1. CHAPTER 1
Philippine Geography, History, and Economy The Philippine archipelago is composed of about 7,100 islands and lies
strategically within the arc of nations that sweeps southeastward from mainland Asia to Australia. It has a total land area of 300,000
square kilometers, 92 percent of which is found on the 11 largest islands. The country can be grouped geographically into the three
major islands groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Accounting for 47 percent of the total land area, Luzon is the largest island group
and is situated in the north. Mindanao, the second largest group is located in the south and occupies 34 percent of the total land area,
while the Visayas is a group of smaller islands between Luzon and Mindanao comprising the remaining 19 percent of land area.
In 1993 the Philippines was divided administratively into 15 regions as follows:
LUZON
National Capital Region (NCR)
Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)
Region 1 – Ilocos
Region 2 - Cagayan Valley
Region 3 - Central Luzon
Region 4 - Southern Tagalog
Region 5 - Bicol
VISAYAS
Region 6 - Western Visayas
Region 7 - Central Visayas
Region 8 - Eastern Visayas
MINDANAO
Region 9 - Western Mindanao
Region 10 - Northern Mindanao
Region 11 - Southern Mindanao
Region 12 - Central Mindanao
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao - ARMM
2. Diverse topography and climate characterize the different areas in the country. While mountain ranges traverse the major islands,
adjacent valleys and plateaus provide a sharp contrast. The climatic conditions and degree of weather disturbances differ among the
provinces because of their varied topography and geographic location. The provinces in northeastern Luzon and the Bicol Region are
generally wet and more vulnerable to typhoon than the rest of the country. The Visayan regions have generally more rainy days than
Luzon and Mindanao. Mindanao, on the other hand, is almost free from typhoon which makes agriculture a very important industry on
that island.
Philippines, island country of Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. It is an archipelago consisting of some 7,100 islands and
islets lying about 500 miles (800 km) off the coast of Vietnam. Manila is the capital, but nearby Quezon City is the country’s most-
populous city. Both are part of the National Capital Region (Metro Manila), located on Luzon, the largest island. The second largest
island of the Philippines is Mindanao, in the southeast.
The Philippines takes its name from Philip II, who was king of Spain during the Spanish colonization of the islands in the 16th
century. Because it was under Spanish rule for 333 years and under U.S. tutelage for a further 48 years, the Philippines has many
cultural affinities with the West. It is, for example, the second most-populous Asian country (following India) with English as an official
language and one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia (the other being East Timor). Despite the prominence
of such Anglo-European cultural characteristics, the peoples of the Philippines are Asian in consciousness and aspiration.
The country was wracked by political turmoil in the last quarter of the 20th century. After enduring more than a decade
of authoritarian rule under Pres. Ferdinand Marcos, the broadly popular People Power movement in 1986 led a bloodless uprising against
the regime. The confrontation resulted not only in the ouster and exile of Marcos but also in the restoration of democratic government
to the Philippines.
Contemporary Filipinos continue to grapple with a society that is replete with paradoxes, perhaps the most obvious being the
presence of extreme wealth alongside tremendous poverty. Rich in resources, the Philippines has the potential to build a strong industrial
economy, but the country remains largely agricultural. Especially toward the end of the 20th century, rapid industrial expansion was
spurred by a high degree of domestic and foreign investment. That growth, however, simultaneously contributed to severe degradation of
the environment. The Philippines also emerged as a regional leader in education during the late 20th century, with a well-established
public school and university system, and by the early 21st century the country had one of the highest literacy rates in Asia.
3. Land
The Philippine archipelago is bounded by the Philippine Sea to the east, the Celebes Sea to the south, the Sulu Sea to the
southwest, and the South China Sea to the west and north. The islands spread out in the shape of a triangle, with those south
of Palawan, the Sulu Archipelago, and the island of Mindanao outlining (from west to east, respectively) its southern base and
the Batan Islands to the north of Luzon forming its apex. The archipelago stretches about 1,150 miles (1,850 km) from north to south,
and its widest east-west extent, at its southern base, is some 700 miles (1,130 km). The island of Taiwan lies north of the Batan group,
the Malaysian portion of the island of Borneo is to the south of Palawan, and the eastern islands of Indonesia lie to the south and
southeast of Mindanao. Only about two-fifths of the islands and islets have names, and only some 350 have areas of 1 square mile (2.6
square km) or more. The large islands fall into three groups: (1) the Luzon group in the north and west, consisting of Luzon, Mindoro,
and Palawan, (2) the Visayas group in the centre, consisting of Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Masbate, Negros, Panay, and Samar, and (3)
Mindanao in the south.
Relief
Outstanding physical features of the Philippines include the irregular configuration of the archipelago, the coastline of some
22,550 miles (36,290 km), the great extent of mountainous country, the narrow and interrupted coastal plains, the generally northward
trend of the river systems, and the spectacular lakes. The islands are composed primarily of volcanic rock and coral, but all principal
rock formations are present. The mountain ranges for the most part run in the same general direction as the islands themselves,
approximately north to south.
