Not Signed In -
Philippines |
|
|
Article: Philippines
| Motto: Maka-Diyos, Makatao, Makakalikasan, at Makabansa (Filipino: For God, People, Nature, and Country) | |
| Anthem: Lupang Hinirang (Chosen Land) | |
 | |
| Capital | Manila |
| Largest city | Quezon City |
| Official language(s) | Filipino, English.[1] |
| Government | Unitary-presidential |
| - President | Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo |
| - Vice President | Noli de Castro |
| Independence | From Spain and U.S. |
| - Declared | June 12, 1898 |
| - Recognized | July 4, 1946 |
| - Current constitution | March 25, 1986 |
| Area | |
| - Total | 300,000 km² (72nd) |
| 115,831 sq mi | |
| - Water (%) | 0.6% |
| Population | |
| - July 2005 est. | 83,054,000 (13th) |
| - 2000 census | 76,504,077 |
| - Density | 276/km² (42nd) 715/sq mi |
| GDP (PPP) | 2005 estimate |
| - Total | $453 billion (25th) |
| - Per capita | $4,923 (102nd) |
| HDI (2003) | 0.758 (84th) – medium |
| Currency | Philippine peso (piso) (PHP) |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+8) |
| Internet TLD | .ph |
| Calling code | +63 |
The Philippines (Filipino: Pilipinas), officially the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas), is an island nation located in the Malay archipelago in Southeast Asia, with Manila as its capital. It lies 1,210 kilometers (750 mi) from mainland Asia and comprises 7,107 islands called the Philippine Archipelago, approximately 700 of which are inhabited.
The Philippines is a significant source of migrant workers; there are over 8 million overseas Filipinos and their remittances exceed $12 billion a year, an amount that forms a significant portion of the Philippines' gross national product. The Philippines is also an important destination for outsourcing and is an exporter of electronics, but its economy is largely agricultural. Manila, its densely populated capital, has been designated as a global city.
The country's name originated with Ruy López de Villalobos naming the islands of Samar and Leyte "Las Islas Filipinas," after King Philip II of Spain during his failed expedition in 1543. The archipelago was known under various names such as Spanish East Indies, New Castille (Nueva Castilla) and the St. Lazarus Islands (Islas de San Lázaro). Ultimately, the name Filipinas came to refer to the entire archipelago.
History
Archeological and paleontological evidence suggests that Homo sapiens existed in Palawan about 50,000 years ago. These prehistoric inhabitants are called Tabon Man, after the Palawan cave where fossil remains were found. During the Iron Age, an Austronesian-speaking people are known to have settled in the Philippines and most of the Malay archipelago. The Austronesian-speaking inhabitants of the Philippines maintained a maritime trading network with the rest of Southeast Asia as early as 5,000 B.C.E. Tamil traders from India and Chinese merchants arrived in the 8th century.
The Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, sailing for the Spanish king in an expedition to sail around the world, first set foot in the archipelago on March 18, 1521. He established diplomatic relations with some of the local chieftains and converted some of them to Roman Catholicism. However, Magellan was killed in the Battle of Mactan when he waged war against Lapu-Lapu, one of the chieftains who opposed foreign domination. One of Magellan's ships, the Victoria, returned to Spain and brought news about the islands and the new route to the Spice Islands. On April 27, 1565, the Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi and 500 soldiers came to the island of Cebu and established the first Spanish settlement on the islands.
Roman Catholic missionaries accompanied Spanish soldiers in the conquest of the islands. The Spaniards soon established churches and forts, while searching for gold and spices. Roman Catholicism replaced most of the indigenous religions and adopted by the majority. Sporadic rebellions occurred from tribal groups throughout the archipelago against Spanish occupation. The highland tribes of northern Luzon and the Muslims of the southern islands of Mindanao continued their resistance and maintained their sovereignty. The Spanish military fought off Chinese pirates, and Japanese, French, Portuguese, Dutch and British forces, all of whom also had an interest in the Philippines.
