Info4Migrants THE PHILIPPINES Country profile Project number: UK/13/LLP-LdV/TOI-615 300,000 km2 POPULATION 100,617 mln GDP per capita $3,256 CURRENCY Peso (₱) (PHP) Languages FILIPINO (TAGALOG), EN� GLISH, 19 official auxiliary languages, 175 native languages (13 indigenous languages with at least one million native speakers) 2 Learnmera Oy www.thelanguagemenu.com Country profileTHE PHILIPPINES COUNTRY BACKGROUND THE PHILIPPINES Manila MALAYSIA INDONESIA Official name: Republic of the Philippines Location: Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Philip- pine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam Climate: either tropical rainforest, tropical savanna, tropical National Flag monsoon, or humid subtropical characterized by relatively high temperature, oppressive humidity and plenty of rainfall. There are two seasons in the country, the wet season and the dry season, based upon the amount of rainfall. Capital: Manila Largest city: Quezon City Ethnic Make-up: Christian Malay 91.5%, Muslim Malay 4%, Chinese 1.5%, other 3% Religions: Roman Catholic 83%, Protestant 9%, Muslim 5%, Buddhist and other 3% National emblem 3 Learnmera Oy www.thelanguagemenu.com Country profileTHE PHILIPPINES THE PHILIPPINES FACTS Languages Filipino (formerly Pilipino) is based on Tagalog, and it is the official language of the Philippines. In spite of being the na- tional language, only about 55 percent of Filipinos speak the language. In addition to Filipino, there are about 111 dis- tinct indigenous languages and dialects, of which only about 10 are important regionally. English is generally used for educational, governmental and commercial purposes, and it is widely understood since it is the medium of instruction in schools. The Philippines are the third largest group of English-speaking people in the world, after the United States and the United Kingdom. Since English is widely spoken in the Philippines, it is com- mon to hear Filipinos use a mixture of English and Filipino words or phrases, known as “Taglish” (a mixture of English and Tagalog), in their everyday conversations. A steadily dwindling minority still speak Spanish, which had at one time been an official language. Family values The family is the centre of the social structure and in- cludes the nuclear family, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins and honorary relations, such as godparents, sponsors, and close family friends. People get strength and stability from their family. As such, many children have several godparents. Concern for the extended fam- ily is seen in the patronage provided to family members when they seek employment. It is common for members of the same family to work for the same company. In fact, many collective bargaining agreements state that family members will be preferred in hiring. 4 Learnmera Oy www.thelanguagemenu.com Country profileTHE PHILIPPINES THE PHILIPPINES FACTS Flag The National Flag of the Philippines (Filipino: Pamban- sang Watawat ng Pilipinas), commonly known as the Three Stars and a Sun, is a horizontal bicolor flag with equal bands of royal blue and scarlet red, and with a white equilateral triangle at the hoist; in the center of the triangle, there is a golden yellow sun with eight pri- mary rays, which represent the country’s first group of provinces that started the 1896 Philippine Revolution against Spain; and at each vertex of the triangle there is a five-pointed golden yellow star, each of which represents one of the country’s three main island groups - Luzon, Vi- sayas, and Mindanao. This flag can indicate a state of war if it is displayed with the red side on top. Hiya Hiya signifies shame, and it is a motivating factor be- hind behaviour. It refers to a sense of social propriety and conforming to societal norms of behaviour. Filipinos believe they must live up to the accepted standards of behaviour, and if they fail to do so they bring shame not only upon themselves, but also upon their family. One indication of this might be a willingness to spend more than they can afford on a party rather than be shamed by their economic circumstances. If someone is publicly humiliated, criticized, or does not live up to expecta- tions, they feel shame and lose self-esteem. Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila, commonly known as Metro Manila, the National Capital Region of the Philippines, is the seat of the government and the most populous of the 12 de- fined metropolitan areas in the Philippines, as well as the 11th most populous in the world. 