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 If you see the part that says Negros we can assure you, it's not what you think it means.
A former Spanish, then US colony, the Republic of the Philippines (Republika ng Pilipinas) is a democratic state in the Western Pacific. This chain of 7,107 islands (divided into three main island groups - Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao) is the third most-populous English speaking country and its Malay population is 83% Roman Catholic, making this the largest Christian country in Asia. Became independent in 1946, after a brief independence from 1898-1901.
The country has had two female presidents: Corazon "Cory" Aquino and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was replaced by Benigno S. "Noynoy" Aquino III, the highly popular son of the former and the latest in line amongst a politically-influential clan in 2010. The Philippines is still a developing country, plagued by political instability and Islamic insurgency in the south (along with the longest running Communist rebellion in Southeast Asia), but people are rather optimistic according to international surveys, though this is subjective (both Time and Reader's Digest have published articles trying to rationalize why Filipinos are relatively happy in comparison to more successful and industrialized countries).
It relies on a lot on foreign remittances from the 11% of its people who live overseas. That's right, one of the country's biggest exports is Filipinos, who make up a major proportion of the merchant shipping crews of this world, as well as its hotel staff. Filipino maids or au pair are pretty common in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong (they speak English for a start). It also is a major exporter of nurses and Roman Catholic priests.
HistoryThe islands had cultural and trading links to East and the rest of Southeast Asia long before European colonization. Ferdinand Magellan discovered them for Spain in 1521 during his voyage of circumnavigation, but he was then killed in battle by one of the local chiefs (see below). Spanish colonization efforts began in earnest decades later, in 1565. The country was named after the Spanish monarch (then prince) Philip II. The Philippines was ruled as a part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (which also included Mexico and other parts of Latin America) until the Mexican Revolution. Through the centuries, the Spanish had to contend with Dutch and English designs on the country, and even the odd Chinese pirate warlord or two. The country also saw various revolts through the years, and the heavily Muslim Mindanao region in the south was never completely subjugated. Decades of unrest culminated in the Philippine Revolution of 1896 that led to independence being declared on June 12, 1898. The Spanish-American War complicated things, as the US joined the fight against Spain in 1898 but then annexed the islands from Spain that same year. The Filipinos now found themselves resisting new masters, but by the second decade of the 20th century things had quieted down (relatively). A Commonwealth was inaugurated in 1935 in order to prepare the country for full independence in 1945. But it was occupied by the Japanese during World War II, its people fighting the Japanese fiercely with guerrilla warfare (as they had fought the Spanish and Americans). On July 4, 1946, the US granted independence to the country, which today is celebrated as Philippine-American Friendship Day. 1972 saw the nation fall under martial law. Then-current president, Ferdinand Marcos, who'd been in office since 1965, proceeded to rule the country until 1986 when his regime collapsed, marked by nonviolent mass protests dubbed "People Power" (or the "EDSA Revolution", take your pick). Since then the country has continued to have a colorful history, what with stuff like coup attempts (which invariably fail, unless you count the EDSA revolutions as coup attempts, which generally aren't considered so), religious tensions, secessionist and communist rebellions (the latter has essentially been going on since the end of World War II), natural disasters (though these have been there for time immemorial) and presidential corruption scandals (including an impeachment trial).ReligionThe Philippines, like many of the classic Spanish colonies, is a predominantly Christian country, and to a large extent, a predominantly Catholic one. Filipino Catholics have historically had a love-hate relationship with their Church - while in the 19th century many were dissatisfied with the religious orders who effectively served as local government, and some like Jose Rizal were into outright anticlericalism, in the present day, the churches are usually full, religious processions clog up the streets, and, despite a good part of the intelligentsia hating it, some of the West's more liberal social legislation won't pass for quite a while; both divorce among non-Muslims (we'll get to them later) and abortion are prohibited. It's also notable to point out how Filipino Catholics in general vary considerably in terms of how religious they actually are (in part from Catholic-influenced culture) and have a mix of conservative and liberal views, especially with regards to their openness (or at least tolerance) to homosexuality. More recently with the Reproductive Health bill (and the arrest of one pro-RH activist following an incident in Manila Cathedral), the love-hate dynamic has once again