PHILIPPINES

officially Republic of the Philippines, Pilipino Republika g Pilipinas archipelago of about 7,100 islands and islets lying about 500 miles (800 km) off the southeastern coast of Asia, covering a land area of about 115,800 square miles (300,000 square km). The capital is Manila. The country spans about 1,150 miles (1,850 km) from south to north at its longest extent and about 700 miles (1,125 km) from west to east at its widest extent; surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, it 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. The two principal islands of the Philippines are Luzon in the north, occupying 40,420 square miles (104,688 square km), and Mindanao in the south, occupying 36,537 square miles (94,630 square km). The Visayan group of islands in the central Philippines include Panay, Negros, Cebu, Leyte, and Samar; Mindoro is situated directly south of Luzon, and Palawan is isolated in the west. The population in 1990 was estimated at 61,483,000. officially Republic of the Philippines, Pilipino Republika g Pilipinas country in Southeast Asia. It is an archipelago consisting of some 7,100 islands and islets lying about 500 miles off the coast. The total land area of the Philippines is 115,800 square miles (300,000 square kilometres). It is bounded by the Philippine Sea to the east, the Celebes Sea to the south, and the South China Sea to the west and north. The Philippines takes its name from Philip II, who was king of Spain during the Spanish colonization of the islands in the 16th century. Manila is the biggest city and the national capital. It is located on Luzon, the largest island, which has a land area of 40,420 square miles. Mindanao, at 36,537 square miles the second largest island, lies in the south. The archipelago spreads out in the form of a triangle, with the islands south of Palawan, the Sulu Archipelago, and the island of Mindanao forming (west-east) its southern base and the Batan Islands, in the north, its apex. The islands stretch for about 1,150 miles (1,850 kilometres) from north to south and for about 700 miles from east to west at their widest extent. Only about two-fifths of the islands and islets have names, and only some 350 have areas of one square mile 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 Visayan group in the centre, consisting of Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Masbate, Negros, Panay, and Samar; and (3) Mindanao in the south. 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 fourth most populous country in which English is an official language and the only predominantly Roman Catholic country in Southeast Asia. Its peoples, however, are Asian in consciousness and in aspiration. In many ways Filipino society is composed of paradoxes, perhaps the most apparent being the great extremes of wealth and poverty in the nation. The Philippines is a country of rich resources, but it is in the process of developing its full potentialities. It is primarily agricultural, although a high degree of domestic and foreign investment has spurred the rapid development of its industrial potential. Educationally, it is among the most advanced of Asian countries, having a high literacy rate. Additional reading Geography General works include Frederick L. Wernstedt and J.E. Spencer, The Philippine Island World: A Physical, Cultural, and Regional Geography (1967); Keith Lightfoot, The Philippines (1973); Fund for Assistance to Private Education, The Philippine Atlas, 2 vol. (1975); David Joel Steinberg, The Philippines, a Singular and a Plural Place (1982); and Frederica M. Bunge (ed.), Philippines, A Country Study (1984). Frederick L. Wernstedt et al., Philippine Studies: Geography, Archeology, Psychology, and Literature (1974); and Donn V. Hart (ed.), Philippine Studies: History, Sociology, Mass Media, and Bibliography (1978), and Philippine Studies: Political Science, Economics, and Linguistics (1981), provide useful summaries and bibliographies. For current information, see Philippine Yearbook, published by the government. Sylvia Mayuga, Philippines, 6th ed., updated by Alfred A. Yuson (1986), is a guidebook.Domingo C. Salita, Geography and Natural Resources of the Philippines (1974); and Domingo C. Salita and Dominador Z. Rosell, Economic Geography of the Philippines (1980), contain information on the economic resources of the Philippines. Two studies by the World Bank, Philippines: Industrial Development Strategy and Policies (1980), and Philippines: A Framework for Economic Recovery (1987), analyze economic conditions in the 1980s. Agricultural development policies are examined in Rene E. Ofreneo, Capitalism in Philippine Agriculture (1980); Claudio Gonzalez-Vega, The Rural Banking System of the Philippines and the CB-IBRD Agricultural Credit Program (1975); and Vital Documents on Agrarian Reform in the New Society (1979). For further information on development, see Philippine Development Report (irregular), published by the National Economic and Development Authority; and the Philippine Statistical Yearbook.Social and cultural aspects are explored in Mary Racelis Hollnsteiner (ed.), Society, Culture, and the Filipino (1979); Leonard Davis, The Philippines: People, Poverty, and Politics (1987); Andrew B. Gonzalez, Language and Nationalism: The Philippine Experience Thus Far (1980); Irene L. Ortigas and Felix B. Regalado, Society and Culture in Rural Philippines, rev. ed. (1978); Elena Yu and William T. Liu, Fertility and Kinship in the Philippines (1980); Eric S. Casino, The Filipino Nation (1982); Renato Constantino, Neocolonial Identity and Counter-Consciousness: Essays on Cultural Decolonization (1978); and Gabriel Casal et al., The People and Art of the Philippines (1981). Gregorio C. Borlaza History Austin Craig and Conrado Benitez, Philippine Progress Prior to 1898 (1916), provides useful material on the period before the European presence in the archipelago. Eufronio M. Alip, Philippine History, 10th rev. ed. (1974), and Political and Cultural History of the Philippines, new rev. ed., 2 vol. (1967), offer detailed coverage from the early period to the 20th century. Renato Constantino, The Philippines: A Past Revisited (1975; U.S. title, A History of the Philippines: From the Spanish Colonization to the Second World War), and The Philippines: The Continuing Past (1978); and Helen R. Tubangui et al., The Filipino Nation: A Concise History of the Philippines (1982), are general histories. A good discussion of the early Spanish period is offered in John L. Phelan, The Hispanization of the Philippines: Spanish Aims and Filipino Responses, 1565-1700 (1959, reprinted 1967). See also Pedro S. de Achtegui and Miguel A. Bernad, Religious Revolution in the Philippines, 2 vol. (1960-66), and Documents Relative to the Religious Revolution in the Philippines (1971); and Eliodoro G. Robles, The Philippines in the Nineteenth Century (1969). The Philippines' involvement in World War II is discussed in Claro M. Recto, Three Years of Enemy Occupation: The Issue of Political Collaboration in the Philippines (1946); and David Joel Steinberg, Philippine Collaboration in World War II (1967). Studies of the Marcos and post-Marcos eras include Primitivo Mijares, The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos (1976); Monina Allarey Mercado (ed.), People Power: The Philippine Revolution of 1986 (1986); Gary Hawes, The Philippine State and the Marcos Regime: The Politics of Export (1987); and John Bresnan (ed.), Crisis in the Philippines: The Marcos Era and Beyond (1986), a comprehensive collection of essays by Filipino and American writers. Relations with the United States are treated in Peter W. Stanley, A Nation in the Making: The Philippines and the United States, 1899-1921 (1974); Emilio Aguinaldo and Vicente Albano Pacis, A Second Look at America (1957); and Peter W. Stanley (ed.), Reappraising an Empire: New Perspectives on Philippine-American History (1984). David O.D. Wurfel Gregorio C. Borlaza Administration and social conditions Government Constitutional framework The Philippines has been governed under three constitutions, the first of which was promulgated in 1935, during the period of U.S. administration. It was closely modeled on the U.S. Constitution and included provisions for a bicameral legislative branch, an executive branch headed by a president, and an independent judiciary. During the period of martial law (1972-81) under President Ferdinand E. Marcos, the old constitution was abolished and replaced by a new constitution (adopted in January 1973) that changed the Philippine government from a U.S.-style presidential system to a parliamentary form; the president became head of state, and executive power was vested in a prime minister and Cabinet. President Marcos, however, also served (until 1981) as prime minister and ruled by decree. Subsequent amendments and modifications of this constitution replaced the former bicameral legislature with a unicameral body and gave the president even more powers, including the ability to dissolve the legislature and (from 1981) to appoint a prime minister from among members of the legislature. After the downfall of Marcos in 1986, a new constitution, similar to the 1935 document, was drafted and was ratified in a popular referendum held in February 1987. Its key provision was a return to a bicameral legislature, called the Congress of the Philippines, consisting of a 250-member House of Representatives and a 24-member Senate. House members are elected from districts, although a number of them are appointed; they can serve no more than three consecutive three-year terms. Senators, elected at large, can serve a maximum of two six-year terms. The first legislative election