Introduction

The Philippines is an island republic in the western Pacific Ocean in Southeast Asia. It is an archipelago composed of some 7,100 islands and islets off the coast of Vietnam, some 500 miles (800 km) away. Manila is the capital, but the neighboring city of Quezon is the most populated city in the region. They are also part of the National Capital Area (Metro Manila), which is situated on the largest island, Luzon. Mindanao, in the southeast, is the Philippines’ second largest island.
The Philippines is named after Philip II, who in the 16th century was king of Spain during the Spanish invasion of the islands. The Philippines has many cultural affinities with the West since it was under Spanish control for 333 years and under U.S. tutelage for a further 48 years. For starters, it is the second most populous country in Asia (following India) with English as its official language and one of only two mostly Roman Catholic countries in Asia (the other being East Timor). The inhabitants of the Philippines are Asian in consciousness and appetite, considering the prevalence of certain Anglo-European cultural characteristics.
In the last quarter of the 20th century, the world was wracked by political instability. After more than a decade of totalitarian rule under the power of Pres. The broadly influential People Power movement, Ferdinand Marcos, led a bloodless rebellion against the dictatorship in 1986. The confrontation led not only to Marcos’ ouster and exile, but also to the return of the Philippines to a democratic government.

Contemporary Filipinos continue to contend with a world full of paradoxes, with the existence of extreme wealth amid enormous suffering being perhaps the most evident. The Philippines, rich in wealth, has the ability to develop a strong industrial economy, but the country continues to be predominantly agricultural. Particularly towards the end of the 20th century, a high degree of domestic and foreign investment spurred rapid industrial growth. However, the development concurrently led to significant environmental deterioration. During the late 20th century, the Philippines also emerged as a regional pioneer in education, with a well-established public school and university system, and the country had one of the highest literacy rates in Asia by the beginning of the 21st century.

The Philippine archipelago is bound to the east by the Philippine Sea, to the south by the Celebes Sea, to the southwest by the Sulu Sea and to the west and north by the South China Sea. The islands spread out in the shape of a triangle, with its southern base outlined (from west to east, respectively) by those south of Palawan, the Sulu Archipelago, and the island of Mindanao, and its apex created by the Batan Islands to the north of Luzon. The archipelago extends from north to south some 1,150 miles (1,850 km), and its widest east-west expanse, at its southern base, is about 700 miles (1,130 km). North of the Batan group is the island of Taiwan, south of Palawan is the Malaysian part of the island of Borneo, and south and southeast of Mindanao lie the eastern islands of Indonesia. Of the islands and islets, only about two-fifths have addresses, and only about 350 have areas of 1 square mile (2.6 square km) or more. The large islands fell into three categories: (1) the northern and western Luzon region, consisting of Luzon, Mindoro, and Palawan, (2) the central Visayas group, consisting of Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Masbate, Negros, Panay, and Samar, and (3) the southern Mindanao.

The irregular layout of the archipelago, the coastline of some 22,550 miles (36,290 km), the great extent of the mountainous region, the narrow and disrupted coastal plains, the generally northward trend of the river systems, and the magnificent lakes are outstanding physical features of the Philippines. The islands are mainly composed of volcanic rock and coral, but all major rock formations are present. For the most part, the mountain ranges pass in the same general direction as the islands themselves, generally north-south.

The most famous range is the Cordillera Central, Luzon’s central mountain chain, stretching north to the Luzon Strait from the northern edge of the central plain. It consists of two parallel ranges, each with an average height of around 5,900 feet, and three parallel ranges (1,800 metres). The Sierra Madre, stretching from northern to central Luzon along the Pacific coast, is the nation’s longest mountain range. In north-central Luzon, the range and the Cordillera Central merge to form the Caraballo Mountains. The rich Cagayan Valley is to the north of the latter, and between the two mountains. Located near to the west coast of northern Luzon, the narrow Ilocos, or Malayan range, rises to elevations above 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) and is scarcely below 3,500 feet (1,000 meters); it is mostly volcanic. The rugged Zambales Mountains are in the southwestern part of northern Luzon, consisting of more or less isolated old volcanic stocks (rock formed under great heat and pressure deep under the surface of the Earth).