resurfaced. There is also some dissonance of sorts between the official Church and Folk Catholicism commonly practiced by Filipinos (see below). The Catholic Church is often described as the unofficial established church. About five percent of the population is Muslim, mostly concentrated in the south. Many of their political leaders are involved in an on-again off-again insurgency against the government, where today's insurgents may be tomorrow's government officials, and rebellion is alternately secular nationalist or Islamist. Before the coming of the Spanish, they were the majority religion in the country. A somewhat larger minority are the various Protestant groups in the country. Some, like the Aglipayans (think Church of England, only Filipino) and the Iglesia ni Kristo (think Mormons, only Filipino, which has been influential enough to even have non-Filipino members), are homegrown denominations, while others are the result of American missionaries from the usual complement of denominations (Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist and so on). Are often mocked by Catholics as being too close to the Americans, due to history. Aside from these, especially in the provinces (i.e. rural areas) are the Rizalistas (people who venerate Jose Rizal as a prophet*) and the myriad of hybrid animist-Catholic practices often known as Folk Catholicism *]]. And as works like Ilustrado aptly demonstrate, Filipinos are also aware of the more hypocritical sides of their religious background:
The country and its inhabitantsThe Filipinos are a nation that is divided along regional lines with the Tagalogs, Ilocanos, Bicolanos, Cebuanos and others making up the population. There is a large population of Tsinoys (Chinese Filipinos) and Eurasians due to their colonial past. The Philippines has the most people with mixed backgrounds in Asia. English is widely spoken there; it is one of the largest English speaking countries. South Koreans and mainland Chinese often go there to learn English. Major factors for going there are it's cheaper than going to Australia and they tend to face less racism (in fact, they might be treated with a sort of affirmative-action-ish racist deference. This is because two of the business tycoons of the Philippines, Henry Sy and Lucio Tan, are Chinese, and along with the stereotype of being good with math and school, Chinese are usually thought of as rich and Koreans are thought to make very good boy/girlfriends). The Philippines is one of the few former Spanish colonies where Spanish isn't the main language, although various dialects borrow many Spanish words such as basura * and the ever popular JesusMariaJosef! usually pronounced as Susmariosep. So it's no surprise that colloquial Filipino contains a sprinkling of English, Spanish and native words (sometimes in just one sentence). There are even some words from both Mandarin and Cantonese, Japanese and Arabic, due to pre-colonial trade links and settlers. For that fact, it has been said that once you master the Filipino Language, learning any other language will be easy, since Filipino itself is already a mix of many other languages. Filipino also has the 'syllable-by-syllable' pronunciation of Japanese, the spelling of Spanish, and the sentence structure of English* Also, it is one of the many languages wherein you can construct an entire conversation by just using one syllable. ("Bababa ba?" "Is (the elevator) going down?" "Bababa." "(The elevator) is going down.") Also, since the Luzon and Visayas regions are generally peaceful (apart from the aforementioned Communist movement(s)) people living in the southernmost Island of Mindanao with the possible exception of the Eastern parts of the island considering it was colonized by Visayans during the early 20th century is usually imagined as something like Iraq in a jungle environment and all Muslims there are generally treated as part of Terrorist organizations (with some justification) and even living in generally "civilized" towns/cities is considered so tough that if they spoke with someone not from Mindanao and mentioned that they came from the hotspots in the South Western part of the island they'd generally treat them as Badasses (with some justification because the fact is Manny Pacquiao came from the area.) Due to the country's long colonial history, most Filipinos have Spanish surnames.* Often this goes with Spanish first names as well, and during Spanish rule, Catholic baptism made this mandatory. Chinese Filipinos have surnames of Chinese origin ("Cojuangco").* American rule introduced English names. Of course, names with indigenous roots still exist. Today, Filipino names are often composed of a personal name, the mother's maiden surname (becoming the middle initial) and the father's surname; people may have two or even more personal names so this all makes for Overly Long Names ("Anton Maria Guerrero V. [Villanueva] San Luis"). As for naming quirks: naming children with both Aerith and Bob and Xtreme Kool Letterz tropes involved is now not unheard of, both done by the rich and poor alike. People may have personal names like Boy, Baby or Girly. Or they may have names with the letter H inserted for Rule of Cool ("Bhobby"). Nicknames may be composed of repeating syllables; these may be derived from personal names ("Tonton" for Anton), or have no discernible relation ("Bongbong" for Ferdinand). Bonus points if you are named Bhoy Elias Santos-Peralta Kabigting, or Bhoy-Bhoy to your friends.
