The Philippines

Islands of Paradise

CATEGORIES

Connect with old friends! Connect with new friends!!
It’s FREE and SIMPLE. Our Social Network at Work for You.
Create your own Profile here in Z-Wiki. Check it out. Click on any of the letters below.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of the Philippines

Geography of The Philippines

Area: 300,000 sq. km. (117,187 sq. mi.).
Major cities (2005 estimate): Capital--Manila (pop. 11.29 million in metropolitan area); other cities--Davao City (1.33 million); Cebu City (0.82 million); Zamboanga City (0.77 million).
Terrain: Islands, 65% mountainous, with narrow coastal lowlands.
Climate: Tropical, astride typhoon belt.

People of The Republic of the Philippines

Nationality: Noun--Filipino(s). Adjective--Philippine.
Population (7/2007 estimate): 91.077 million ( COMELEC estimate - 217,680,140 ) estimate for 2006: 89.5 million.
Annual growth rate: 1.764%.
Ethnic groups: Malay, Chinese.
Religions: Catholic 85%, Protestant 9%, Muslim 5%, Buddhist and other 1%.
Languages: Pilipino (based on Tagalog), national language; English, language of government and instruction in education.
Read on...

Government of The Republic of the Philippines

Type: Republic.
Independence: 1946.
Constitution: February 11, 1987.
Branches: Executive--President and Vice-President/Cabinet. Legislative--bicameral legislature, Senate & Representatives. Judicial--independent, Supreme court & lower courts.

Constitutional Government: 117 Chartered Cities, 79 Provinces, 131 Provincial Cities, 1,497 Municipalities, and 41,994 Barangays,

Administrative subdivisions: 15 regions and Metro Manila (National Capital Region).
Political parties: Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, Nationalist People's Coalition, Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino, Liberal Party, Aksiyon Demokratiko, Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan, and other small parties.
Suffrage: Universal, but not compulsory, at age 18.

Read on...

Economy of The Republic of the Philippines

Read on...

Today's Economy of The Republic of the Philippines

GDP grew by 5.4% in 2006, marking the first time since the 1970s with three consecutive years of growth over 5%. Historically, the Philippines has had difficulty sustaining growth at over 5%. The GDP increased by 6% in 2004, a 15-year high, and by 5% in 2005. Growth in 2006 was fueled by increased electronics exports, growth in the outsourcing industry, and a 20% increase in remittances from overseas workers to $12.8 billion and about 13% of the GDP. Still, it will take a higher, sustained economic growth path to make more appreciable progress in poverty alleviation given the Philippines' annual population growth rate of 1.764%--one of the highest in Asia.

Read on...

Industry of The Republic of the Philippines

Industrial production is centered on the processing and assembly operations of the following: food, beverages, tobacco, rubber products, textiles, clothing and footwear, pharmaceuticals, paints, plywood and veneer, paper and paper products, small appliances, and electronics. Heavier industries are dominated by the production of cement, glass, industrial chemicals, fertilizers, iron and steel, and refined petroleum products.

The industrial sector is concentrated in urban areas, especially in the metropolitan Manila region, and has only weak linkages to the rural economy. Inadequate infrastructure, transportation, and communication have so far inhibited faster industrial growth, although significant strides have been made in addressing the last of these elements.

Mining in The Republic of the Philippines

The Philippines is one of the world's most highly mineralized countries, with untapped mineral wealth estimated at more than $840 billion. Philippine copper, gold, and chromite deposits are among the largest in the world. Other important minerals include nickel, silver, coal, gypsum, and sulfur. The Philippines also has significant deposits of clay, limestone, marble, silica, and phosphate. The discovery of natural gas reserves off Palawan has been brought on-line to generate electricity.

Despite its rich mineral deposits, the Philippine mining industry is just a fraction of what it was in the 1970s and 1980s when the country ranked among the ten leading gold and copper producers worldwide. Low metal prices, high production costs, and lack of investment in infrastructure have contributed to the industry's overall decline. A December 2004 Supreme Court decision upheld the constitutionality of the 1995 Mining Act, thereby allowing up to 100% foreign-owned companies to invest in large-scale exploration, development, and utilization of minerals, oil, and gas.

