Highway

The Pan-Philippine Highway, also known as the Maharlika Highway, is a network of roads, expressways, bridges, and ferry services that connect the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao in the Philippines, serving as the country's principal transport backbone. Measuring 3,379.73 kilometers (2,100.07 mi) long excluding sea routes, it is the longest highway in the Philippines that forms the country's north–south backbone component of National Route 1 (N1) of the Philippine highway network. The entire highway is designated as Asian Highway 26 (AH26) of the Asian Highway Network.

Ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi.

Motorized tricycle (Philippines)

Motorized tricycle (Philippines)

Motorized tricycles, or simply tricycles, is a type of motorized vehicle from the Philippines consisting of a motorcycle attached to a passenger cab. Along with the jeepney, it is one of the most common means of public or private transportation in the Philippines, especially in rural areas. These public utility vehicles either ply a set route or are for-hire, like taxis.

Laguna (province)

Laguna (province)

Laguna, officially the Province of Laguna, is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is Santa Cruz while its largest city is the City of Calamba and the province is situated southeast of Metro Manila, south of the province of Rizal, west of Quezon, north of Batangas and east of Cavite. Laguna hugs the southern shores of Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the country. As of the 2020 census, the province's total population is 3,382,193 . It is the seventh richest province in the country.

Quezon

Quezon

Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon, is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Kalilayan was the first known name of the province. It was later renamed Tayabas. In honor of the former governor of the province who later became the second president of the Philippines and the first to be freely elected, Manuel L. Quezon, the province’s name was then changed to Quezon. Lucena, the provincial capital, seat of the provincial government, and the most populous city of the province, is governed independently from the province as a highly urbanized city. To distinguish the province from Quezon City, it is sometimes called Quezon Province.

Bicol Region

Bicol Region

Bicol, known formally as the Bicol Region or colloquially as Bicolandia, is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region V. Bicol comprises six provinces, four on the Bicol Peninsula mainland – Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Sorsogon – and the offshore island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate.

List of airports in the Philippines

List of airports in the Philippines

This is a list of airports in the Philippines, grouped by type.

International airport

International airport

An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer runways and have facilities to accommodate the heavier aircraft such as the Boeing 747 commonly used for international and intercontinental travel. International airports often also host domestic flights, which often help feed both passengers and cargo into international ones.

Ancient rice terraces crafted by the Ifugao people of Banaue

There is significant cultural diversity across the Philippines, reinforced by the fragmented geography of the country.^[573][574] Spanish and American cultures had profound influence on Filipino culture as a result of decades of colonization.^[575][289] The cultures within Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago developed in a particularly distinct manner, since they had very limited Spanish influence and greater influence from nearby Islamic regions.^[576] Indigenous groups such as the Igorots have also preserved their precolonial customs and traditions due to fierce Spanish colonial resistance.^[577][578] Despite this, a national identity emerged in the 19th century, the development of which is represented by shared national symbols and other cultural and historical touchstones.^[574]

Prominent Hispanic legacies include the enduring dominance of Catholicism in the Philippines,^[579][575] and the prevalence of Spanish names and surnames among Filipinos, which resulted from a colonial edict issued in 1849 ordering the systematic distribution of family names and implementation of Hispanic nomenclature on the population;^[580][581] the names of many locations also stem from Spanish origins.^[582] American influence on modern Filipino culture^[289] is evident through the common use of the English language^[583] and Filipinos' consumption of fast food and American film and music.^[575]

Values

A statue in Iriga City commemorating the mano po gesture

As a general description, the distinct value system of Filipinos is rooted primarily in personal alliance systems, especially those based in kinship, obligation, friendship, religion (particularly Christianity), and commercial relationships.^[584] Filipino values are, for the most part, centered around maintaining social harmony through pakikisama,^[585] motivated primarily by the desire to be accepted within a group.^{[586][587][588]} Reciprocity through utang na loob (internal debt of gratitude) is a significant Filipino cultural trait, in which an internalized debt can never be fully repaid.^[589][590] The main sanction against diverging from these values are the concepts of "hiya", roughly translated as 'a sense of shame',^[591] and "amor propio" or 'self-esteem'.^[587]

Central to Philippine society is the family; family values and norms, such as loyalty to family, maintaining family close relations, care for elderly parents, and monetary assistance for family or relatives in the Philippines when working abroad, are ingrained within Philippine society.^[592][593] Respect for authority and the elderly is highly valued in Philippine culture, and is shown through gestures such as the mano po and the honorifics po and opo and kuya (older brother) or ate (older sister).^[594][595] Other elements of the Filipino value system are optimism about the future, pessimism about present situations and events, concern and care for other people, the existence of friendship and friendliness, the habit of being hospitable, religious nature, respectfulness to self and others, respect for the female members of society, the fear of God, and abhorrence of acts of cheating and thievery.^[596]

