Philippines
"Its more Fun in the Philippines"
The Philippines is located at the western side of the Pacific Ocean and boasts of 7,100 islands which makes the country the second largest archipelago in the world. The Philippines has been a Spanish colony for more than three centuries and is one of the two countries in Asia Pacific which is predominantly Roman Catholic. The Philippines, after World War II also became a U.S. territory for 40 years. The English language is widely used by Filipinos and is one of the two official languages in the country.
The three hundred years of Spanish colonisation has largely influenced the Philippines’ languages. There are thousands of Spanish words that have become part of the local dialect. Zamboanga, a province in Mindanao, speaks Chavacano, a Spanish-based creole language, as their regional dialect. The dialect is widely spoken in Zamboanga City, Basilan and Sulu provinces and the Official 2000 Philippines census has recorded over 600,000 Chavacano speaking Fiipinos.
American influence is largely felt in the education sector and the modern culture. The former educational system in the Philippines consists of 6 years elementary or primary education and 4 years of high school or secondary education. Primary focus is in Math and Science as well as English. In 2010, A K-12 Educational System has been introduced and is now being implemented in four stages. The new educational system will include 6 years of high school education with Year 11 and 12 to be called as Senior High School.
The Philippines has an overall total population of 105.72 million as of 2013 and ranked as the 12th most populated country in the world. And although 2013 is a banner year for the Philippines in terms of economic growth, unemployment, poverty, overpopulation and waste management still remains as some of the major challenges. Metro Manila, which is the political, social, economic and educational hub of the country is also the most populated and actual ranked 11th in the list of most populous city in the world. The region is also responsible for a quarter of the country’s daily solid waste output. In Metro Manila, a single resident is on the average producing 0.7 kilogram or waste a day which is 130% higher than the world’s average.
Common Filipino values are a strong faith in God, optimism about the future, friendliness, being hospitable and respect for elders and women. As a nation, the Philippines have shown a united stand in the so called People Power Revolution in 1986. High Ranking military Officials plotted a coup attempt against the then President Ferdinand Marcos after a failed attempt to remove him from office during the Snap Election which has been fraught with election irregularities. The officials resigned from the posts and announced their withdrawal of support for the Marcos government. Over a million civilian and unarmed Filipinos flocked to the camp where the coup plotters were based to show their support, which prevented an ensuing battle. On the same revolution, a new President, Corazon Aquino was inducted into office for the first time in 21 years.
The three hundred years of Spanish colonisation has largely influenced the Philippines’ languages. There are thousands of Spanish words that have become part of the local dialect. Zamboanga, a province in Mindanao, speaks Chavacano, a Spanish-based creole language, as their regional dialect. The dialect is widely spoken in Zamboanga City, Basilan and Sulu provinces and the Official 2000 Philippines census has recorded over 600,000 Chavacano speaking Fiipinos.
American influence is largely felt in the education sector and the modern culture. The former educational system in the Philippines consists of 6 years elementary or primary education and 4 years of high school or secondary education. Primary focus is in Math and Science as well as English. In 2010, A K-12 Educational System has been introduced and is now being implemented in four stages. The new educational system will include 6 years of high school education with Year 11 and 12 to be called as Senior High School.
The Philippines has an overall total population of 105.72 million as of 2013 and ranked as the 12th most populated country in the world. And although 2013 is a banner year for the Philippines in terms of economic growth, unemployment, poverty, overpopulation and waste management still remains as some of the major challenges. Metro Manila, which is the political, social, economic and educational hub of the country is also the most populated and actual ranked 11th in the list of most populous city in the world. The region is also responsible for a quarter of the country’s daily solid waste output. In Metro Manila, a single resident is on the average producing 0.7 kilogram or waste a day which is 130% higher than the world’s average.
Common Filipino values are a strong faith in God, optimism about the future, friendliness, being hospitable and respect for elders and women. As a nation, the Philippines have shown a united stand in the so called People Power Revolution in 1986. High Ranking military Officials plotted a coup attempt against the then President Ferdinand Marcos after a failed attempt to remove him from office during the Snap Election which has been fraught with election irregularities. The officials resigned from the posts and announced their withdrawal of support for the Marcos government. Over a million civilian and unarmed Filipinos flocked to the camp where the coup plotters were based to show their support, which prevented an ensuing battle. On the same revolution, a new President, Corazon Aquino was inducted into office for the first time in 21 years.
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Flag of the Philippines
The National Flag of the Philippines is a horizontal flag with two colours. Royal Blue that represents a symbol of peace, truth, and justice. Scarlet Red that represents a symbol for patriotism, and valour. The white triangle symbolizes equality and fraternity. The three golden stars in the corners of the triangle, represents the three major group of island in the Philippines. Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The golden sun that you can see at the middle of the triangle symbolizes unity, freedom, people's democracy and sovereignty. as you can see, the sun has eight rays around it. The eight rays of the sun stand for the eight Provinces that revolutionized against Spain. Those Provinces were: Manila, Bulacan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Laguna, Batangas and Cavite. The 8 rays of the sun stands for the eight Provinces particularly Luzon.
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Source: http://www.akbayan-fanew.com/Philippine_Flag_Meaning.php, AKBAYAN-FANEW
THE HEART OF THE PHILIPPINES IN NORTHEAST WISCONSIN, Copyright 2008-2013
http://www.philippinecover.com/philippine-flag.html, Copyright © 2012-2013 PhilippineCover.com. All rights reserved.
http://www.worldflags101.com/p/philippine-flag.aspx, independent online information and consumer guide to Flags of the world. http://www.youtube.com/
THE HEART OF THE PHILIPPINES IN NORTHEAST WISCONSIN, Copyright 2008-2013
http://www.philippinecover.com/philippine-flag.html, Copyright © 2012-2013 PhilippineCover.com. All rights reserved.
http://www.worldflags101.com/p/philippine-flag.aspx, independent online information and consumer guide to Flags of the world. http://www.youtube.com/