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A Brief Look at the Philippines
This is the flag of the Philippines. The Filipino
word for 'flag' is watawat.
For hundreds of years the Philippines was ruled by Spain and the Filipino people fought for freedom to be an independent nation.
The sun in the triangle represents freedom and the eight rays are for the eight provinces that fought against Spain. The stars symbolise the three areas of the Philippines: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The blue stripe stands for the unity and equality of the people. The red stripe is to show that the Filipinos are ready to fight for their country.
In times of peace the blue stripe is flown at the top, and in times of war the red stripe is flown on top. The flag as it is now was first used in 1936.
Facts in brief.| Official name of country | Republic of the Philippines |
| Capital city | Manila, population 12 million |
| Official language | Both Filipino (Tagalog) and English are official |
| Type of government | Constitutional democracy |
| Head of state | President (elected for a six-year term) |
| Head of government | President |
| Population | 70 million |
| Main ethnic groups |
Filipino, Tagalog, Cebuano, Bontoc, Ibaloy, Ifugao, llocano, llongo, Kalinga, Negrito, Mangyan, Badjao, Batak, Bicol, Samar-Leyte (there are about 60 ethnic groups altogether) |
| Main religions |
90% Christian (of these 80 % are Catholic, there are also Baptist, Methodist, and Philippine Independent Church members, founded in 1902), 8% Islam and Animism |
| Area | The country consists of 7101 islands, with a total area of 307 055 square kilometres |
| Currency | The peso (P), divided into 100 centavos |
| Highest mountain | Mount Apo on island of Mindanao, 2954 metres |
| Longest river | Cagayan River on island of Luzon |
| Industries | Fishing, food processing, textiles, leatherware, automobile components, home appliances, tourism, mining of iron, nickel and copper |
| Main agricultural products |
Rice, coconuts (copra), abaca (Manila hemp), tobacco, bananas, pineapples, orchids, rubber, sugar |
| Time difference from Australian Eastern Standard Time | Three hours behind |
The Philippines consists of 7107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean.
Only 2000 of these islands are inhabited.
The South China Sea is the western and northern border, and the Pacific Ocean is the eastern and southern border.
Many of the islands are extinct volcanoes and atolls.
Go here to listen to the National Anthem
http://www.niceflag.com/midi/anthems/philipp.mid
Go here to find
out about food in the Philippines
http://asiarecipe.com/philippines.html
http://www.marimari.com/content/philippines/food/main.html
Go here for the official Philippines'Government site http://www.gov.ph/
Acknowledge this
source in your bibliography like this:
A Brief Look at the Philippines (2006). [Online], Available: www.kidcyber.com.au
Find out more about the Philippines
Find out about rural life in the Philippines
Updated October 2006
Map courtesy of ITA's Flags of All Countries used with permission.