Philippines: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Philippines_map_7720.gif|frame| If you see the part that says ''[[Unfortunate Implications|Negros]]'' we can assure you, [[I Thought It Meant|it's not what you think it means.]]]]
The Republic of the Philippines 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 with Malay
The country has had two female presidents: Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Currently in the Presidential seat is
It is well-known that besides export and corporate businesses, the Philippines' economy also relies on foreign remittances from the 11% of its Overseas Filipino Workers. That's right, one of the country's biggest exports is its people, who make up a major proportion of overseas workers from all over the world. It helps that most of these workers speak good [[Surprisingly Good English|English]].
== History ==
The Philippine 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,<ref>At one point during the [[Seven Years' War]], British forces even occupied Manila.</ref> and even the odd Chinese pirate warlord or two.<ref>Among the most notorious being [https://web.archive.org/web/20150611004720/http://www.watawat.net/limahong_the_pirate_and_his_kingdom.html Limahong], who raided the Philippines in the late 16th century
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 [[Philippine–American War|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 Two]], 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.
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== Religion ==
The Philippines, like many of the classic Spanish colonies, is a predominantly Catholic country. Filipino Catholics historically have had a love-hate relationship with their Church - while in the 19th century many were dissatisfied with the religious orders who also served as government, and some were into outright anti-clericalism, in the present day 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 and abortion is taboo. Filipino Catholics in general [[Raised Catholic|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 and tolerance to homosexuality. More recently with the Reproductive Health bill and the growing LGBTQIA+ movement, the love-hate dynamic has once again resurfaced. In an [https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/03/new-atheists-philippines/518175/ article] about irreligion in the Philippines, it is found that poorer Filipinos turn to religion as a coping mechanism for them to alleviate the pain of poverty and give themselves hope that through God they would be lifted out of their social status.▼
▲The Philippines, like many of the classic Spanish colonies, is a predominantly Catholic country. Filipino Catholics historically have had a love-hate relationship with their Church - while in the 19th century many were dissatisfied with the religious orders who also served as government, and some were into outright anti-clericalism, in the present day 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 and abortion is taboo. Filipino Catholics in general [[Raised Catholic|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 and tolerance to homosexuality. More recently with the Reproductive Health bill, the love-hate dynamic has once again resurfaced.
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, Islam was the main religion in the country.
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Due to pre-colonial trade links and settlers, and the colonization of the Spanish, the Philippines' various dialects borrow words from Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese and Arabic. The modern-day Filipino language has the 'syllable-by-syllable' pronunciation of Japanese, uses the Spanish alphabet, and has elements of the English sentence structure.
Most Catholic 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, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120120154936/http://blogs.gmanews.tv/sidetrip/blog/index.php?
As a result of being at the crossroads of globalization for centuries up to present, there is a reasonably large population of Filipinos [[Ambiguously Brown|having mixed ancestries]].
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* "[[Red Baron|The Mexicutioner]]" [[Lightning Bruiser|Manny Pacquiao]], lightweight boxer that has defeated many of the sport's best-known fighters (as in the likes of Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Shane Mosley, Ricky Hatton and even Oscar de la Hoya) and the first boxer to hold eight championship belts at once, [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|as well as a congressman and later senator]].
* [[Mighty Glacier|Nonito Donaire]], Pacquiao's fellow boxer and his likeliest successor as the Philippines' main prizefighter.
* [[Batista|David Bautista]], [[But Not Too Foreign|American]] [[Professional Wrestling|professional wrestler]] who formerly worked for [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]], six-time world champion, a three-time tag-team champion, and 2005 Royal Rumble winner, has a Filipino father.
* Eskrima, also known as Arnis and Kali (collectively known as Filipino Martial Arts), a form of martial arts that utilizes [[Simple Staff|sticks]] and [[Knife Nut|knifeplay]]. Was the same martial arts used in the Bourne trilogy.
** The upcoming ''Bourne Legacy'' is slated to include scenes set in the Philippines, notably around Manila and Palawan.
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[[Category:Useful Notes/Asia]]
[[Category:Useful Notes/Philippines]]
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