As a result of being at the crossroads of globalization for centuries, the majority of Filipinos have mixed ancestries from a variety of cultures and societies. And by that, it means a lot: Chinese, Spanish, Arab, Indian, American, other Malays, Japanese...you name it.
ImmigrationAs referenced above, a large amount of Filipinos work abroad, and a similarly large amount settle abroad. Many Filipinos, owing to being overqualified for a lot of jobs in the Old Country or otherwise underpaid, work in practically any place where money is to be made - the Diaspora encompasses everyone from attorneys and nurses in Los Angeles, to domestic servants in Dubai, to doctors in London. Most Overseas Filipinos go to either North America (particularly the West Coast of the United States), where on average they make even more than white people do, or the Gulf States, where many take menial labor that pays more than a professional career back home (something which has always been a sore point in Philippine-Mideastern relations). Those that go to North America are more likely to attempt to (legally or illegally) settle down, while Middle-Eastern travelers usually plan to return home after making enough money to start a family. Whether as immigrants or as seasonal workers, much of the Diaspora's money goes back home - Balikbayan ("returning home" - basically goods from the First World) boxes are common, and even among many first-generation immigrants, there is often a desire to retire in the Old Country after the kids are on their feet and they've retired. Domestically, the country is also home to large and prominent Chinese communities, both legally and illegally (among the oldest being Binondo and Tondo in Manila proper), many of them from Fukien Province in China. There are smaller communities of Indians, Japanese, and Koreans in the major cities, the latter having grown in recent years.MediaPerhaps one of the most well-known genres of Philippine media are its Soap Operas, which as a rule follow the Hispanic school of Telenovelas, and are usually shown in prime-time. In the early 2000s, fantasy-themed shows were on a upsurge, though their popularity faltered as the decade went on. the decade has also seen the rise in popularity of Taiwanese and Korean dramas (often translated to Filipino), the latter continuing to this day. The Philippines has a comic book scene which is largely influenced by American comic books. Its comic book industry is the oldest in South East Asia. During the '70s, the Philippines had one of the best-organized comic book industries in the world. So much so that there was a distinct 'Filipino comic book art style' that can be recognized by older comic fans. However, by 1985, about a third of upcoming artists were being imported by both Marvel and DC to the US that began gradual die out for the comic book industry. By the mid-1990s, comic books were replaced by cheap paperback novels as literature for the masses. One of the well known komiks characters is Darna created by Mars Ravelo. Darna has been nicknamed The Filipino Wonder Woman. One of the most popular comic books recently is Ang Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah (The Amazing Adventures of Zsazsa Zaturnnah) by Carlo Vergara. In the early 2000's, manga style became popular in the Philippines due to a magazine series called Culture Crash. The magazine was heavily influenced by shounen manga series (but were produced and colored much like American comics are made), but this too soon waned. However, the old-school, US comics-influenced comic books have found some newfound popularity in the mid-2000s thanks to television adaptations by the country's two largest broadcasting companies, although manga itself remains popular. The Philippines is also fond of noontime variety shows. A stampede in one of the shows, "Wowowee" in 2006 killed a few people, but the shows remain as popular as ever....until it was cancelled in 2010. Since the 1960s and 70s, Anime has grown in popularity across the country, despite the lingering Animation Age Ghetto. Some would argue that this is a subtle sign of forgiveness in general to the Japanese (especially considering the unpleasantries). Among the first "landmarks" were Gigantor, Voltes V and Daimos. Even early on, it had an effect such that Marcos banned them out of being threatened. After Martial Law, anime began to be translated into the different local languages (apart from English). The 2000s saw the appearance of two main anime stations: Hero TV (local) and Animax Asia-Philippines. During the peak of the Philippine film industry during the '60's to '80's, the Philippines even mass-produced english-language b-movie films primarily for export, led by those of international film legends Eddie Romero and Bobby