Foreign Relations of The Republic of the Philippines

In its foreign policy, the Philippines cultivates constructive relations with its Asian neighbors, with whom it is linked through membership in ASEAN, of which it will serve as Chair until summer 2007; the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF); and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. The Philippines is a member of the UN and some of its specialized agencies, and served a two-year term as a member of the UN Security Council from January 2004-2006, acting as UNSC President in September 2005. Since 1992, the Philippines has been a member of the Non-Aligned Movement. The government is seeking observer status in the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). The Philippines has played a key role in ASEAN in recent years and also values its relations with the countries of the Middle East, in no small part because hundreds of thousands of Filipinos are employed in that region. The welfare of the some eight million overseas Filipino workers is considered to be a pillar of Philippine foreign policy. Foreign exchange remittances from these workers exceed 12% of the country's gross domestic product.

The fundamental Philippine attachment to democracy and human rights is also reflected in its foreign policy. Philippine soldiers and police have participated in a number of multilateral civilian police and peacekeeping operations, and a Philippine Army general served as the first commander of the UN Peacekeeping Operation in East Timor. The Philippines presently has peacekeepers in Haiti and Liberia. The Philippines also participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom, deploying some 50 troops to Iraq in 2003. (These troops were subsequently withdrawn in 2004 after a Filipino overseas worker was kidnapped.) The Philippine Government also has been active in efforts to reduce tensions among rival claimants to the territories and waters of the resource-rich South China Sea.

People of The Republic of the Philippines

The majority of Philippine people are of Malay stock, descendants of Indonesians and Malays who migrated to the islands long before the Christian era. The most significant ethnic minority group is the Chinese, who have played an important role in commerce since the ninth century, when they first came to the islands to trade. As a result of intermarriage, many Filipinos have some Chinese and Spanish ancestry. Americans and Spaniards constitute the next largest alien minorities in the country.

More than 90% of the people are Christian; most were converted and became westernized to varying degrees during nearly 400 years of Spanish and American rule. The major non-Hispanicized groups are the Muslim population, concentrated in the Sulu Archipelago and in central and western Mindanao, and the mountain groups of northern Luzon. Small forest tribes still live in the more remote areas of Mindanao.

About 87 native languages and dialects are spoken, all belonging to the MalChartered City Listay-Polynesian linguistic family. Of these, eight are the first languages of more than 85% of the population. The three principal indigenous languages are Cebuano, spoken in the Visayas; Tagalog, predominant in the area around Manila; and Ilocano, spoken in northern Luzon. Since 1939, in an effort to develop national unity, the government has promoted the use of the national language, Pilipino, which is based on Tagalog. Pilipino is taught in all schools and is gaining widespread acceptance across the archipelago. Many use English, the most important nonnative language, as a second language, including nearly all professionals, academics, and government workers. In January 2003, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the Department of Education to restore English as the medium of instruction in all schools and universities. However, most of the English-speaking community still writes at a middle grade level, although, as noted, exceptions are found among the highly or U.S. educated populations. Only a few Filipino families use Spanish as a first language.

The Philippines has one of the highest literacy rates in the East Asian and Pacific area. About 92% of the population 10 years of age and older are literate.

