2. Geography
It is the science that studies
the earth’s form, physical features,
climate, population, and other
related topics.
3. Philippine Geography
The Philippine archipelago lying southeast of the coast of
the mainland of Asia. It is located a little above the equator
and thus, belongs to the northern hemisphere. Of
approximately 7,107 islands and islets that compose the
archipelago, some 4,000 have no names. Luzon, Mindanao,
Negros, Samar, Palawan, Panay, Mindoro, Leyte, Cebu, and
Bohol are ten biggest islands. The total land area, excluding
the bodies of water surrounded by land, such as Laguna de
Bay, Taal Lake, Lake Lanao, and many morelike these is
300,000 square kilometers. The northernmost island of Luzon
is just 100 kilometers away from the island of Thailand,
formerly called Formosa. North and west of the archipelago
lies the South China Sea; to the east is the Pacific Ocean; and
to the south are the Celebes Sea and the waters of Borneo.
4. The coastline of the philippines is irregular and stretches
for about 36,289 kilometers, about twice as long as the
coastline of the United States,excluding that of Alaska and
Hawaii. In a note verbal submitted by the philippine
government to the United Nations on March 7, 1955, the
philippine is defined as “a mid-ocean archipelagic state”.
Thus, “All waters around, between and connecting different
islands belonging to the Philippine Archipelago, irrespective
of their width or dimensions, are necessary appurtenances of
it’s land territory, forming an integral part of the national or
inland waters, subject to the exclusive sovereignty of the
Philippines.” Because of the irregular coastline, the country
abounds in good harbors, landlocked straits , and hundreds of
small river, bays, and lakes. Manila Bay, which has an area of a
little less than 2,000 square kilometers and a circumference of
about 190 kilometers, is considered one of the finest natural
harbors in the world.
5. The Philippine Deep, which is found east
of the Philippines near Samar and Leyte ,
is considered as one of the deepest sea
trenches in the world.
Mount Apo in Mindanao- is the highest
,standing at approximately 2,938 meter
high.
Sierra Madre- it is the longest mountain
range in the philippines.
6. Volcanoes and Earthquake
There are many volcanoes in the Philippines whose
eruptions caused much damage to the lives and property.
Twenty-six of the volcanoes are considered active, while
the rest are supposed to be dormant or ‘’sleeping’’. The
famous of these active volcanoes are Iraya of Batanes; Taal
in Batangas; Banahaw in Quezon; Mayon in Albay;
Bulusan in Sorsogon; Hibok-Hibok in Camiguin Island;
and Makaturing in Lanao. Mayon and Taal are the most
active volcanoes. They have erupted for no less twenty-five
times. Mayon is the famous the world over for ir’s persfect
cone shape, while Taal volcano for being the smallest
volcano in the world. In 1966 Taal volcano erupted which
lead to the resstlement of the people of the Volcano Island
to the other places.
7. The Philippine is within that is called the seismic
belt, that is, it lies in the path of earthquakes. Manila
and many parts of Luzon experienced several
earthquakes over the years including that of 1863,
which caused the destruction of many residential
houses and government buildings and the death of
famous priest, father Pedro Pelaez in the Manila
Cathedral; that of 1937,when many or completely,
many big buildings in Manila; that of 1968, when
many buildings were partially destroyed while an
apartment building was completely destroyed
resulting in the death of hundreds of people; and that
of 1990, which registered 7.8 on the Richter scale,
killing and injuring thousands of people, and
damaging about 20,000 square kilometers of densely
populated areas in Luzon.
8. Climate
The Philippines has a tropical and maritime climate which is tempered by
the breeze from the Pacific Ocean on the east and the Chine Sea on the
west. Based on the rainfall and temperature, there are two major
seasons; The dry season which extends from December to May; and
the wet season which extends from June to November. The period
from late November to February is usually cool. May is often the hottest
month on the year, while January is the coldest.
Miguel Lopez de Legaspi- The first governor-general of the
Philippines, describing it to the King of Spain said, ‘’This country (the
Philippines) is salubrious and has a good climate…’’
Generally, typhoons have influenced the climate and weather of the
country. These typhoons may be classified into 'remarkable’’ and
‘’ordinary’’. The former have destroyed millions of pesos worth of crops
and property. Typhoons and tropical cyclones most frequently enter
the Philippine area of responsibility during the months of July to
October. Some of the worst typhoons that ever struck the country
include Uring in November 1991, Rosing in October 1995, Reming in
November 2006, Ondoy in September 2009, and Pepeng in October
2009.
