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Revision as of 08:56, 16 December 2002 by Olivier (talk | contribs) (typo)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Republic of the Philippines, or more commonly known as the Philippines is an archipelagic nation consisting of 7,107 islands lying in the Western Pacific. It is bordered on the east by the Philippine Sea in the Pacific Ocean, on the west by the South China Sea, and on the south by the Celebes Sea. The Philippines is just northeast of Sabah in Malaysia and south of Taiwan.
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| National motto: (???) | |||||
| Official languages: | Filipino and English | ||||
| Capital: | Manila | ||||
| President: | Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo | ||||
| Area - Total: - % water: | Ranked 70th 300,000 km² 0.6% | ||||
| Population
- Density: | Ranked 13th
276/km² | ||||
| Independence | from Spain: June 12, 1896 (Official)
from United States: July 4, 1946 | ||||
| Currency: | Peso (PHP) | ||||
| Time zone: | UTC +8 | ||||
| National anthem: | Lupang Hinirang (Beloved Land) | ||||
| Internet TLD: | .PH | ||||
| Calling Code | 63 | ||||
History
Main article: History of the Philippines (now yet wikified)
Politics
Main article: Politics of the Philippines (now yet wikified)
The government is organized as a Democratic Republic, with the President (Pangulo or Presidente) as both the head of state and government, and is also known as the Chief Executive, as well as being the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) (Hukbong Sandatahan ng Pilipinas) . The President serves a term of 6 years. The President is part of the Executive branch of the government, along with the Cabinet (Gabinete).
The Legislative branch of government is represented by the Congress (Kongreso) which is a bicameral house consisting of a Senate (Senado) and a House of Representatives (Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan). There are 24 senators (senador) serving staggered terms of 6 years in the Senate while the House of Representatives consists of no more than 250 congressmen (kinatawan or kongresman) each serving 3-year terms.
The judiciary branch of the government is headed by the Supreme Court (Korte Suprema) which has a Chief Justice (Punong Hurado) as its head and 14 Associate Justices.
Political Geographic Units
The Philippines (as of mid-2002) consists of 17 regions (rehiyon) which are further subdivided into 79 provinces (lalawigan or probinsya). There are a total of 112 cities (lungsod or syudad) in the Philippines. The National Capital Region (NCR), more commonly known as Metro Manila is a special administrative region containing the capital of the country, plus neighboring cities and municipalities.
Regions
Luzon
- Ilocos Region (Region I)
- Cagayan Valley (Region II)
- Central Luzon (Region III)
- CALABARZON (Region IV-A)*
- MIMAROPA (Region IV-B)*
- Bicol Region (Region V)
- Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)
- National Capital Region (NCR) or Metro Manila
*Region IV is also known as Southern Tagalog.
Visayas
- Western Visayas (Region VI)
- Central Visayas (Region VII)
- Eastern Visayas (Region VIII)
Mindanao
- Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX)
- Northern Mindanao (Region X)
- Davao Region (Region XI)
- Soccsksargen (Region XII)
- Caraga (Region XIII)
- Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
Geography
Main article: Geography of the Philippines
The Philippine Islands is composed of 7,107 islands with a total land area of 300,000 km² in the tropical Southeast Asia. The islands are divided into three main island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The Luzon islands include Luzon, which is the largest island, Mindoro, and Palawan. The Visayas is a group of several small islands the largest of which are: Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, and Samar. The Mindanao islands include Mindanao, which is the second largest island, plus the Sulu Archipelago, composed of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.
The Philippines enjoys a hot and humid tropical climate. Filipinos generally consider three seasons: Tag-init or Tag-araw (hot season / summer; March to May), Tag-ulan (rainy season; June to November), and Tag-lamig (cold season; December to February).
Most of the islands used to be covered in tropical rainforests, however, due to widespread illegal logging, much of the forest cover has been reduced to less than 10% of the total land area.
The islands are volcanic in origin, being in the Pacific Ring of Fire. Many volcanoes in the country are active, the most recent violent eruption being that of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991. The country is also astride the typhoon belt in the Western Pacific. It is regularly struck by at least 10 typhoons every year.
Miscellaneous Topics
From the CIA World Factbook 2000. Not yet Wikified:
- Demographics of the Philippines
- Economy of the Philippines
- Communications in the Philippines
- Transportation in the Philippines
- Military of the Philippines
- Foreign relations of the Philippines
see also:
External Links
- www.gov.ph - Official governmental portal