New Spain (through Mexico) ruled the Philippines until the Mexican independence. A burgeoning Manila Galleon or the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade began in the late 16th century. Spanish rule on the Philippines was briefly interrupted in 1762, when British troops invaded and occupied the islands as a result of Spain's entry into the Seven Years' War. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 restored Spanish rule and the British left in 1764. The brief British occupation weakened Spain's grip on power and sparked rebellions and demands for independence.
In 1781, Governor-General José Basco y Vargas established the Sociedad Económica de los Amigos del País (Economic Society of Friends of the Country). The Philippines by this time was administered directly from Spain. Developments in and out of the country helped to bring new ideas to the Philippines. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cut travel time to Spain. This prompted the rise of the ilustrados, the enlightened Filipino upper class, since many young Filipinos were able to study in Europe.
Enlightened by the Propaganda Movement to the injustices of the Spanish colonial government and the "frailocracy", Filipinos originally clamored for adequate representation to the Spanish Cortes and later for independence. José Rizal, the most celebrated intellectual and radical illustrado of the era, wrote the novels Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) and El Filibusterismo (The Filibuster), both now required academic reading at Filipino primary schools. On July 3, 1892, José Rizal founded the La Liga Filipina, which called for peaceful reforms. On July 7, 1892, after José Rizal was arrested, Andrés Bonifacio, a founding member of the La Liga Filipina, founded the Katipunan, ("Kataas-taasang Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga anak ng Inang Bayan"). The Katipunan advocated revolution and complete independence, and established a national revolutionary government with Bonifacio as the Supremo (leader).
The Philippine Revolution began on August 26, 1896 when Andrés Bonifacio declared Philippine independence and called for an immediate armed struggle, known as the Cry of Balintawak. Rizal was implicated in the outbreak of the revolution and executed for treason on December 30, 1896. The revolution quickly spread throughout the islands. However, the leadership of Bonifacio was challenged in the province of Cavite where two local factions of the Katipunan established separate provincial governments, the Magdiwang, which recognized Bonifacio's authority, and the Magdalo, which recognized the leadership of revolutionary general Emilio Aguinaldo, a mayor of Kawit, Cavite. After failing to oust Bonifacio from leadership of the Katipunan, the Magdalo faction established a Cavite-led revolutionary government, as an alternative to the Katipunan, with Aguinaldo as President. Aguinaldo ordered Bonifacio's arrest and execution for alleged treason and sedition. On May 10, 1897, the founder of the Katipunan was murdered by Aguinaldo's soldiers. The power struggle within the revolutionary movement and the murder of Bonifacio resulted in the collapse of the Katipunan. Withdrawal of support of Aguinaldo weakened his leadership of the revolution. The Spanish forces captured the province of Cavite and Aguinaldo was forced to retreat. On May 17, 1897, a few days after the death of Bonifacio, the Spanish Governor General Primo de Rivera proclaimed the revolution was over. On December 15, 1897, Aguinaldo agreed to a truce with the Spanish forces and signed the Pact of Biak na Bato. Aguinaldo accepted 400,000 pesos from Spain and agreed to leave for exile to Hong Kong. However, other revolutionary leaders did not recognize Aguinaldo's authority and continued the war for independence. In Central Luzon, revolutionary general Francisco Makabulos established a revolutionary government with its own constitution.
The Spanish-American war began in 1898 after the United States battleship USS Maine was destroyed by an explosion and sunk in the Havana harbor in Cuba, one of Spain's colonies. After Commodore George Dewey defeated the Spanish squadron at Manila, Aguinaldo was invited and returned to the Philippines on May 19, 1898, in the hope he would rally Filipinos against the Spanish colonial government. Five days later he proclaimed himself dictator. On June 12, 1898 Aguinaldo declared the independence of the Philippines in Kawit, Cavite. Simultaneously, a German squadron under Admiral Diedrichs arrived in Manila and declared that if the United States did not seize the Philippines as a colonial possession, Germany would. Since Spain and the U.S. ignored the Filipino representative, Felipe Agoncillo, during their negotiations in the Treaty of Paris, the Battle for Manila between Spain and the U.S. was perceived by some to be an attempt to exclude the Filipinos from the eventual occupation of Manila. [citation needed]
Spain was forced in the negotiations by Paris officials, to hand over the Philippines to the United States, in exchange for US$ 20,000,000.00, which the United States of America later acknowlege to the Filipinos, to be a gift handed by Spain to them. [citation needed] The first Philippine Republic rebelled against the U.S. occupation, which prevented its independence and refused to return the country's sovereignty back to the Filipinos. [citation needed] This resulted in the Philippine-American War of 1899.