9. Natural Resources
Nature has given the Philippines rich soil and plenty of natural
resources. The rich valleys and fertile plains are planted to crops such
as rice, corn, coconuts, sugar cane, bananas, pineapples, and varieties
of vegetables. The country has enough water , foods and also abundant
supply of minerals like gold. Gum resins and lumber can be obtained
from the country’s vast forest. Our country has also an oil called ‘’black
gold’’ its discover y at Malampaya, Palawan has encouraged foreign
and Filipino firms to drill wells for oil. Its commercial exploration will
greatly improve the country’s economy. However, despite this natural
abundance ,conservationist and civil society have expressed concern
over the depletion of forests, abuse, and misuse of land resources, and
threats to marine and costal ecosystems. A significant response by the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources(DENR) was its
lobby for Congress to pass the National Integrated Protected Areas
System(NIPAS)Bill in 1992. Now called R.A. 7586, The law is premised
on the concept of the involvement of local communities in biodiversity
conservation and habitat management. Other laws that protect our
environment include the Philippine Clear Air Act of 1999, the
Ecological Solid Waste Management of 2000, and Clear Water Act of
2004.
10. Economy
Rice is the main crop of the country and is cultivated on large
quantities in central Luzon, Western Visayas, and Mindanao. Its
production, however, remains insufficient due to several factors.
First, destructive typhoons and floods often destroy thousands
upon thousands of rice lands leading to government importation of
rice. Second, the agricultural sector remains backward despite
government efforts to modernize it through the introduction of
programs like the ‘’Masagana 99’’ tgechnique in the sixties and the
Comprehensive Agragian Reform aprogram in recent years. Third,
the production shift to sources to biofuels such us jathropa and
other cash crops,which command higher prices in the market,has
also affected rice production in no small way. Fourth, the massive
conversion of farm lands for residential and commercial use has
also contributed to low rice productivity, not to mention the loss
of farm labor.
11. Population
Bases on the latest figures from the National Statistics office(2008-
2009), the Philippines has no one of the fastest-growing population with
a birth rate of 26.42 births/1,000. Life expectancy stands at 67.89 years for
men and 73.85 years for women. There are approximately 92 million
Filipinos today as projected by NSO. Concentrated in the more urbanized
section of the country, 84% of the population is functionally literate. As
2009, an estimate of 35 million Filipinos are employed.
The majority of the Filipinos belong to the Austronesian ethnic
group. Due to early trade contacts and subsequent colonization by the
Spaniards and later by the Americans, Filipinos today and a foreigner,
whether Chinese, Spaniard, American is called mestizo. With the
phenomenal growth of Filipinos working overseas (OFWs) the mestizo
group has expanded to include Arabs, Japanese, Koreans, and Europeans.
There are around 170 spoken languages with almost all of them belonging
to the Austronesian language family. Filipino is the national language
with Filipino and English as the official languages of the country.
12. Government
The Philippines is a constitutional republic with three co-
equal branches; the executive, legislative ,Judiciary. The
Executive Branch, headed by the President and Vice-
President, administers the functions of the government
through the cabinet that made up of departments and
headed by department secretaries. The legislative branch,
which is responsible for enacting bills into laws.
for administrative purposes, Philippine is subdivided into
regions and provinces, except for Metropolitan Manila. Each
province is headed by governor ands its own legislative body
called Sangguniang Panlalawigan.The Provinces ,in turn, are
composed of cities and municipalities. Cities and
Municipalities are further divided into barangays. Barangay
is the smalest political unit of the country and headed by a
barangay Captain
13. Filipino Traits And Values
The filipino people have many common traits.
Perhaps the most important trait of the Filipino is
their Hospitality. They welcome visitors, whether
Filipinos or non-Filipino, with open arms and
warm hearts. Visitors are given the best in the
house and they would go to extent of incurring
debts to make their visitors contented , happy, and
comfortable.
14. Respect for elders is one of the best Filipino Traits. Filipino
parents exercise moral influence over their children. The Filipino
is sentimental. The sentimental is shown in many ways.
Filipinos as a people have several values
Values are those aspects in life that include customs, t tradition,
Etc. One of the values is pakikisama, a sense of togetherness
or comradeship. Pakikisama refers to doing somebody a good
deed. If one does the opposite, he/she is called masamang
makisama.
Utang na loob or dept of gratitude is another famous
Filipino value. A person who receives favor from another,
whether this person is a friend or a stranger is expected to pay
this dept by returning the same favor.
Hiya or kahihiyan is another Filipino value. It means a sense
of shame . A person without hiya is called Walang Hiya or
shameless. Because of this value ,Filipino woud sometimes so
something Folish in order to save face. Out of shame or hiya ,
they do not want neighbors to think that they could not afford to
spend for the event.