History of The Republic of the Philippines

The Philippine Islands became a Spanish colony during the 16th century; they were ceded to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. In 1935 the Philippines became a self-governing commonwealth. Manuel QUEZON was elected president and was tasked with preparing the country for independence after a 10-year transition. In 1942 the islands fell under Japanese occupation during WWII, and US forces and Filipinos fought together during 1944-45 to regain control. On 4 July 1946 the Republic of the Philippines attained its independence. The 20-year rule of Ferdinand MARCOS ended in 1986, when a "people power" movement in Manila ("EDSA 1") forced him into exile and installed Corazon AQUINO as president. Her presidency was hampered by several coup attempts, which prevented a return to full political stability and economic development. Fidel RAMOS was elected president in 1992 and his administration was marked by greater stability and progress on economic reforms. In 1992, the US closed its last military bases on the islands. Joseph ESTRADA was elected president in 1998, but was succeeded by his vice-president, Gloria MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, in January 2001 after ESTRADA's stormy impeachment trial on corruption charges broke down and another "people power" movement ("EDSA 2") demanded his resignation. MACAPAGAL-ARROYO was elected to a six-year term as president in May 2004. The Philippine Government faces threats from three terrorist groups on the US Government's Foreign Terrorist Organization list, but in 2006 and 2007 scored some major successes in capturing or killing key wanted terrorists. Decades of Muslim insurgency in the southern Philippines have led to a peace accord with one group and an ongoing cease-fire and peace talks with another.

The history of the Philippines can be divided into seven very distinct phases: 1. the pre-Spanish period (before 1521); 2. the Spanish period (1521-1898); 3. the Filipino Revolution period; 4. the American period (1898-1946); 5. the Japanese occupation period; 6. the Philippine Independence and 7. the post-Independence period (1946-present).

Read on...

Pre-Spanish Period of The Republic of the Philippines

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. Subsequently, people of Malay stock came from the south in successive waves, the earliest by land bridges and later in boats by sea. The Malays settled in scattered communities, named barangays after the large outrigger boats in which they arrived, and ruled by chieftains known as datus. Chinese merchants and traders arrived and settled in the ninth century, and 500 years later, Arabs arrived, introducing Islam in the south and extending some influence even into Luzon. The Malays, however, remained the dominant group until the Spanish arrived in the 16th century.

Spanish Colony Period of The Republic of the Philippines

Ferdinand Magellan reached the Philippines and claimed the archipelago 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 Catholicism. A Spanish colonial social system was developed with a government centered in Manila and with considerable clerical influence. Spanish influence was strongest in Luzon and the central Philippines but less so in Mindanao, save for certain coastal cities.

The Philippine-Spanish War

The long period of Spanish rule was marked by numerous uprisings. Towards the latter half of the 19th century, Western-educated Filipinos or ilustrados (such as national hero Jose Rizal) began to criticize the excesses of Spanish rule and instilled a new sense of national identity. This movement gave inspiration to the final revolt against Spain that 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 Spanish-American War. Aguinaldo declared independence from Spain on June 12, 1898.

The Philippine-American War

Following Admiral George Dewey's defeat of the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay, the U.S. occupied the Philippines. Spain ceded the islands to the United States under the terms of the Treaty of Paris (December 10, 1898) that ended the war.

A war of resistance against U.S. rule, led by revolutionary President Aguinaldo, broke out in 1899. This conflict claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Filipinos and thousands of Americans. Although Americans have historically used the term "the Philippine Insurrection", Filipinos and an increasing number of American historians refer to these hostilities as the Philippine-American War (1899-1902), and in 1999, the U.S. Library of Congress reclassified its references to use this term. In 1901, Aguinaldo was captured and swore allegiance to the U.S., and resistance gradually died out until the conflict ended with a Peace Proclamation on July 4, 1902. However, armed resistance continued sporadically until 1913, especially in Mindanao and Sulu, with heavy casualties on both sides.

American Colony Period in The Republic of the Philippines

The United States' administration of the Philippines was declared to be temporary and aimed to develop institutions that would permit and encourage the eventual establishment of a free and democratic government. Therefore, U.S. officials concentrated on the creation of such practical supports for democratic government as public education and a sound legal system.

President McKinley's Schurmann Commission (1899) recognized the determination of the Filipino people to gain their independence and recommended the establishment of the institutions for a civilian domestic government as soon as practical.

Even though on March 16, 1900 the fighting in the War of Independence was still far from over, President McKinley appointed the Second Philippine Commission (Taft Commission) and gave it the legislative and executive authority to put in place the civilian government the Schurmann Commission had recommended.