The Cordillera Central, the central mountain chain of Luzon, running north to the Luzon Strait from the northern boundary of the
central plain, is the most prominent range. It consists of two and in places three parallel ranges, each with an average elevation of
about 5,900 feet (1,800 metres). The Sierra Madre, extending along the Pacific coast from northern to central Luzon, is the longest
mountain range in the country. That range and the Cordillera Central merge in north-central Luzon to form the Caraballo Mountains.
To the north of the latter, and between the two ranges, is the fertile Cagayan Valley. The narrow Ilocos, or Malayan, range, lying close
along the west coast of northern Luzon, rises in places to elevations above 5,000 feet (1,500 metres) and is seldom below 3,500 feet
(1,000 metres); it is largely volcanic. In the southwestern part of northern Luzon are the rugged Zambales Mountains, consisting of
more or less isolated old volcanic stocks (rock formed under great heat and pressure deep beneath the Earth’s surface).
Most of the central plain of Luzon, about 150 by 50 miles (240 by 80 km), is only about 100 feet (30 metres) above sea level.
The greater part of southern Luzon is occupied by isolated volcanoes and irregular masses of hills and mountains. The highest peak
4. is Mayon Volcano(8,077 feet [2,462 metres)]), near the city of Legaspi (Legazpi) in Albay province on the island’s Bicol Peninsula in
the southeast.
The island of Palawan is about 25 miles (40 km) wide and more than 250 miles (400 km) long; through it extends a range with
an average elevation of 4,000 to 5,000 feet (1,200 to 1,500 metres). Each of the Visayan Islands except Samar and Bohol
is traversed longitudinally by a single range with occasional spurs. Several peaks on Panay and Negros reach a height of 6,000 feet
(1,800 metres) or more. Mount Canlaon (Canlaon Volcano), on Negros, rises to 8,086 feet (2,465 metres).
There are several important ranges on Mindanao; the Diuata (Diwata) Mountains along the eastern coast are the most prominent. To
the west lies another range that stretches from the centre of the island southward. Farther west the Butig Mountains trend
northwestward from the northeastern edge of the Moro Gulf. A range also runs northwest-southeast along the southwestern coast.
Near Mindanao’s south-central coast is Mount Apo, which at 9,692 feet (2,954 metres) is the highest peak in the Philippines. A
number of volcanic peaks surround Lake Sultan Alonto (Lake Lanao), and a low cordillera extends through the Zamboanga
Peninsula in the far west.
Although volcanoes are a conspicuous feature of the landscape, there is relatively little volcanic activity. There are altogether
about 50 volcanoes, of which more than 10 are known to be active. Mount Pinatubo on Luzon, once regarded as extinct, was in 1991
the site of one of the world’s largest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century. All gradations of volcanoes can be seen, from the almost
perfect cone of Mayon, which has been compared to Mount Fuji in Japan, to old, worn-down volcanic stocks, the present forms of
which give little indication of their origin. The several distinct volcanic areas are in south-central and southern Luzon and on the
islands of Negros, Mindanao, Jolo, and elsewhere. Tremors and earthquakes are common.
Climate
The climate of the Philippines is tropical and strongly monsoonal (i.e., wet-dry). In general, rain-bearing winds blow from the
southwest from approximately May to October, and drier winds come from the northeast from November to February. Thus,
temperatures remain relatively constant from north to south during the year, and seasons consist of periods of wet and dry. Throughout
the country, however, there are considerable variations in the frequency and amount of precipitation. The western shores facing the
South China Sea have the most marked dry and wet seasons. The dry season generally begins in December and ends in May, the first
three months being cool and the second three hot; the rest of the year constitutes the wet season. The dry season shortens progressively
to the east until it ceases to occur. During the wet season, rainfall is heavy in all parts of the archipelago except for an area extending
southward through the centre of the Visayan group to central Mindanao and then southwestward through the Sulu Archipelago; rain is
heaviest along the eastern shores facing the Pacific Ocean.
From June to December tropical cyclones (typhoons) often strike the Philippines. Most of these storms come from the southeast, their
frequency generally increasing from south to north; in some years the number of cyclones reaches 25 or more. Typhoons are heaviest
5. in Samar, Leyte, south-central Luzon, and the Batan Islands, and, when accompanied by floods or high winds, they may cause great
loss of life and property. Mindanao is generally free from such storms.
November through February constitutes the most agreeable season; the air is cool and invigorating at night, and the days are pleasant
and sunny. During the hot part of the dry season in most places—especially in the cities of Cebu, Davao, and Manila—the temperature
sometimes rises as high as 100 °F (38 °C). Overall temperatures decline with elevation, however, and cities and towns located at
higher elevations—such as Baguio in northern Luzon, Majayjay and Lucban south of Manila, and Malaybalay in central Mindanao—
experience a pleasant climate throughout the year; at times the temperature in those places dips close to 40 °F (4 °C).