By 1913, most Filipino soldiers surrendered to the United States and the islands slowly came under overall American control and were organized as a United States territory. In the First World War of 1914-1919, thousands of Filipinos joined the United States Army and Navy and were sent to fight alongside American, French, British and the British Commonwealth soldiers against Germany and the rest of the Central Powers in Europe. In 1935, the country's status was upgraded to that of an American Commonwealth. Later, plans were made to grant the islands independence in the next decade. Independence for the Philippines was finally granted on July 4, 1946, even after Japan invaded and occupied the islands during World War II, causing some to call for a delay in the granting of independence, which call was nonetheless discounted by a majority of American and Filipino politicians alike.
Since 1946, the Philippines has faced some economic and political instability. The Hukbalahaps (Filipino: Hukbong ng Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon or People's Army Against the Japanese), guerillas who fought against the Japanese during World War II, became a security concern to the new Philippine government and the United States for their communist ideology. The Hukbalahap guerillas demanded recognition as World War II freedom fighters and a share in war reparations. They won the support of many peasants with promises of land reform, and even participated in democratic elections after the war. They clandestinely organized and mounted anti-government campaigns of sedition and open hostilities against government forces, and conducted terrorist activities, including kidnappings, massacres, assassinations, rapes and extortion. [citation needed] They threatened the countryside, and subsequently the capital, Quezon City, and Manila in the 1950s. The government's counterinsurgency campaign eventually forced Huk Supremo (leader) Luis Taruc to surrender to the young reporter Benigno Aquino Jr., who was later elected Senator, and Secretary of Defense Ramón Magsaysay, who then became President.
The late 1960s and early 1970s saw the rise of student activism, nationalistic demonstrations, and protests against the Vietnam War and American imperialism. A constitutional convention composed of elected delegates drafted a new constitution to replace the American-approved 1935 Commonwealth constitution. This period was marred by civil unrest and exposés on corruption. On September 21, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law. The new constitution was subsequently enforced through somewhat questionable means, [citation needed] as the propriety of its ratification was challenged in the Supreme Court. This culminated in the resignation of Chief Justice Roberto Concepcion. With martial law, President Ferdinand Marcos ruled by decree and extended both his power and his tenure by extralegal means. His authoritarian rule became marred with unmitigated, pervasive corruption, cronyism and despotism. As a result, public outcry and dissidence resurged to new highs.
In the People Power Revolution of 1986, Marcos and his family were exiled to Hawaii, as Corazon Aquino, widow of assassinated Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., assumed the reins of government in the aftermath of a hotly contested snap election. Following this revolution, in 1987 the current Constitution of the Philippines was adopted. While some cite a return to democracy and governmental reform in the post-Marcos era,[citation needed] government corruption, continuing civil unrest and the activity of communist insurgency and Muslim separatist movements continue to hamper economic productivity in the country. Government corruption and cronyism led to the downfall of Joseph Estrada's presidency. The current administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been hounded by allegations of corruption and election rigging.
Politics and government
- More information on politics and government of the Philippines can be found at the Politics and government of the Philippines series.
| Flag | National Flag (Pambansang Watawat) |
| Anthem | Lupang Hinirang |
| Patriotic Song | Pilipinas Kong Mahal |
| Gem | South Sea pearls |
| Dance | Cariñosa (formerly Tinikling) |
| Animal | Carabao / Tamaraw |
| Bird | Philippine Eagle (formerly the Tree Sparrow or Maya) |
| Fish | Milkfish (Bangus) |
| Flower | Arabian Jasmine (Sampaguita) |
| Tree | Angsana (Narra) |
| Leaf | Fan palm (Anahaw) |
| Fruit | Mango |
| Sport | Sipa |
| Costume | Barong and Baro't saya |
| Hero | José P. Rizal |
The government of the Philippines is organized as a presidential-unitary republic, where the President functions as head of state, the head of government, and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The president is elected by popular vote to a 6-year term, during which he or she appoints and presides over the cabinet of secretaries.