With 499 statutes issued between September 1900 and August 1902, the Taft Commission swept away three centuries of Spanish governance and installed in its place the laws and institutions of a modern civil state akin to that of the United States. It established a code of law, a judicial system and elective municipal and provincial governments.

The Philippine Organic Act of 1902 extended the protections of the United States Bill of Rights to Filipinos and established a national bi-cameral legislature. The lower house was the popularly elected Philippine Assembly and the upper house was the Philippine Commission appointed directly by the President of the United States.

Following American practice, the Philippine Organic Act imposed the strict separation of church and state and eliminated the Roman Catholic Church as the official state religion. In 1904 the administration paid the Vatican US$7.2 million for most of the lands held by the religious orders and were later sold back to Filipinos.

The first legislative assembly was elected in 1907, and a bicameral legislature, largely under Philippine control, was established. A civil service was formed and was gradually taken over by the Filipinos, who had effectively gained control by the end of World War I.

The Jones Act of 1916 carried forward the Philippine Organic Act of 1902. An elected Philippine Senate replaced the appointed Philippine Commission and the former Philippine Assembly was renamed the House of Representatives. As before, the Governor-General, responsible for the executive branch, was appointed by the United States President.

The Philippine Commonwealth Period

In 1935, under the terms of the Tydings-McDuffie Act, the Philippines became a self-governing commonwealth of the United States. Manuel Quezon was elected president of the new government, which was designed to prepare the country for independence after a 10-year transition period. World War II intervened, however, and in May 1942, Corregidor, the last American/Filipino stronghold, fell to the invading Japanese forces. U.S. forces in the Philippines surrendered to the Japanese, placing the islands under Japanese control. During the occupation, thousands of Filipinos fought a running guerilla campaign against Japanese forces.

The full-scale war to regain the Philippines began when General Douglas MacArthur landed on Leyte on October 20, 1944. Filipinos and Americans fought together until the Japanese surrendered in September 1945. Much of Manila was destroyed during the final months of the fighting, making it the second most devastated city of World War II after Warsaw. In total, an estimated one million Filipinos lost their lives in the war.

The Philippine Commonwealth lasted from 1935 to 1946, with a three-and-a-half year interruption by Japanese military occupation from their invasion on December 1941 through their surrender on August 1945.  Due to the Japanese occupation, the guerrilla warfare that followed, and the battles leading to liberation, the country suffered great damage and a complete organizational breakdown. Despite the shaken state of the country, the U.S. and the Philippines decided to move forward with plans for independence.

Up to this point, the Philippine Commonwealth was the first large-scale nation building program the United States has ever undertaken for any of its territorial occupation and acquisitions, both militarily and governmental.  Also, it is the longest such a human-scale enterprise the United States has ever attempted and accomplished in its history: forty-eight (48) years (1898-1946).  The lessons learned have forever laid an imprint on both countries and their mutual cooperation still prevail to this day.

On July 4, 1946, the Philippine Islands became the independent Republic of the Philippines, in accordance with the terms of the Tydings-McDuffie Act. In 1962, the official Philippine Independence Day was changed from July 4 to June 12, commemorating the date independence from Spain was declared by Emilio Aguinaldo in 1898.

Post-Independence Period of The Republic of the Philippines

The early years of independence were dominated by U.S.-assisted postwar reconstruction. The communist-inspired Huk Rebellion (1945-53) complicated recovery efforts before its successful suppression under the leadership of President Ramon Magsaysay. The succeeding administrations of Presidents Carlos P. Garcia (1957-61) and Diosdado Macapagal (1961-65) sought to expand Philippine ties to its Asian neighbors, implement domestic reform programs, and develop and diversify the economy.

Read on...

Constitutional Government and Political Conditions of The Republic of the Philippines

The Philippines has a representative democracy modeled on the U.S. system. The 1987 Constitution, adopted during the Aquino administration, reestablished a presidential system of government with a bicameral legislature and an independent judiciary. The president is limited to one six-year term. Provision also was made in the constitution for autonomous regions in Muslim areas of Mindanao and in the Cordillera region of northern Luzon, where many indigenous tribes still live.