5 Learnmera Oy www.thelanguagemenu.com Country profileTHE PHILIPPINES THE PHILIPPINES FACTS Typhoons The Philippines sit astride the typhoon belt, and the country suffers an annual onslaught of dangerous storms from July through October. These are especially hazardous for northern and eastern Luzon and the Bicol and Eastern Visayas regions, but Manila gets devastated periodically as well. Bagyó is the local term to any tropi- cal cyclone in the Philippine Islands. Around an average of 20 storms and/or typhoons per year enter the Philip- pine area. Slums The Philippines have Asia’s fastest-growing economy, but tragically many who live there are being left far behind in abject poverty. These are some of the Philippines’ most desperate people, the thousands of Manila slum and shanty town dwellers forced to live in makeshift homes hastily built from scrap in the areas most at risk of natural disasters. It is believed that around 105,000 of the 580,000 immigrants in the capital have been forced to set up home in disaster-prone areas. The greatest threat is flooding, which occurs most years, but they are also vulnerable to powerful tropical storms. Indigenous People The Philippines consist of a large number of indigenous ethnic groups living in the country. They are the descen- dants of the original inhabitants of the Philippines. They were not absorbed by centuries of Spanish and United States colonization of the Philippines archipelago, and in the process they have retained their customs and tradi- tions. In the 1990s, there were more than 100 highland tribal groups constituting approximately 3% of the pop- ulation. 6 Learnmera Oy www.thelanguagemenu.com Country profileTHE PHILIPPINES PUBLIC HOLIDAYS 1 January: New Year’s Day Moveable day during spring: Moveable day during Celebrates the first day of the Good Friday autumn: Eidul Adha year in the Gregorian calen- It commemorates the suffer- Celebrates the end of the Hajj dar. ing, crucifixion and death of and the feast of the sacrifice. Christ. Moveable date in spring: 1-2 November: Chinese New Year 1 May: May Day All Saints’ Day Also known as the Spring International Labour day in Filipinos observe this day Festival or Lunar New Year, it the Philippines. by visiting their ancestors’ is mainly celebrated by the graves. Filipino Chinese but has slow- 12 June: Independence Day ly received wider exposure in Celebrates the Philippine Dec- 30 November: Bonifacio Day popular culture. laration of Independence and Commemorates the birth of the establishment of the First national hero Andrés Bonifa- 9 April: Day of Valor Philippine Republic in 1898. cio in 1863. Commemorates the Fall of Bataan during the Japanese Moveable day during 24-25 December: invasion of the Philippines, summer: Eid’l Fitr Christmas and by extension, the courage Celebrates the end of the fast- Celebrates the Nativity of of Filipino and American sol- ing month of Ramadan; Christ. Christian families gen- diers at the Fall of Corregidor erally hold an midnight feast during the Second World War. 21 August: called nochebuena on Christ- Ninoy Aquino Day mas Eve. Moveable day during spring: Commemorates the unsolved Black Saturday assassination of former Sen- 30 December: Rizal Day It remembers the day Christ’s ator and prominent opposi- Commemorates the execution body was lain in the sepul- tionist Benigno “Ninoy” Aqui- of national hero José Rizal by chre, while his soul descend- no, Jr. in 1983, which was a Spanish colonial government ed into the realm of the dead catalyst for the People Power in 1896. to save righteous souls. Revolution in 1986. 31 December:Last day of the Moveable day during spring: Last Monday in August: year Maundy Thursday National Heroes’ Day On New Year’s Eve, families This holy day commemorates Commemorates all the na- hold another midnight feast the Last Supper of Christ with tion’s heroes throughout called medianoche to greet his twelve apostles. history. the coming year. 7 Learnmera Oy www.thelanguagemenu.com Country profileTHE PHILIPPINES HISTORY IN BRIEF The history of the Philippines can be divided into four distinct phases: the pre-Spanish period (before 1521), the Spanish period (1521-1898), the American period (1898-1946), and the years since independence (1946-present). Pre-Spanish Period The first people in the Philippines, the Negritos, are believed to have come to the islands 30,000 years ago from Borneo and Sumatra, making their way across then-existing land bridges. The Malays settled in scattered communities called baranggays, which were ruled by chieftains known as datus. Chinese merchants and traders arrived and settled in the ninth century. In the 14th century, Arabs arrived, introducing Islam in the south and ex- tending some influence even into Luzon. The Malays, however, remained the dominant group until the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. Spanish Period Ferdinand Magellan claimed the Philippines for Spain in 1521, and for the next 377 years, the islands were under Spanish rule. This period was the era of conversion to Roman Ca- tholicism. A Spanish colonial social system was developed, complete with a strong, cen- tralized government and considerable clerical influence. The Filipinos were restless under the Spanish and this long period was marked by numerous uprisings. The most important of these began in 1896 under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo and continued until the Americans defeated the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, during the Span- ish-American War.