Art and architecture

Juan Luna's Spoliarium (1884) displayed at the National Museum of the Philippines

Philippine art is a combination of indigenous folk art and foreign influences, mainly by Spain and the United States.^[597][598] During the Spanish colonial rule, art was used to spread Catholicism and support the notion of racially superior groups.^[598] Classical paintings were mostly religious-based;^[599] prominent artists during the Spanish colonial rule are Juan Luna and Félix Resurrección Hidalgo, whose works attracted attention on the Philippines. The 1920s-30s saw the introduction of modernism to the Philippines by Victorio Edades and the popularization of pastoral scenes by Fernando Amorsolo.^[600]

Earthquake Baroque early 18th-century Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte, a National Cultural Treasure and a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the collective group of Baroque Churches of the Philippines^[601]

Traditional Philippine architecture includes two major models: the indigenous bahay kubo, and the bahay na bato which developed during the Spanish colonial rule.^[602] Certain areas of the Philippines like Batanes have slight differences as both Spanish and Filipino ways of architecture assimilated differently because of the climate; limestone was used as a building material, with houses being built to withstand typhoons.^[603][604]

Spanish architecture has left an imprint in the Philippines in the way many towns were designed around a central square or plaza mayor, but many of the buildings bearing its influence were demolished during World War II.^[48] Several Philippine churches adapted the baroque style in architecture to withstand earthquakes; this led to the development of the Earthquake Baroque architecture in the Philippines.^[605][606] Four Philippine baroque churches have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.^[601] Vigan in Ilocos Sur is known for the many Hispanic-style houses and buildings preserved there.^[607]

American rule introduced new architectural styles; this led to the construction of government buildings and Art Deco theaters.^[608] During the American period, some semblance of city planning using the architectural designs and master plans by Daniel Burnham was done on portions of the cities of Manila and Baguio.^[609][610] Part of the Burnham plan was the construction of government buildings that resembled Greek or Neoclassical architecture.^[608][606] In Iloilo, structures from both the Spanish and American periods can still be seen, especially in Calle Real.^[611]

Music and dance

Tinikling, a dance depicting the swift leg movements of the tikling bird eluding the farmer's traps^[612]

In general, there are two types of Philippine folk dance, stemming from traditional indigenous influences and from Spanish influence.^[613] While native dances had become less popular over time,^[614] a revival of folk dances began in the 1920s.^[615] The Cariñosa, a Hispanic Filipino dance, is unofficially considered as the "National Dance of the Philippines".^[616] Popular indigenous dances include the Tinikling and Singkil, which involve the rhythmic clapping of bamboo poles.^{[617][618][619]} In the modern and post-modern time periods, dances may vary from the delicate ballet^[620] up to the more street-oriented styles of breakdancing.^[621][622]

During the Spanish era Rondalya music, where traditional string orchestra mandolin type instruments were used, was widespread.^[623][624] Spanish-influenced music are mostly bandurria-based bands that use 14-string guitars.^[625][624] Kundiman developed in the 1920s and 1930s^[626] and had a renaissance in the postwar period.^[627] The American colonial period exposed many Filipinos to U.S. culture and popular forms of music.^[626] Rock music was introduced to Filipinos in the 1960s and developed into Filipino rock, or "Pinoy rock", a term encompassing diverse styles such as pop rock, alternative rock, heavy metal, punk, new wave, ska, and reggae. Martial law in the 1970s produced several Filipino folk rock bands and artists who were at the forefront of political demonstrations.^[628] The 1970s also saw the birth of Manila Sound^[629] and Original Pilipino Music (OPM).^[630] Filipino hip-hop traces its origins back to 1979, entering the mainstream in 1990.^[631][628] Karaoke is a popular activity in the country.^[632] From 2010 to 2020, Philippine pop music or P-pop went through a metamorphosis in its variety, and was heavily influenced by K-pop and J-pop.^[633]

Locally produced spoken dramas became established in the late 1870s. Around the same time, Spanish influence led to the introduction of zarzuela plays which integrated musical pieces,^[634] and of comedia plays which included more significant dance elements. Such performances became popular throughout the country^[635] and were written in a number of local languages.^[634] American influence led to the introduction of vaudeville and ballet.^[635] During the 20th century the realism genre became more dominant, with performances written to focus on contemporary political and societal issues.^[634]

Literature

José Rizal is a pioneer of Philippine Revolution through his literary works.

