OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of the Philippines
CAPITAL: Manila
SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT: Unitary Republic
AREA: 299,679 Sq Km (115,707 Sq Mi)
ESTIMATED 2000 POPULATION: 74,448,900
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About the Philippines

NAME: The Philippines was named after the Crown Prince Philip II of Spain. He was reputed to be an extreme introvert, austere, humorless, and unpopular. Dubbed the "Spider of the Escorial" because he seldom left his palace, Philip II reigned over the vast Spanish empire handed down by his father, Charles V, and was a leading patron of Catholicism.

LOCATION & GEOGRAPHY: The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,100 islands and islets located along the southeast rim of Asia. It is bound by the Philippines Sea to the east, the South China and Sulu Seas to the west and the Celebes Sea to the south. The country's major islands include Luzon, Mindanao, Samar, Palawan, Mindoro, Panay, Negros, Cebu, Leyte, Masbate and Bohol. Except for the two large islands of Luzon and Mindanao, the other islands are crests of submerged mountain ranges that contain over 47 volcanoes, of which around 12 are still active. The Luzon and Mindanao islands are a series of peninsulas connected together by plateaux and lowland strips while most of the rivers are short and seasonal in flow. The principal rivers are the Rio Grande de Cagayan, Agno, Abra, Bicol, Pampanga, Pasig and Agusan. Major Cities (pop. est.); Manila 1,894,700, Quezon City 1,627,900, Davao 867,800, Cebu 641,000, Caloocan 629,500, Zamboanga 453,200 (1991). Land Use; forested 46%, pastures 4%, agricultural-cultivated 31%, other 19% (1993).

CLIMATE: The Philippines has a tropical climate with a dry season from April to June and a rainy season from June to October with the hottest months being April and May. The Philippines lies within the world's severest cyclone belt and is affected by around 15 cyclones per year. Average annual precipitation in Manila is 2,080 mm (82 inches) while average temperature ranges are from 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) to 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit) all year.

PEOPLE: The Philippines has over 50 ethnic groups while the majority of Filipinos are of Malay descent and account for about 95% of the population. The remainder include ethnic minorities of Chinese and Americans.

DEMOGRAPHIC/VITAL STATISTICS: Density; 208 persons per sq km (539 persons per sq mi) (1991). Urban-Rural; 42.7% urban, 57.3% rural (1990). Sex Distribution; 50.2% male, 49.8% female (1990). Life Expectancy at Birth; 62.8 years male, 66.4 years female (1990). Age Breakdown; 39% under 15, 29% 15 to 29, 18% 30 to 44, 9% 45 to 59, 4% 60 to 74, 1% 75 and over (1990). Birth Rate; 30.0 per 1,000 (1990). Death Rate; 7.0 per 1,000 (1990). Increase Rate; 23.0 per 1,000 (1990). Infant Mortality Rate; 40.0 per 1,000 live births (1993).

RELIGIONS: Mostly Christians with around 84% of the population Roman Catholic while 6% are Protestant. The principal religious minorities are Muslims which account for less than 5% of the population while less than 1% are Buddhists.

LANGUAGES: The official languages are Filipino and English, with English the language of the government, commerce and media while 55% of the population speak Filipino. Some 87 languages and dialects are also spoken throughout the islands.

EDUCATION: Aged 25 or over and having attained: incomplete primary 11.7%, primary 53.8%, secondary 18.8%, higher 15.2%, unspecified 0.5% (1980). Literacy; literate population aged 15 or over 25,139,700 or 88.7% (1980).

CURRENCY: The official currency is the Peso (P) divided into 100 Centavos.

ECONOMY: Gross National Product; USD $54,593,000,000 (1993). Public Debt; USD $27,471,000,000 (1993). Imports; USD $22,638,000,000 (1994). Exports; USD $13,482,900,000 (1994). Tourism Receipts; USD $2,122,000,000 (1993). Balance of Trade; P -212,086,000,000 (1994). Economically Active Population; 26,822,000 or 39.7% of total population (1993). Unemployed; 8.9% (1993).

MAIN TRADING PARTNERS: Its main trading partners are the USA and Japan.

MAIN PRIMARY PRODUCTS: Abaca, Bananas, Chrome, Coal, Coconuts, Coffee, Copper, Fish, Gold, Iron, Maize, Nickel, Pineapples, Rice, Rubber, Sugar Cane, Timber, Tobacco.

MAJOR INDUSTRIES: Agriculture, Chemicals, Fishing, Food Processing, Forestry, Mining, Textiles.

MAIN EXPORTS: Clothing, Coconut Oils, Electronic Goods, Fruit and Vegetables, Metal Ores, Manila Hemp (Abaca), Sugar, Timber.