under the new constitution was held in May 1987. The president, the head of state, can be elected to only a single six-year term, and the vice president to two consecutive six-year terms. The president appoints the Cabinet, which consists of the heads of the various ministries responsible for running the day-to-day business of the government. Most presidential appointments are subject to the approval of a Commission of Appointments, which consists of equal numbers of senators and representatives. Local government The country is divided administratively into 73 provinces, which are grouped into 12 regions; the National Capital Region has special status. Each province is headed by an elected governor. Local political subdivisions that also have elected officials include cities and municipalities; during the Marcos regime the ancient barangay was reinstated as the smallest unit of government. Cultural life Philippine society is an incongruous blend of diversity and homogeneity. Geographically the country is part of the East, but in culture it is strongly Western. Forces of assimilation have constantly worked to overcome differences caused by the relative physical isolation of various groups of people throughout the archipelago who had come over time from disparate ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Nearly four centuries of Western rule, however, left the most indelible imprint on the country, serving as a conduit for the introduction of Western culture and as the catalyst for the emergence of a sense of Philippine political and cultural unity. The Christian churches built by the Spaniards and the mosques in the Muslim areas provided a spiritual anchor, while the educational system established by the United States and expanded by the Filipinos became a strong factor for socioeconomic progress. Nonetheless, traditionally strong family ties and other Asian moorings have remained. The revival of the barangay as the smallest unit of government has contributed to the revival of ancient traditions; and Asian and African history and literature-neglected in the past-have received more attention. Thus, the Philippines has been strengthening its Asian ties without abandoning its Western cultural acquisitions. Early Spanish chroniclers testified that the Filipinos carved the images of their anitos (gods and goddesses) and ancestors in wood. They also played a variety of musical instruments, including flutes, nose flutes, and guitars. They performed appropriate songs and dances to celebrate courtship, marriage, the harvest, and other occasions. Many of these songs and dances, accompanied by the same musical instruments, have been preserved or reinterpreted and are presented by dance and song groups. Some of these groups-among them the Bayanihan, Filipinescas, Barangay, and Hariraya groups, as well as the Karilagan Ensemble and the groups associated with the guilds of the Manila and Fort Santiago theatres-have also performed abroad. Many Filipino musicians have risen to prominence, such as the composer and conductor Antonio J. Molina, the composer Felipe P. de Leon, known for his nationalistic themes, and the opera singer Jovita Fuentes. The Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Folk Arts Theatre, and the restored Manila Metropolitan Theatre (all in Manila) provide homes for the performing arts, featuring local and foreign opera and ballet. To encourage the development of arts the government gives awards of recognition and has established an Arts Center in Los Baos south of Manila. Filipino painters have included Juan Luna; Fernando Amorsolo, who is known for his traditional rural scenes; the muralists Carlos V. Francisco and Vicente Manansala; and the modernists Victorio Edades and Arturo Rogerio Luz. Among the sculptors, Guillermo Tolentino and Napoleon Abueva are prominent. Tribesmen from mountainous regions in northern Luzon and craftsmen living northwest of Manila and in Paete on the eastern shore of Laguna de Bay are known for wood carving. Romblon and other nearby islands are noted for their marble sculptures. Among Filipino architects, the most notable include Juan F. Nakpil, Otilio Arellano, Fernando Ocampo, Leandro Locsin, Juan Arellano, Carlos Arguelles, and Tomas Mapua. Folk traditions Filipinos have a rich folklore tradition. Myths and legends deal with such subjects as the origin of the world, the first man and woman on Earth, why the sky is high, why the sea is salty, and why there are different races. Other tales are associated with the Spanish conquest. Muslim Filipinos have an epic called Darangen, and the Ilocanos of northern Luzon have another entitled Biag ni Lamang. Most folktales and popular cultural traits are still to be found in remote barrios and sitios. Dean S. Fansler, Maximo Ramos, and Armando and Carolina Malay have compiled collections of Philippine folktales.