Philippine literature comprises works usually written in Filipino, Spanish, or English. Some of the earliest published and well-known works were created from the 17th to 19th century.^[636] These include Ibong Adarna, a famous epic about an eponymous magical bird allegedly written by José de la Cruz or "Huseng Sisiw";^[637] and Florante at Laura, which was written by Francisco Balagtas—a preeminent writer in the Tagalog language.^[638][639] José Rizal wrote the novels Noli Me Tángere (Touch Me Not, also known as Social Cancer) and El filibusterismo (The Filibustering, also known as The Reign of Greed).^[638]

Philippine folk literature was relatively unaffected by colonial influence until the 19th century due to the Spanish's refusal to teach their language to Filipinos. Most printed literary works during the Spanish colonial rule were religious in nature, although Filipino elites who later learned the Spanish language wrote literary pieces, many of which contained nationalistic sentiments.^[640] The arrival of the Americans marked the start of Filipinos' use of the English language in literature.^[641] In the late 1960s during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, Philippine literature was greatly influenced by political activism; many poets began using the Tagalog language in keeping with the country's oral traditions.^[642]

Philippine mythology has been handed down primarily through the traditional oral folk literature of the Filipino people;^[643] some popular figures from Philippine mythologies are Maria Makiling,^[644] Lam-ang,^[645] and the Sarimanok.^[646][647] The Philippines also has a considerable number of folk epics;^[648] wealthier families were able to preserve transcriptions of these epics as family heirlooms, particularly in Mindanao; the Darangen—a Maranao epic—was one such example.^[649]

Media

People's Television Network, the Philippines' main state television station

Philippine media uses mainly Filipino and English, though broadcasting has shifted to Filipino.^[423] Television shows, commercials, and films are regulated by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.^[650][651] Most Filipinos get news and information from television, the Internet,^[652] and social media.^[653][654] The country's flagship state-owned broadcasting television network is the People's Television Network (PTV).^[655] ABS-CBN and GMA, both being free-to-air, were the dominant television networks;^[656] prior to the controversial expiration of its network's franchise in May 2020, ABS-CBN, was the country's largest network.^[657] Philippine television dramas, known as teleseryes—mostly produced by ABS-CBN and GMA—are viewed in several countries.^[658][659]

Moving pictures were first shown in the Philippines on January 1, 1897,^[660][661] and the country's earliest films were all in Spanish.^[662][663] Local film-making started in 1919 with the release of the first Filipino-produced feature film, Dalagang Bukid (A Girl from the Country) directed by Jose Nepomuceno, known as the "Father of Philippine Movies".^[115][664] Production companies remained small during the era of silent film, but 1933 saw the emergence of sound films and the arrival of the first significant production company. The postwar 1940s up to the early 1960s are regarded as a high point for Philippine cinema. The years 1962–1971 marked a decline in quality film-making, although the commercial film industry expanded during these years up to the 1980s;^[115] critically acclaimed Philippine films include Himala (Miracle) and Oro, Plata, Mata, both released in 1982.^[665][666] Since the turn of the 21st century, the Philippine film industry has struggled to compete with larger budget foreign films,^[667] particularly those of Hollywood, which, aside from the cost of film production, has severely reduced local filmmaking.^[668][669] Nonetheless, art house cinema has been thriving,^[670] and several indie films find success within the Philippines^[671][670] and internationally.^[672][673]

The Philippines has a large number of both radio stations and newspapers.^[656] English broadsheets are popular among executives, professionals and students;^[674] cheaper Tagalog tabloids, which saw a rise in the 1990s, tend to be popular among the masses—particularly in Manila^{[674][675][676]}—although newspaper readership continues to decline.^[653] The top three newspapers by nationwide readership and credibility^[677] are the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Bulletin, and The Philippine Star.^[678][679] While freedom of the press is protected by the constitution,^[680] the country was listed by the Committee to Protect Journalists in 2022 as the seventh most dangerous country for journalists due to the 13 remaining unsolved cases of journalist murders.^[681]

The Philippine population is the world's top internet user.^[682] In early 2021, 67 percent of Filipinos, or 73.91 million, had Internet access, with an overwhelming majority of users accessing the Internet via smartphones.^[683] Social networking and watching videos are among the most frequent Internet activities.^[684] The Philippines ranked 51st in the Global Innovation Index in 2021,^[685] a considerable increase from its ranking of 100th in 2014.^[686]