Suarez, and these have a classic cult following in various countries such as the U.S.A., Finland, Germany, and Japan. In fact, this branch of the Philippine film industry was a major inspiration/influence on among others, Quentin Tarantino, who grew up watching these films. The Philippines has an interesting way of making horror movies. One such example is The Killing of Satan wherein the lead character actually kills Satan. Another one is Bruka, Queen of Evil. The other popular local film genres are (Michael Bay-esque) action flicks and love stories. More serious dramatic and socially relevant subjects used to be covered by directors like Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal. Currently the local film industry is in a slump, but independent films are gaining more and more notice. The Philippines is in the tropics like Vietnam, it's often used as the setting for war movies that take place in Vietnam or any other tropical country like those in Latin America. Among the dominant media companies in the country are ABS-CBN (colloquially called either Channel 2 or Kapamilya) and GMA (also referred to as either Channel 7 or Kapuso), both of which control a number of TV and radio stations, as well as publications and even overseas outlets. The rivalry between the two goes back decades, though with the recent entry of TV5 as a major competitor, the situation may yet change. Animation Studios in the Philippines:
FoodThe Philippines is home to some international food companies like Jollibee, a fast food chain that has managed to dominate the fast food market in the Philippines, possibly making it the only country where franchises like McDonald's do not end up as the top fast food franchise. It has restaurants in other countries, mainly in cities with large Filipino populations. For Westerners, it is also home to some of the most "disgusting" delicacies known to Man (e.g. Balut, or under-fertilized duck egg), a reputation that baffles Filipinos. * Another well known company is San Miguel Brewery, Inc. makers of San Miguel Beer with it's market share at 98%. It's one of Southeast Asia's most well known beers. As far as local cuisine is concerned, many of the famous Filipino cuisine are inherited from Spanish (e.g. menudo and mechado) and Chinese (e.g. lumpia and siopao) dishes. Original ones include Bistek Tagalog (bistek being a corruption of beefsteak), a fried dish on soy sauce with onions, though you can use other meat like pork, and the spicy Bicol Express.Government:The Philippine government is modeled after the United States (well, justified because the US once colonized the Philippines prior to independence), and mirrors closely the latter's political system. Unlike in the US though, the vice president is elected separately, and the President is elected for a single six-year term to prevent abuse. Also, unlike the US, the Philippines had a unitary rather than a federal system of local government. The country is divided into 70+ provinces with governors elected by the populace. The country has a long history of political dynasties in all levels of government (the last two Presidents alone are children of previous Presidents). Many view the government as corrupt. However, remember that not all Filipino government officials are Obstructive Bureaucrats or corrupt. It's just many of them are too Ax Crazy or plain Smug Snake to hold office. Many however, blame the Martial Law period under Ferdinand Marcos. Also, politics tends to have a capital-rest of country cleavage, or "masa (read: poor people, stereotypically from the provinces) vs. Manila (read: the middle and upper class of Manila)". The former tends to be more or less traditional, while the latter is seen as more progressive, and a source of the intelligentsia previously mentioned in the Religion section. This has led to a culture war of sorts, though usually not as intense as the one in the United States. The cleavage isn't just a social-issue one - oddly (or not, if you're not American), the masa are more skeptical of free market and other neoliberal policies than their opposites, and tend to be in favor of vigorous land reform (naturally opposed by the upper classes, who own the greatest estates, but are oftentimes absentee landlords residing in Manila). This is probably due to the Communist Rebellion that strongly advocates land distribution and reform in a strongly agricultural country where one family literally owns tracts of land larger than cities. (The Escudero Political Family own Hacienda Yulo, which is larger than Metro Manila)Sports.A useful rule of thumb is that Filipinos prefer sports starting with the letter B: Boxing, Bowling, Billiards *, and of course, Basketball. It's gotten to the point where Basketball games always take the top of the page in the Sports sections in newspapers. Another popular sport is Cockfighting *?]]