The bicameral Congress comprises the Senate and the House of Representatives; members of the former are elected at large and those of the latter by geographical district. The 24 senators serve 6-year terms, with half retiring every three years, while the House of Representatives comprises 250 members serving 3-year terms.
The judicial branch of government is headed by the Supreme Court, with a Chief Justice as its head and 14 Associate Justices, all appointed by the President from nominations submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council. Other courts include the Court of Appeals, the Regional Trial Courts and the Metropolitan Trial Courts.
As of June 2006 President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is hoping to get agreement to amend the constitution to a unicameral federal, parliamentary system similar to the German constitution. The country would be split into “states” with each one having a local legislature responsibility for certain functions. Included in the amendments are plans to remove/ease the current ban on foreign ownership of property, land and commercial organizations in the Philippines. Plans have been announced to decentralize government by moving departments from Manila to the provinces, such as the Department of Tourism to Cebu City, the Department of Foreign Affairs to Angeles City, and the Department of Agrarian Reform to Iloilo City.
The Philippines is a founding and active member of the United Nations since its inception on October 24, 1945 and is a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Philippines is also a member of the East Asia Summit (EAS), an active player in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Latin Union and a member of the Group of 24. The country is a major non-NATO ally of the U.S., but also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement.
The Philippines, along with the nation of Malta, is one of two nations in the world where all civil marriages are for life, because civil divorce is banned.
The Philippines is currently in a dispute with Taiwan, China, Vietnam and Malaysia over the oil- and natural gas-rich Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, and with Malaysia over Sabah. The Sultan of Sulu, who received Sabah as a gift in 1703 having helped the Sultan of Brunei defeat a rebellion, has given the Philippine Government power to reclaim his lost territory. To this day, the Sultan of Sulu's family receives "rental" payments for Sabah from the Malaysian government.
- See also: Foreign relations of the Philippines, President of the Philippines, and Constitution of the Philippines
Administrative divisions
- Main articles: Provinces of the Philippines, Regions of the Philippines
The Philippines is divided into a hierarchy of local government units (LGUs) with the 79 provinces as the primary unit. Provinces are further subdivided into cities and municipalities, which are in turn composed of barangays. The barangay is the smallest local government unit.
The Philippines is divided into 17 regions with all provinces grouped into one of 16 regions for administrative convenience. The National Capital Region however, is divided into four special districts.
Most government offices establish regional offices to serve the constituent provinces. The regions themselves do not possess a separate local government, with the exception of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Regions
|
|
¹ Names are capitalized because they are acronyms, containing the names of the constituent provinces or cities (see Acronyms in the Philippines).
² These regions formed the former Southern Tagalog region, or Region IV.
³ Palawan is moved from Region IV-B as known as MIMAROPA to Region VI. Starting November 2005, Region IV-B will be called MIMARO, decreased from 5 to 4 and Region VI are increased from 7 to 8.
Geography
The Philippines constitutes an archipelago of 7,107 islands with a total land area of approximately 300,000 square kilometres (116,000 sq. mi). It lies between 116° 40' and 126° 34' E. longitude, and 4° 40' and 21° 10' N. latitude, and borders the Philippine Sea on the east, on the South China Sea the west, and the Celebes Sea on the south. The island of Borneo lies a few hundred kilometers southwest and Taiwan directly north. The Moluccas and Sulawesi are to the south, and Palau is to the east beyond the Philippine Sea.
The islands are commonly divided into three island groups: Luzon (Regions I to V, NCR & CAR), Visayas (VI to VIII), and Mindanao (IX to XIII & ARMM). The busy port of Manila, on Luzon, is the national capital and second largest city after its suburb Quezon City.