Holidays and festivals

A participant of the Ati-Atihan Festival, the Philippines' most famous fiesta^[687]

Public holidays in the Philippines are classified as regular or special.^[688] The government policy of holiday economics since 2007 allowed the observance of public holidays to be moved to the nearest weekend to boost domestic tourism.^[689][690] As of 2023^[update], there are 10 regular holidays:^[691]

Festivals in the Philippines are mostly religious-based, and most towns and villages celebrate their own fiesta, usually to honor a patron saint.^[692][693] Among the more famous festivals include the Ati-Atihan, Dinagyang, Moriones and Sinulog.^{[694][695][696]} Christmas season in the Philippines begins as early as September 1,^[697] while Holy Week is an annually anticipated solemn religious observance for the country's Christian population.^[698][697]

Cuisine

A pot of fish sinigang

From its Malayo-Polynesian origins, traditional Philippine cuisine has evolved since the 16th century and was influenced mainly by Hispanic, Chinese, and American cuisines, which were adapted to the Filipino palate.^[699][700] Filipino taste buds tend to favor robust flavors^[701] centered on sweet, salty, and sour combinations.^[702] Regional variations exist throughout the Philippines; rice is the country's staple starch^[703] while cassava is more common in parts of Mindanao.^[704][705] The unofficial national dish is the Philippine adobo.^[706] Other popular dishes include lechón, kare-kare, sinigang,^[707] pancit, lumpia, and arroz caldo.^{[708][709][710]} Many traditional desserts are rice-based various kakanin (rice cakes), which include puto,^[711] suman, and bibingka.^[712][713] Ingredients such as calamansi,^[714] ube,^[715] and pili are used as flavor profiles in Filipino desserts.^[716][717] The generous use of condiments such as patis, bagoong, and toyo give a distinctive Philippine flavor unique among other cuisines.^[711][718]

Unlike other East or Southeast Asian countries, most Filipinos do not eat with chopsticks; they use spoons and forks.^[719] The traditional way of eating with one's fingers^[720] known as kamayan was previously more often seen in the less urbanized areas^[705] but has been popularized upon the introduction of Filipino food to people of other nationalities and to Filipino urbanites.^[721][722] This recent trend also sometimes incorporates the "boodle fight" concept (as popularized and coined by the Philippine Army), wherein banana leaves are used as giant plates on top of which rice portions and Filipino viands are placed all together for a filial, friendly or communal kamayan feasting.^[723]

Sports

Philippines men's national basketball team celebrating the 2015 Southeast Asian Games championship

Basketball is played at both amateur and professional levels and is considered to be the most popular sport in the Philippines.^[724][725] Other popular sports include boxing and billiards, boosted by the achievements of Manny Pacquiao and Efren Reyes.^[726][727] The national martial art and sport of the country is Arnis.^[728][729] Sabong or cockfighting is another popular entertainment especially among Filipino men and was documented by Magellan's voyage as a pastime in the kingdom of Taytay.^[730]

The men's national football team has participated in one Asian Cup.^[731] In January 2022, the women's national football team qualified in their first FIFA Women's World Cup—the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup—upon defeating Chinese Taipei 4–3 in a penalty shootout after finishing 1–1 in extra time.^[732]

Beginning in 1924, the Philippines has competed in every Summer Olympic Games, except when they sat out during the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics.^[733][734] The Philippines is the first tropical nation to compete at the Winter Olympic Games debuting in the 1972 Olympics.^[735][736] In 2021, the country tallied its first ever Olympic gold medal via weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz's victory at the Tokyo Olympics.^[737]

Discover more about Culture related topics

Culture of the Philippines

Culture of the Philippines

The culture of the Philippines is characterized by cultural diversity. Although the multiple ethnic groups of the Philippine archipelago have only recently established a shared Filipino national identity, their cultures were all shaped by the geography and history of the region, and by centuries of interaction with neighboring cultures, and colonial powers. In more recent times, Filipino culture has also been influenced through its participation in the global community. "

Banaue Rice Terraces

Banaue Rice Terraces

The Banaue Rice Terraces are terraces that were carved into the mountains of Banaue, Ifugao, in the Philippines, by the ancestors of the Igorot people. The terraces are occasionally called the "Eighth Wonder of the World". It is commonly thought that the terraces were built with minimal equipment, largely by hand. The terraces are located approximately 1,500 metres above sea level. These are fed by an ancient irrigation system from the rainforests above the terraces. It is said that if the steps were put end to end, it would encircle half of the globe.