TRANSPORT: Railroads; route length 1,059 km (658 mi) (1989), passenger-km 240,000,000 (149,129,000 passenger-mi) (1989), cargo ton-km 60,000,000 (41,094,000 short ton-mi) (1989). Roads; length 159,069 km (98,841 mi) (1989). Vehicles; cars 834,123 (1988), trucks and buses 121,495 (1989). Merchant Marine; vessels 1,420 (1990), deadweight tonnage 14,158,957 (1990). Air Transport; passenger-km 8,543,000,000 (5,308,000,000 passenger-mi) (1990), cargo ton-km 273,511,000 (187,328,000 short ton-mi) (1990).

COMMUNICATIONS: Daily Newspapers; total of 43 with a total circulation of 3,200,000 (1992). Radio; receivers 8,300,000 (1994). Television; receivers 7,000,000 (1994). Telephones; units 859,800 (1993).

MILITARY: 106,500 (1995) total active duty personnel with 63.8% army, 21.6% navy and 14.6% air force while military expenditure accounts for 2.2% (1993) of the Gross National Product (GNP).

PHIPPINE HISTORY 1521 - PRESENT (MODERN HISTORY):

• 1521 Ferdinand Magellan discovers the Philippine Islands March 15. He tries to subdue the native chief Lapulapu (Big Mistake). He wades ashore on Mactan April 24 with 48 men in full armor, and is killed in a skirmish with Mactan warriors.
• 1571 Manila is founded May 19 by Miguel Lopez de Legazpe. He has subjugated the Philippine natives and moves his capital from Cebu to the new city, using it as a base for colonization.
• 1611 The University of Santo Tomas is founded at Manila.
• 1898 Commodore George Dewey, receives a secret cable February 25 from Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt ordering him to proceed with his Asiatic squadron to Hong Kong and prepare for an attack on the Spanish squadron in the Philippines in the event of war. The Battle of Manila Bay May 1 begins at 5:40 in the morning when Dewey says to the captain of his flagship, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley." By the time a cease-fire is ordered at 12:30 in the afternoon, all 10 ships in the Spanish squadron have been destroyed with a loss of 381 men, while eight Americans have been slightly wounded and none killed.
• 1898 A peace protocol is signed with Spain August 12, and the Treaty of Paris formally ends the war December 10. Spain withdraws from Cuba and cedes Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States, which pays $20 million for the Philippines.
• 1902 President Roosevelt officially ends the 'great insurrection' in the Philippines July 4 and commends US troops for upholding America's 'lawful sovereignty.'
• 1908 The University of the Philippines is founded at Manila.
• 1941 Japanese forces land on Luzon in the Philippines December 10.
• 1942 Japanese forces take Manila January 2. US troops on the Bataan peninsula surrender to Gen. Yamashita April 9.
• 1945 US forces invade the Philippines in force January 9 under the command of Gen. Douglas Macarthur who enters Manila February 4 and completes recovery of the city within 3 weeks.
• 1946 the Republic of the Philippines was established with Manuel Roxas as its first President.
• 1965 Ferdinand Marcos was elected President
• 1969 Ferdinand Marcos was reelected President
• 1972 Marcos imposed Martial Law and assumes near-dictatorial powers, on September 21 which lasted until 1980
• 1980 President Ferdinand Marcos ends 8 years of martial law January 17 and wins election to a second 6-year term June 16, but Marcos has effectively ended democracy in the country and stifled opposition, using anti- Communism to mask a policy of suppression.
• 1983 Former Philippine senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., returns from exile to Manila August 21 and is shot dead upon arrival by an unknown gunman who is himself immediately shot dead.
• 1986 Corazon C. Aquino assumes the presidency of the Philippine February 26 after winning election amidst charge of ballot tampering by Marcos. Widow of slain opposition leader Aquino, 'Cory' receives support from key military leaders. Marcos is flown to Guam after US pressure has been applied to make him leave Manila. He is given sanctuary in Hawaii (where he dies later in 1989) after a 20-year rule that has bled the country of perhaps $5 billion.
• 1990 Imelda Marcos was acquitted of racketeering, fraud and obstruction of justice charges by a US court. Also in the same year parts of the Philippines were devastated by an earthquake.
• 1991 November Imelda Marcos returned to the Philippines after the ban on her return was dropped.
• 1991 Mt. Pinatubo on Luzon Island erupted several times killing almost 300 people and leaving over 250,000 people homeless.
• 1992 Fidel V. Ramos former defense minister under Aquino was inaugurated as President
• 1992 Mt. Pinatubo began erupting again causing a further 72 deaths through lava and mud flows.
• 1992 Sept. 30 US Navy officially handed over the Subic Naval Base to the Philippines government, which also resulted in the loss of some 40,000 local jobs.
• 1993 Pres. Marcos' body was returned to the Philippines and later buried in northern Luzon