The 24-member Philippine Senate is elected at large, and all senators serve six-year terms. Half are elected every three years. Of a maximum of 250 members in the House of Representatives, 212 are elected from single-member districts to serve three-year terms. The remainder of the House seats are designated for sectoral party representatives elected at large, called party list representatives; from the May 2004 elections, there were 24 such representatives in the House. All representatives serve three-year terms, with a maximum of three consecutive terms. On May 14, 2007, legislative and local elections were held and official results have been finalized.

Local Government of The Republic of the Philippines

Once upon a time, the Philippines was just a collection of islands with different types of people spread out on different islands, managing their own cluster of residences.  When the Spaniards arrived in the 16th century, they colonized the islands and introduced their system of government to the islanders.  The islands became a country and the country became a subdivision of local governments set up in a system of hierarchy.  The capital was the seat of government where the governor ruled the state.  The state was divided into cities, or sitios, and the cities were further divided into barrios, similar to the early barangays of the islands.

When the United States arrived with their American democratic form of government, they converted the Spanish-style of government in the Philippines into their own form of republic government with a democratic constitution.  During the early years of occupation, the country was subdivided into a few ruling areas called Provinces, and instilled a Governor to rule over the subjects composed in their respective provincial territories.  Each province had a capital where the governor held his office and seat of government.  The largest of these civil provinces, albeit military in composition, was the Moro Province, which encompassed the Sulu Archipelago, Basilan Island, and most of Mindanao Island.  The ancient Spanish town of Zamboanga was made its capital due to its mighty military Fort Pilar, reflecting the ongoing hostilities against the Moros.  At that time, the Moro Province was the largest province in the Philippines and the world, in terms of land size.

Chartered City

After years of trials and errors, the Philippines became a Commonwealth of the United States.  Soon afterwards, a few historically independent communities filed petitions with the new Philippine Congress for Chartered City status, moving away from the collective governance they were placed in with their American administrative province. This Chartered City distinction still prevails today in post-World War II and post-Martial Law Philippines.  Today's charted city status in the new-constitution Philippines is accorded in the same way as it was in the commonwealth era, by the sole Act of Congress.  The legal emancipation of a chartered city from its previous province is the crowning glory of its ability to grow up and be its own legal entity.  Many chartered cities in the Philippines have become so populous and highly productive that their city's GDP output surpasses their former province's collective output many times over.  These few highly equipped, productive, and populated chartered cities have been further classified as Highly Urbanized Cities (HUC) by the national government for administrative purposes, however, they still remain by legal Congressional definition as "Chartered Cities."  Their former provinces cannot legally claim to still own any of these chartered cities as it would be unlawful.  Only the Philippine Congress can undo their Act in giving legal charter to a city and return it to its former province.  Such act would have to break the city into many separate legal districts with population well below the required amount for chartered status, constitutionally set at 250,000 residents, essentially being a reversal of the chartered city process.

Additionally, Chartered Cities were subclassified by the National Government for budget allotment purposes by keeping track of their annual fiscal revenues in order to accordingly fix the rates of city officials and employees' salaries, under Republic Act No. 840 on April 7, 1953.  They were as follows:

Chartered Cities' subclassifications:

1. First Class

2. Second Class

3. Third Class

4. Fourth Class

5. Fifth Class

6. Sixth Class - later addition

Read on...

Province

Nevertheless, each remaining province can still have their respective subdivided municipalities and barangays to care for until they are ready to be independent.

A province's municipality is a "city" by character, having its own limited corporate charter and elected government officials headed by a mayor, vice-mayor, and council, just like a chartered city would, but is still an integral part of the province it belongs to.  Each provincial municipality will consist of its own cluster of provincial barangays, and each barangay will have its own set of elected barangay officials headed by the barangay chairman, or "captain."