Ifugao people

Ifugao people

The Ifugao people are the ethnic group inhabiting Ifugao Province. They reside in the municipalities of Lagawe, Aguinaldo, Alfonso Lista, Asipulo, Banaue, Hingyon, Hungduan, Kiangan, Lamut, Mayoyao, and Tinoc. The province is one of the smallest provinces in the Philippines with an area of only 251,778 hectares, or about 0.8% of the total Philippine land area. As of 1995, the population of the Ifugaos was counted to be 131,635. Although the majority of them are still in Ifugao province, some of them have moved to Baguio, where they work as woodcarvers, and to other parts of the Cordillera Region.

Banaue

Banaue

Banaue, officially the Municipality of Banaue is a 4th class municipality in the province of Ifugao, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 20,652 people. 

Filipino nationalism

Filipino nationalism

Filipino nationalism refers to the establishment and support of a political identity associated with the modern nation-state of the Philippines, leading to a wide-ranging campaign for political, social, and economic freedom in the Philippines. This gradually emerged from various political and armed movements throughout most of the Spanish East Indies—but which has long been fragmented and inconsistent with contemporary definitions of such nationalism—as a consequence of more than three centuries of Spanish rule. These movements are characterized by the upsurge of anti-colonialist sentiments and ideals which peaked in the late 19th century led mostly by the ilustrado or landed, educated elites, whether peninsulares, insulares, or native (Indio). This served as the backbone of the first nationalist revolution in Asia, the Philippine Revolution of 1896. The modern concept would later be fully actualized upon the inception of a Philippine state with its contemporary borders after being granted independence by the United States by the 1946 Treaty of Manila.

National revival

National revival

National revival or national awakening is a period of ethnic self-consciousness that often precedes a political movement for national liberation but that can take place at a time when independence is politically unrealistic. In the history of Europe, national revivals are most commonly associated with the period of romantic nationalism that started in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Catálogo alfabético de apellidos

Catálogo alfabético de apellidos

The Catálogo alfabético de apellidos is a book of surnames in the Philippines and other islands of Spanish East Indies published in the mid-19th century. This was in response to a Spanish colonial decree establishing the distribution of Spanish family names and local surnames among colonial subjects who did not have a prior surname. It is also the reason why Filipinos share some of the same surnames as many Spaniards and other Hispanic countries. Among Filipinos, a Spanish surname does not necessarily imply Spanish ancestry.

Fast food

Fast food

Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredients and served in packaging for take-out/take-away. Fast food was created as a commercial strategy to accommodate large numbers of busy commuters, travelers and wage workers. In 2018, the fast food industry was worth an estimated $570 billion globally.

Filipino values

Filipino values

Filipino values are social constructs within Filipino culture which define that which is socially considered to be desirable. The Filipino value system describes "the commonly shared and traditionally established system of values underlying Filipino behavior" within the context of the larger Filipino cultural system. These relate to the unique assemblage of consistent ideologies, moral codes, ethical practices, etiquette and personal and cultural values that are promoted by Filipino society.

Mano (gesture)

Mano (gesture)

Mano or pagmamano is an "honoring-gesture" used in Filipino culture performed as a sign of respect to elders and as a way of requesting a blessing from the elder. Similar to hand-kissing, the person giving the greeting bows towards the hand of the elder and presses their forehead on the elder's hand. Usually performed with the right hand, the person showing respect may ask "Mano po" or "[Pa-]bless po" to the elder in order to ask permission to initiate the gesture. Typically someone may mano to their older relatives upon entry into their home or upon seeing them.

Filipino styles and honorifics

Filipino styles and honorifics

In the Philippine languages, a complex system of titles and honorifics was used extensively during the pre-colonial era, mostly by the Tagalogs and Visayans. These were borrowed from the Malay system of honorifics obtained from the Moro peoples of Mindanao, which in turn was based on the Indianized Sanskritized honorifics system in addition to the Chinese system of honorifics used in areas like Ma-i (Mindoro) and Pangasinan. Indian influence is evidenced by the titles of historical figures such as Rajah Sulayman, Lakandula and Dayang Kalangitan. Malay titles are still used by the royal houses of Sulu, Maguindanao, Maranao and Iranun on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, but these are retained on a traditional basis as the 1987 Constitution explicitly reaffirms the abolition of royal and noble titles in the republic.

Arts in the Philippines

Arts in the Philippines

The Arts in the Philippines are all the arts in the Philippines, from the beginning of civilization to the present. They reflect a range of artistic influences on the country's culture, including indigenous art. Philippine art consists of two branches: traditional and non-traditional art. Each branch is divided into categories and subcategories.