The local climate is hot, humid, and tropical. The average yearly temperature is around 26.5°C (79.7°F). There are three recognized seasons: Tag-init or Tag-araw (the hot season or summer from March to May), Tag-ulan (the rainy season from June to November), and Taglamig (the cold season from December to February). The southwest monsoon (May-October) is known as the "habagat" and the dry winds of the northeast monsoon (November-April) as the "amihan".
Most of the mountainous islands used to be covered in tropical rainforest and are volcanic in origin. The highest point is Mount Apo on Mindanao at 2,954 metres (9,692 ft). There are many active volcanos such as Mayon Volcano, Mount Pinatubo, and Taal Volcano. The country also lies within the typhoon belt of the Western Pacific and about 19 typhoons strike per year.
Lying on the northwestern fringes of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activities. Some 20 earthquakes are registered daily in the Philippines, though most are too weak to be felt.
- See also: Ecoregions of the Philippines
Economy
The Philippines is a developing country with an agricultural base, light industry, and service-sector economy. The Philippines has one of the most vibrant business process outsourcing (BPO) industries in Asia. Numerous call centers and BPO firms have infused momentum into the Philippine market, generating thousands of jobs and improving their services with many clients, including Fortune 500 companies.
The Philippines currently ranks 119th out of 178 countries placing The Philippines above outsource-rich India (134) and the oil-rich Nigeria (135) as per the GDP per capita. China has sped past the Philippines in per capita GDP the last few years, and the lead over Vietnam is closing fast.
The resiliency of the Philippine economy due to low foreign inflows and an agriculture based economy allowed it to snap back from international crises as evidenced by 3% growth in 1999 and accelerated to 4% in 2000. By 2004, the Philippine economy catapulted to over 6% growth after the Asian economic crisis of the late 1990's.
Government initiatives are designed to match the pace of development in the newly industrialized countries (NICs) of East Asia. Economic strategies are implemented to manage a public debt comprising 77% of the GDP. This priority manifests as a budget allocation set higher than the budget for education and defense combined. The Philippine middle class is essential to economic prosperity. Although proportionately smaller, the Philippine middle class is scheduled to grow.
Strategies for streamlining the economy include continuous improvements of infrastructure, efficient tax systems to bolster government revenues, furthering deregulation and privatisation of the economy, and increasing trade integration within the region and across the world.
On November 1, 2005, a newly expanded value added tax (E-VAT) law was instituted as a measure to bridle the rising foreign debt and to improve government services such as education, healthcare, social security, and transportation. As of 2006, The Philippines' economic prosperity also depends in large part on how well its two biggest trading partners' economies perform: the US and Japan.
The Philippines is a member of the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and other international economic associations, such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Colombo Plan, and the G-77.
In 2005, the Philippine peso was hailed by Forbes magazine as Asia's best performing currency. The Philippines' 1st quarter GDP growth was within the government's programmed growth of 5.5% buoyed by the rebound of the agriculture sector and a strong service sector performance however, the economy is still vulnerable to high world oil prices and political instability. There are few promising developments though: one is the strong fiscal performance that the government has put in place as well as the mining boom that will generate additional revenues for the government and additional jobs if this sector is fully tapped as the Philippines is a mineral-rich country. The country’s export rose by more than 15 percent in January-April this year, while investments increased by $2 billion over that of the same four-month period last year.
Despite the growing economy, the Philippines will have to address several chronic problems in the future. Income inequality remains persistent; about 30 million people lived on less than $2 per day on 2005. China and India have emerged as major economic competitors, siphoning away investors who would otherwise have invested in the Philippines, particularly telecom companies. Regional development is also somewhat uneven, with the main island Luzon and Metro Manila gaining most of the new economic growth at the expense of the other regions.
Demographics
- Main articles: Demographics of the Philippines, Ethnic groups of the Philippines
The Philippines is the world's thirteenth most populous country, with a population of over 85 million as of 2005[2]. Roughly two-thirds reside on the island of Luzon. Manila, the capital, is the eleventh most populous metropolitan area in the world. The education system is efficient and based on the US curriculum. The literacy rate is 95.9%, one of the highest in Asia, and about equal for males and females. Life expectancy is 69.91 years, with 72.28 years for females and 66.44 years for males. Population growth per year is about 1.92%, with 26.3 births per 1,000 people. In the 100 years since the 1903 Census, the population has grown by a factor of eleven. This represents a much faster rate of growth than other countries in the region (eg Indonesia has grown five-fold over the same period).
