The Republic of the Philippines
A country of 7107 islands with a total land area of 115830 square miles Luzon is the largest Island with a third of the land mass
Mindanao is the second largest island located in the south of the country. Samar Island is the third largest island located close to the centre of the country. The 7107 islands is a land of volcanoes, gulfs, mountains lakes and waterfalls the country has a total of seven mountain ranges the most rugged mountain is on the Island of Luzon. The Philippines is home to about fifty volcanoes but only ten are still considered active. Mount Pinatubo located not far from Manila was a very quiet volcano until 1991 it blew 10 square kilometers of Material including ash and rock into the air at the same time a massive rain storm battered the countryside the ash and rain mixed causing a deadly mud slide that buried entire villages, and killed about 700 people and left thousands of people homeless
Mayon Volcano is the most active Philippine volcano Located in the Albay province south of Manila this volcano has erupted more than forty times in the last four hundred years. Mayon Last major eruption was in February 1814, when it destroyed 3 towns and covered another two with volcanic ash and hot larva about 1600 people died due to this eruption.
The Philippine People
For thousands of years many different people and nations have been part of the Philippines the end result is a country and people with a unique blend of many cultures.
About 30,000 BC Stone Age people settled in the Tabon caves on the island of Palawan the country was later joined by the Negritos that came across land bridges from Borneo Indonesia, and Sumatra and centuries latter joined by visitors from Malaya India china and the middle east. Magellan was the first European to set foot on the Philippines in 1521 Ferdinand Magellan explored the archipelago Magellan and most of his men were killed during the battle of Mactan on the Island of Cebu. Spain established a permanent settlement on the island of Cebu in 1565
Family religion and education are very important in Filipino culture
Weather living in the city or the country or on an isolated island family, religion and education are very highly valued by almost every one Filipinos have many positive values such as respect for authority and a high regard for the dignity of all people
Nearby islands and china introduced Islam to the Philippines today there are several million Filipinos that follow the religion of Islam. Some Filipinos practice Taoism which is a religious belief that originated in china the biggest Taoist temple in the Philippines is in Cebu
The Filipino familyThe Filipino family the basic units of the Philippine social organization which includes the father the mother and children the bilateral extended family which incorporates all relatives of the Father and Mother Of special importance the bond and unity formed by the brothers and sisters. Filipino thinks of their family as a source of strength and protection. It is not unusual for unmarried daughters and sons to live at home with their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The family are very close and if someone needs help others chip in and do what they can to help the family member in need. The father-husband is the head of the family and is usually unconditionally obeyed by his wife and children. The father role and duty is to meet the financial needs of the family. The Filipino father is the main source of discipline in the family and sometimes uses corporal punishment on both sons and daughters although corporal punishment used on children in the Philippines is now slowly getting used less and less due to the Philippine society teaching and enforcing new values on raising children. The children a lot of Filipino mothers pamper their children these has the effect of prolonging the childhood of the children they are not pushed or rushed into adulthood responsibilities and expectations are kept below the child’s potential this care and affection that is lavished upon the children creates a feeling of belonging and protection. As a result the children will always contribute to parent’s financial support and emotional support and protection. The traditional Filipino wife and mother take care of all the details to ensure the family functions as a living and loving organised family unit. The mother is in charge of the home and all the details pertaining to the children such as cooking the family meal seeing the children are clothed and ready for school the paying of salary to the maids (ya –ya) and all other household expenses. Strange as it may seem women share equal place with man in Philippine society woman participation in professional work and politics is fully accepted this equality can be traced back to ancient Malayan tradition.
Education Filipino children attend six years of elementary school and four years of high school classes are taught in Pilipino and English the country official languagesMore than 90% of all elementary attend government schools. From June until March Filipino children spend their days at school classes begin around eight in the morning in the cities like Manila and sometimes around 7 am in the rural areas before classes begin the children salute the flag and recite the pledge of allegiance. The Philippines has a very high literacy rate which most people in the country can read and write unfortunately due to the high unemployment rate and the minimal salary paid to lower class workers such as farmers and labours some children have to drop out of school to work and help to support their families and some children attend schools that do not have enough school supplies and equipment such as textbooks desks and chairs and computers.
The Philippine for its languages Filipino English and Spanish there are 87 different major dialects ranging from Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Waray-waray, Kapampagan, and Panasinah. The English languages and the mass education of the English language has been an American contribution to the Filipino life. English was introduced so different people living in different parts of the Philippines could understand one another. The American declared English the country official language during the time they ruled the Philippines. In 1937 the Philippine government decided to replace English with a language called Filipino. Filipino is based on Tagalog the most widely spoken Philippine language especially throughout some of the major cities. Today Filipino and English are the country official languages. In different parts of the Philippines some time s you will Filipinos that can speak anywhere up to four languages and some times more especially the people that have travelled and lived in different parts of the country. For example theses Filipinos can speak the language from the area they grew up in and lived in as a child they also can speak English and Tagalog and sometimes another language that is native to where they live as an adult or learnt as a child. For example English, Tagalog, Cebuano, Waray-Waray could be four languages a single Filipino can speak.
Life in the country
Half of the Philippine population live in the country near mountain forest on small islands or on the plains there are many types of traditional homes Bahay kubo is a traditional rural home some time referred to as a nipa hut.The walls and floors are made from bamboo and palms leaves the woven palm leaves are overlapped and tired down to timber or bamboo to form the roof. Other people in the country side live in wooden home and other cheap timber with iron and galvanised roofs.The more wealthy country Filipino live in a larger fancy modern home made from cement bricks and cement.On a lot of Small Island and country areas the home has one main room with a few pieces of furniture and mats on the floor where the family sleeps.The kitchen is usually in another room with a wood burning stove and sometimes a small gas stove depending on how isolated the family is from the closest town. In the larger country towns many of the native houses have electricity and some of them even have indoor plumbing but theses conveniences are rare in small villages although now more and more Small Islands and villages are receiving electricity but there is still a lot of villages that do not. The Philippine people that live in an area that does not have electricity or indoor plumbing they gather water from a community well and burn kerosene lamps for lights in the evening
The first people who migrated to the Philippine islands used barangays (boats). Now day’s interisland ships and ferries have been the best means of transportation of good and merchandise from island to another people also rely on these ships as ferries because the cost of a plane ticket can be very expensive. Banca a narrow wooden boat with an out boat motor attached to the back. The boat has wooden and bamboo frames extending from both sides of the boats that function like platoons preventing the boat from tipping over or capsizing. Early Filipinos used these small boats to trade and get supplies from neighbouring islands.The larger banca boats are use as people ferries and large commercial fishing boats.The smaller banca boats are used for smaller journeys in calmer water.
The Philippine jeepney
A Philippine icon king of the road evidence of Philippine innovation the jeepney is a small bus made from jeeps left behind by the US army. The jeeps where transformed in to busses painted in vibrant glowing flamboyant colours and patterns and decorated with mirrors multi-coloured lights and religious icons. The jeepney smaller brother the stainless steel jeep was made and produced for practical reasons fisherman complained that seawater and the environment was corroding their jeepneys. So in 1971 Tomas Araga invented and produced the first jeep the jeep requires less maintenance because it is difficult and does not rust. The jeep is an ideal Philippine vehicle because they are adapted to the unique Philippine climate especially from the harsh salt air and the unpredictable weather
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