About the Philippines

DESCRIPTION

CLIMATE
The Philippines has a tropical climate with relatively abundant rainfall and gentle winds. There are three pronounced seasons: the wet or rainy season from June to October; the cool or dry season from November to February; and the hot or dry season from March to May.

SIZE
Stretching 1,840 kilometers north-to-south off the southeast coast of Asia, the Philippines has a total land area of 300,000 sq. km. or 115,600 sq. miles, slightly larger than the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

CAPITAL
Manila

POPULATION
There are about 76.5 million Filipinos as of the last census conducted in May 2000. Population growth is estimated at 2.36 percent annually. Luzon, the largest island group, accounts for more than half of the total population.

LANGUAGES
The Philippines is the world's third English-speaking country, after the United States and the United Kingdom. While there are over 100 regional dialects, the national language is Pilipino. English is widely used in commercial and legal transactions.

RELIGIONS
The dominant religion in the Philippines is Catholicism, though a significant number are Protestants and Moslems.

UNIT OF MEASURES
The Philippines use the Metric System in most of trade and legal transactions.

ELECTRICITY
Most residents and business centers in the Philippines are using 220 volts a/c. However, a number of major hotels also have 110 volt a/c outlets.

CURRENCY
The Philippines' monetary unit is the peso, divided into 100 centavos. Foreign currency may be exchanged at any hotels, most large department stores, banks and authorized money changing shops accredited by the Central Bank of the Philippines. International credit cards such as Visa, Diners Club, Bank Americard, Mastercard and American Express are accepted in major establishments.

THE PEOPLE

HISTORY
USEFUL WORDS & PHRASES
FILIPINO CUSTOMS & TRADITIONS

The Filipino is basically of Malay stock with a sprinkling of Chinese, American, Spanish and Arab blood. The Philippines has a population of 76.5 million, and it is hard to distinguish accurately the lines between stocks. From a long history of Western colonial rule, interspersed with the visits of merchants and traders, evolved a people of a unique blend of east and west, both in appearance and culture.

The Filipino character is actually a little bit of all the cultures put together. The bayanihan or spirit of kinship and camaraderie that Filipinos are famous for is said to be taken from Malay forefathers. The close family relations are said to have been inherited from the Chinese. The piousness comes, from the Spaniards who introduced Christianity in the 16th century. Hospitality is a common denominator in the Filipino character and this is what distinguishes the Filipino. Filipinos are probably one of the few, if not the only, English-proficient Oriental people today. Pilipino is the official national language, with English considered as the country's unofficial one.

The Filipinos are divided geo-graphically and culturally into regions, and each regional group is recognizable by distinct traits and dialects-the sturdy and frugal Ilocanos of the north, the industrious Tagalog's of the central plains, the carefree Visayans from the central islands and the colorful tribes-men and religious Moslems of Mindanao. Tribal communities can be found scattered across the archipelago. All in all the Philippines has 111 dialects spoken, owing to the subdivisions of these basic regional and regional groups.

Some 80 percent of the population is Catholic, Spain's lasting legacy. About 15 percent is Moslem and these people can be found basically in Mindanao. The rest of the population is made up mostly of smaller Christian denominations and Buddhists.