The people of the Philippines are called Filipinos. According to government statistics, anthropological research, and genetic studies, the majority of Filipinos are descended from the various Austronesian-speaking migrants who arrived in successive waves over a thousand years ago from southern China, via Taiwan. These ethnic Filipinos are divided into various ethnolinguistic groups, the three most numerous being the Tagalogs, Cebuanos, and the Ilocanos. The Negritos or Aetas, also known as the aboriginal inhabitants of the Philippines, were largely displaced by the invading Austronesian-speaking migrants, and are today thought to number less than 30,000 people (0.03%).
Filipino mestizos, or persons of mixed indigenous heritage and Spanish or other foreign ancestry (not counting admixture already contributed during the pre-history formation of the population) form a tiny but economically and politically important minority. A Stanford University small-in study, concluded that about 3.6% of all Filipinos have some European genes, most probably Spanish.
The three largest foreign minorities are the ethnic Chinese, the Americans, and the South Asians. The remaining foreign population consists of other smaller but important groups, including Spaniards, other Europeans, Arabs, Indonesians, Koreans, Japanese, and other Asians. The Philippines is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in Asia because of the vast number of native ethnolinguistic groups.
Language
More than 170 languages are spoken in the country, almost all of them belonging to the Western Malayo-Polynesian language group of the Austronesian language family. According to the 1987 Constitution, Filipino, based on Tagalog, and English are both the official languages.
The twelve major regional languages are auxiliary languages of their respective regions, each with over one million speakers: Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilokano, Hiligaynon, Waray-Waray, Bikol, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, Kinaray-a, Maranao, Maguindanao, and Tausug.
The use of Spanish in the Philippines has declined since the Americans changed the language of government and education to English. Spanish ceased to be the language of instruction in schools and universities around 1910. It ceased to be an official language in 1973, and part of the college curriculum in 1987. According to the 1990 census, there are 2,658 Spanish speakers while the 2000 census lists 600,700 speakers of Chavacano, a Spanish-based creole language. Thousands of Spanish loanwords have been adopted into Philippine languages, and there are around 13 million Spanish documents in the Philippine archives. Courts of law still recognize documents written in Spanish. However, the common consensus is that Spanish is no longer a living and working language in the Philippines.
Min Nan Chinese is widely spoken by the country's Chinese minority.
Religion
The Philippines is the third largest Christian nation. About 92% of all Filipinos are Christians: 83% belong to the Roman Catholic Church while yet another 2% belong to the Old-Catholic Philippine Independent Church, and the other 10% belong to various Protestant denominations. Although Christianity is a major force in the culture of the Filipinos, a small minority practices animism with indigenous traditions and rituals.
The Roman Catholic Church exerts considerable influence in both governmental and non-governmental affairs, despite a constitutional provision for the separation of Church and State. The Philippines currently has three cardinals, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Jose Cardinal Sanchez and Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales. The late Jaime Cardinal Sin was a leading spiritual leader in the country and was an active participant in People Power I and People Power II. He died on June 21, 2005. Cardinal Vidal is the archbishop of Cebu. Cardinal Sanchez is the former Prefect of Congregation of the Clergy, Roman Curia. Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales serves as the archbishop of Manila. The most famous cathedral is the huge Manila Cathedral.
Intramuros is currently the seat of the Archdiocese of Manila Among the numerous Protestant and other Christian denominations are 14 Calvary Chapel churches, Seventh-day Adventists, Church of Christ, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, United Methodist, the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, Assemblies of God, the United Pentecostal Church International, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Jehovah's Witnesses, and Philippine (American or Southern Affiliated) Baptist denominations.
In addition, there are two churches established by local religious leaders: the Philippine Independent Church (Iglesia Filipina Independiente) or "Aglipayan" and the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ). Also, a majority of indigenous peoples, estimated to number between 12 and 16 million, reportedly are Christian. However, many indigenous groups mix elements of their native religions with Christian beliefs and practices.