. Those into boxing may remember the 1975 contest between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in the country's capital, dubbed the "Thrilla in Manila". And boxer Manny Pacquiao, of course — who dominates the Sports sections before, during and after bouts. Soccer is played in the Philippines but it is not that popular. The fact that the Philippines did not join the World Cup qualifiers since 2003 was due partly to corruption in the officialdom but due mainly to being unpopular to many Filipinos because a basketball court is cheaper to build in the Philippines. However, growing numbers of Filipinos are growing ashamed of being bad in football that some organizations had built new soccer clubs to prepare future football and World Cup worthy teams and players. As of 2010-2011, soccer suddenly rose in popularity after the Philippine Football Team, nicknamed the Azkals (Xtreme Kool Letterz version of 'askal' or 'asong kalye', which means 'street dog' or 'mongrel')* scored unprecedented victories. Their meteoric rise to fame fueled by having Hunks on the team and good publicity, they had a respectable finish at the Suzuki Cup, losing to Indonesia at the semifinals partially due to the latter having the home advantage [Philippine soccer stadiums aren't up to standards, these days.]. The Azkals were furnished with a Home Stadium (Rizal Memorial Stadium), but they only got past the first round of the World Cup qualifier, losing to Kuwait in the second round.LanguageOne of the two official languages is Filipino, which is really a derivative of Tagalog.* A Filipino can be reasonably expected to be bilingual, with English being one; the other language depends highly on where he's from. Someone from Manila, for instance, will generally speak both Filipino and English, while a person from Baguio may be trilingual, speaking English, Filipino, and Ilokano, and that's not counting whatever other native languages he may have picked up. In the Philippines, the line between 'dialect' and 'language' gets really stretched; each regional dialect could be considered a regional accent taken Up to Eleven. Speaking purely in dialect, an Ilokano (from Northern or Central Luzon) would be lucky to understand a word in five if he were speaking to a Maranao (from Central Mindanao). Even in the same dialect, regional differences can cause the occasional double-take; this troper, from Cebu, occasionally has trouble speaking to someone from Cagayan de Oro or Iligan, despite speaking the same dialect - and neither are more than two hundred and forty kilometers as the crow flies. Visayan languages are considered to the Filipino equivalent of the Kansai Regional Accent. And since many Visayan migrants [particularly from Cebu] usually make a sizable contingent in the Filipino maid community abroad, not to mention even in the domestic labor force, this carry Unfortunate Implications in media, so to speak, and many Visayan women are stereotyped as dumb or airheaded. Note for British tropers: Know how a Yorkshireman can tell where you're from merely by the accent? It's basically the same here, except a lot worse. And a lot more difficult to understand each other, too.EducationWhile based on modified variants of the American system, the state of education in the country varies considerably, ranging from fairly up-to-date academies to (sadly more prevalent) shoddily maintained and funded public schools. Nonetheless, Filipinos do take pride in having a number of highly respected universities, which are seen as a local version of the Ivy League. With notable exceptions like the secular, government-funded University of the Philippines (which has gained a notorious reputation for harboring activists of all stripes, including the technically-illegal Communists) and the Protestant Far Eastern University, the majority of these are private schools predominantly under Catholic religious orders. Examples include the Dominican-run University of Santo Tomas (the oldest running university in Asia, dating back about 400 years), the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University and their old rivals, the La Salle schools. Said schools also participate in local sporting events like the UAAP, especially in basketball.MilitaryThe trope Filipinos With Firearms goes here. The Philippine Military is officially called the Armed Forces of the Philippines.Famous Filipinos [citizen of the Philippines or otherwise]:Historical
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The Philippines in Fiction:Anime and Manga:
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alternative title(s): The Philippines
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