People
Ethnic groups
The ethnically diverse people of the Philippines collectively are called Filipinos. The ancestors of the vast majority of the population
were of Malay descent and came from the Southeast Asian mainland as well as from what is now Indonesia. Contemporary Filipino
society consists of nearly 100 culturally and linguistically distinct ethnic groups. Of these, the largest are the Tagalog of Luzon and
the Cebuano of the Visayan Islands, each of which constitutes about one-fifth of the country’s total population. Other prominent
groups include the Ilocano of northern Luzon and the Hiligaynon (Ilongo) of the Visayan islands
of Panay and Negros, comprising roughly one-tenth of the population each. The Waray-Waray of the islands of Samar and Leyte in
the Visayas and the Bicol (Bikol) of the Bicol Peninsula together account for another one-tenth. Filipino mestizos and
the Kapampangans (Pampango) of south-central Luzon each make up small proportions of the population.
6. Many smaller groups of indigenous and immigrant peoples account for the remainder of the Philippines’ population. The
aboriginal inhabitants of the islands were the Negritos, a term referring collectively to numerous peoples of dark skin and small
stature, including the Aeta, Ita, Agta, and others. Those communities now constitute only a tiny percentage of the total population.
From the 10th century, contacts with China resulted in a group of mixed Filipino-Chinese descent, who also account for a minority of
the population. Small numbers of resident Chinese nationals, emigrants from the Indian subcontinent, U.S. nationals, and Spanish add
to the population’s ethnic and cultural diversity.
Languages
Estimates of the total number of native languages and dialects spoken in the Philippines differ, but scholarly studies suggest that there
are some 150. Most of the country’s languages are closely related, belonging to one of several subfamilies of Austronesian—more
specifically, Western Malayo-Polynesian—languages. The major languages of the country generally correspond to the largest ethnic
groups. Tagalog is the most widespread language of the Central Philippine subfamily, with the bulk of its native speakers concentrated
in Manila, central and south-central Luzon, and the islands of Mindoro and Marinduque. The national language of the
7. Philippines, Pilipino (also called Filipino), is based on Tagalog and shares a place with English (the lingua franca) as an official
language and medium of instruction. Tagalog (including Pilipino) has the most extensive written literature of all Philippine
languages. Cebuano, also a Central Philippine language, is used widely in Cebu, Bohol, eastern Negros, western Leyte, and parts
of Mindanao. Ilocano is the most commonly spoken language of the Northern Luzon subfamily, and its speakers constitute the third
largest language community of the Philippines.
Religion
Some four-fifths of Filipinos profess Roman Catholicism. During the 20th century the religion gained strength through growth
in the number of Filipinos in the church hierarchy, construction of seminaries, and, especially after 1970, increased involvement of the
church in the political and social life of the country. Jaime Cardinal Sin, archbishop of Manila, was one of the country’s most
politically outspoken spiritual leaders of the late 20th century.
Adherents of other denominations of Christianity constitute roughly one-tenth of the population. The Philippine Independent
Church (the Aglipayans), established in 1902 in protest against Spanish control of the Roman Catholic Church, has several million
members. The indigenous church called Iglesia ni Cristo, also founded in the early 20th century, has a smaller but nonetheless
significant following.
Islam was brought to the southern Philippines in the 15th century from Brunei (on Borneo), to the west. The religion was already well
established in the Sulu Archipelago and Mindanao by the time of European contact, and it had a growing following around Manila.
Contemporary Muslim Filipino communities, collectively known as Moros, are largely limited to the southern islands and account for
about 5 percent of the population.
Small numbers of Filipinos practice Buddhism or local religions. Buddhism is associated primarily with communities of Chinese
descent. Local religions are maintained by some of the rural indigenous peoples.
8. Settlement patterns
The plains lying amid the mountains—for example, the central plain of Luzon and the central plain of Panay—have long had the
greatest density of population in the islands, except Cebu, where the people have lived mostly on the coastal plain because of the
island’s high and rugged interior. In the non-industrialized areas of these regions, the cultivation of rice or corn (maize)
and fishing provide basic subsistence.
In the rural areas, houses are often small, consisting of just one or two rooms, and are elevated on piles. The open spaces below the
structures are used to store tools and other household belongings, as well as live chickens and other smaller farm animals. Especially
in the fishing communities of coastal regions, houses are typically raised above the ocean, river, or floodplain to accommodate boat
9. traffic and the ebb and flow of the tides. There are often elevated networks of walkways that connect the houses within the
community.
In addition to many smaller settlement units, there are a number of major cities. Some of these, including Manila, Cebu, Jaro, Vigan,
and Naga (formerly Nueva Caceras), were granted charters by the Spanish colonial government. More chartered cities were founded
under U.S. administration and since independence in 1946. Metropolitan (Metro) Manila—an agglomeration consisting of Quezon
City, Manila, Pasay, Caloocan, and several other cities and municipalities in southern Luzon—is by far the largest urban area in the
country. Other principal cities include Davao on Mindanao and Cebu in the Visayas.
In the urban areas, the wealthier residents typically live in two- or three-story single-family homes. However, a significant proportion
of city dwellers live in poverty, often occupying any vacant piece of land and building their homes from bamboo, wood, sheet metal,
and other scavenged items. The people in such communities usually do not have regular access to running water and electricity or to
sanitary services.