If a provincial municipality becomes populated enough to meet a constitutional requirement of becoming a provincial city, then Congress will promote it into provincial city status, becoming semi-independent from the province with its own set of provincial city charter rules and city government, but still very much a legal "component" or part of the province's jurisdiction.  A provincial city may rise up to become the capital city of its parent province, becoming a provincial capital city.  The same hierarchical process is applicable to a provincial barangay, the "barangay" being the lowest form of government in the country, if and when it meets the legal criteria of status change. 

Ultimately, when a provincial city makes the grade to become an independent chartered city, Congress will once again have to grant it its new city charter so it can begin its corporate existence, forever removing itself from the legal jurisdiction of its former province.  When the independent chartered city successfully expands itself, it may further be classified by the Executive branch as a highly-urbanized chartered city accordingly.  Simply put, an independent chartered city is just called a city because by legal definition it is understood to be chartered and independent of any province.  On the other hand, a provincial city can never be presumed to be legally independent regardless of its charter, which is restricted, and will always be legally part of its parent province by association and boundary until it is ready for legal emancipation.

Congressional Districts and Representatives

Essentially, if all the municipalities within the legal boundaries of a province become independent chartered cities, the province will legally cease to exist and will need to be abolished by Congress.  In contrast, a chartered city can ideally only get bigger and better.  The more populated a chartered city gets, the more powerful it can get in terms of its number of Congressional Legislative Districts and Representatives in the Philippine Congress.  Each chartered city is accorded one congressional district and representative for every 250,000 population it gets according to the official Census. 

By contrast, if a province's municipality grows to over 200,000 people, that municipality can file for chartered city status with the Philippine Congress and when granted, will forever be removed from the legal jurisdiction of its former province.  Meaning, every province will stand to loose its equivalent size in population and territory whenever its municipality grows big enough to become chartered, and the province will also loose its equal share of congressional district and representation to the newly created chartered city. 

Province's Birthright

This cycle of growth and loss is the birthright of each province as they fill their role of parenting a potential chartered city's future emancipation and growth, up to a point where it will cease to legally exist when all the municipalities within its provincial jurisdiction have grown up to be independent chartered cities.  By then, the province's task as a "parent" to these grown-up municipalities will have been completed and they can be happily sent off to official retirement for a job well done as caretakers.  The independent chartered cities will however continue to grow and become legal masters of their own future destiny.  The former province will only be a distant memory and influence of the growing independent chartered city. 

However, if a provincial government wants to continue their hold on political power, they can pursue a vote to breakup and divide the single province into two, and thereby create a brand new province and try to establish a new lease on their time-barred term for being Governor, et al, wherein the current constitutional term limit is set at three consecutive terms.  It is hopeful that this type of political corruption does not occur, but it still will not change the constitutional fact that a province's role in the local government system of the Philippines is to nurture an enclave of dependent barangays into a provincial municipality, a dependent small provincial municipality into a provincial city (or a "component" city of a province, as referenced by the Executive branch) that has its limited charter, and finally a provincial city into an independent chartered city.  This is the true essence of a province - no more, no less.

Region

A sub-national administrative unit comprising of several provinces having more or less homogenous characteristics, such as ethnic origin of inhabitants, dialect spoken, agricultural produce, etc.  This regional classification is a geographical management policy by the Executive branch for the purpose of providing relevant national government services and planning to their scope of statistical needs and wants.  It also helps to increase the size of the national government's employees and payroll.  The more regions, the more national governmental employees will need to be hired to "manage" those regions, in addition to those "regions" already having their own respective city or province government.  A double-layer of "local governance" meant for the betterment of the country.

It must be emphasized here that regardless of how the Philippines' Executive Branch changed and implemented their "Local Government Code of 1991," their administrative description of what constitutes a local government, whether it be city or province, can never overrule the Acts of the Legislative Branch - the Philippine Congress.  Only the Legislative Branch can make or rescind laws in accordance to the Constitution.  Any laws or acts the Executive Branch implements is exclusively meant for the legal administration of the local governments and is not meant to be construed as usurping the powers of the Legislative Branch.  To do so would mean an act of Martial Law or a Dictatorship exist.