The Philippine Independent Church was the religious arm of the revolution against Spain. While the revolutionary government under Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo confiscated all of the friar haciendas and other properties of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines, the Aglipayans were allowed by the revolutionary government to take over the Roman Catholic parishes and churches. When the U.S. occupied the Philippines, however, the friar haciendas were returned to the Roman Catholic Church and were eventually purchased by the Insular Government set up by the U.S. The parishes and churches taken over by the Aglipayans were returned to the Roman Catholic Church.
Approximately 5% of Filipinos are Muslim and live primarily in parts of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago, which border Borneo and Sulawesi. Most lowland Muslim Filipinos practice normative Islam, although the practices of some Mindanao's hill tribe Muslims reflect a fusion with Animism. The Muslims have resisted conquest and conversion for centuries by the Spanish and the Americans. Various Muslim groups have been waging a decades-long armed campaign against the Philippine government for political self-determination. Groups such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front have been using terrorism as a means to achieve this goal.
Culture
The foundation of Filipino culture is based on a combination of the closely related native traditions of the various regional indigenous groups of the Philippines, with the Hispanic culture, present in the islands for over three centuries. Such native groups include the Tagalogs, Ilokanos, Cebuanos, Illonggos, Bikolanos, and others. Philippine culture, however, has also been influenced by Chinese, American, Indonesian and Indian cultures.
The Hispanic influences in Filipino culture are largely derived from the culture of Spain as a result of over three centuries of Spanish colonial rule. These Hispanic influences are most visible in the form of customs and practices related to the Catholic church, especially in religious festivals. Every year, Filipinos from around the country hold major festivities known as barrio fiestas, which commemorate the patron saints of the towns, villages and regional districts. The festival season is celebrated with church ceremonies, street parades in honor of the patron saints, fireworks, beauty and dance contests, and cockfighting tournaments. The most obvious Hispanic legacy, however, is the prevalence of Spanish surnames among Filipinos. This peculiarity, unique among the people of Asia, came as a result of a colonial decree for the systematic distribution of family names and implementation of the Spanish naming system on the inhabitants of the Philippines.
The Chinese influences in Filipino culture are most evident in Filipino cuisine, which it has totally penetrated. The prevalence of noodles, known locally as mami, as well as other foods like seafood dishes are a testament of the Chinese. Other Chinese influences include linguistic borrowings and the occasional Chinese derived surnames.
American cultural influence in the Philippines is relatively recent, dating from the beginning of the twentieth century. The use of English within the Philippines is America's most obvious legacy. The most commonly played and arguably the national sport in the Philippines is basketball; the country came third in the 1954 World Championship, a feat which places them joint-ninth in the post-war world rankings. Indeed, there is a wide emulation of other American cultural trends, such as the love of fast-food; many street corners boast fast-food outlets. Aside from the American giants such as McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Burger King, KFC, Domino's, Shakey's and Popeye's, local fast-food chains have also sprung up, including Jollibee, Greenwich Pizza, Yellow Cab, Tropical Hut, Ihawan, and Chowking. Filipinos listen to the latest American music, dance to American steps, watch American movies, and idolize American actors and actresses.
In spite of this, native moral codes, respect of family, veneration of elders, and friendliness, all remain intact. Filipinos honor national heroes whose works and deeds contributed to the shaping of Filipino nationalism. José Rizal is the most celebrated ilustrado, a Spanish-speaking reformist visionary whose writings contributed greatly in nurturing a sense of national identity and awareness. His novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo originally written in Spanish, are required readings for Filipino students, and provide vignettes of colonial life under the Spanish rule. They give a sense of Filipino identity and historical continuity. Andrés Bonifacio founded the pro-independence Katipunan movement, which sparked the revolution that helped end Spanish rule. Disputes exist about whether Bonifacio, not Rizal, should be the national hero. Ninoy Aquino, the charimatic leader against the Marcos dictatorship, is a highly revered martyr of the People Power revolution.
email this page
print this page
bookmark this page
feedback on this page