These legal facts are hard to be grasped by some lay people who try to impose upon others their understanding of the Act of Congress on their encyclopedia website.  The Philippines is a young and growing democracy, and its people are hopeful their country is heading in the right direction.  The ongoing corruption in the country is expanding into cyberspace where history is being changed in front of the watching world.  Many are still up in arms against the incessant corruption.

The government continues to face threats from terrorist groups, including the Communist New People's Army and Muslim groups. The terrorist Abu Sayaff Group (ASG), which gained international notoriety with its kidnappings of foreign tourists in the southern islands, remains a major problem for the government, along with members of the Indonesian-based Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). Efforts to track down and destroy the ASG and JI have met with some success, especially in Basilan and Jolo, where U.S. troops advised, assisted, and trained Philippine soldiers in counterterrorism. In August 2006, the Armed Forces of the Philippines began a major offensive against ASG and JI on the island of Jolo. This offensive was remarkably successful and has resulted so far in the deaths of Abu Sayaff leader Khadafy Janjalani and his deputy, Abu Solaiman. The U.S. Government provided rewards to Philippine citizens whose information led to these deaths in the military operations, as well as to many other operations against terrorist leaders.

An international monitoring team continues to watch over a four-year-old cease-fire agreement between the government and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). In June 2003, the MILF issued a formal renunciation of terrorism. Talks on a peace accord between the two sides continue, with the Government of Malaysia acting as principal mediator.

Principal Government Officials of The Republic of the Philippines

President -- Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Vice-President -- Noli De Castro

Foreign Secretary -- Alberto Romulo
Ambassador-to-the-United States -- Ambassador Willie Gaa
Permanent Representative to the UN -- Hilario G. Davide

The Republic of the Philippines maintains an embassy in the United States at 1600 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 (tel. 202-467-9300). Consulates general are in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Honolulu, and Agana, Guam.

U.S.-Philippines Relations

U.S.-Philippine relations are based on shared history and commitment to democratic principles, as well as on economic ties. The historical and cultural links between the Philippines and the U.S. remain strong. The Philippines modeled its governmental institutions on those of the U.S. and continues to share a commitment to democracy and human rights. At the most fundamental level of bilateral relations, human links continue to form a strong bridge between the two countries. There are an estimated four million Americans of Philippine ancestry in the United States, and more than 250,000 American citizens in the Philippines.

Read on...

Trade and Investment of The Republic of the Philippines

Two-way U.S. merchandise trade with the Philippines amounted to $16.1 billion in 2005 (U.S. Department of Commerce data). According to Philippine Government data, some 18% of the Philippines' imports in 2005 came from the U.S., and about 18% of its exports were bound for America. The Philippines ranks as our 25^th largest export market and our 28^th largest supplier. Key exports to the U.S. are semiconductor devices and computer peripherals, automobile parts, electric machinery, textiles and garments, wheat and animal feeds, and coconut oil. In addition to other goods, the Philippines imports raw and semi-processed materials for the manufacture of semiconductors, electronics and electrical machinery, transport equipment, and cereals and cereal preparations.

Read on...

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

The U.S. Embassy is located at 1201 Roxas Boulevard, Manila; tel. (63)(2) 528-6300; fax 522-4361; website: http://manila.usembassy.gov/. The American Business Center is located at 25/F, Ayala Life - FGU Center, 6811 Ayala Avenue, Makati City. It houses the Foreign Commercial Service: tel. (63)(2) 888-4088; fax 888-6606; website: http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwh3012.html; and the Foreign Agricultural Service: tel. (63)(2) 887-1137; fax 887-1268; website: http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwh3011.html.

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION

The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Consular Information Sheets, Public Announcements, and Travel Warnings. Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Public Announcements are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Public Announcements, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

Copyright © 1997-2009  Zamboanga.com  All rights reserved.