Philippines

Philippines
Flag and coat of arms
History
Manila
Geography
Politics
Religion
Sports
Basketball in Phillipines
Manny Pacquiao
Customs

Philippines
ThePhilippines, officially
known as theRepublic of
the
Philippines(Filipino:Repbl
ika ng Pilipinas), is
asovereignisland
countryinSoutheast
Asiasituated in the western
Pacific Ocean. It consists of
7,107 islands that are
categorized broadly under
three main geographical
divisions:Luzon,Visayas,
andMindanao. Its capital
city isManilawhile its most
populous city isQuezon
City; both are part ofMetro
Manila.

Flag and Coat of arms

Flag represent the country's first group of provinces
that started the 1896 Philippine Revolution against
Spain; and at each vertex of the triangle is a fivepointed golden yellow star, each of which represents
one of the country's three main island groups - Luzon,
Visayas and Mindanao. This flag can indicate a state of
war if it is displayed with the red side on top

History
The arrival ofFerdinand Magellanin 1521 marked the
beginning of Spanish colonization. In 1543, Spanish
explorer Ruy Lpez de Villalobosnamed the
archipelagoLas Islas Filipinasin honor ofPhilip II of
Spain. With the arrival of Miguel Lpez de
Legazpifrom Mexico City, in 1565; the first Spanish
settlement in the archipelago was established. The
Philippines became part of theSpanish Empirefor
more than 300 years. This resulted in the predominant
religion in the country beingRoman Catholicism

As the 19thcentury gave

way to the 20th, there
followed in quick
succession thePhilippine
Revolution, which
spawned the shortlivedFirst Philippine
Republic, and
thePhilippineAmerican
War. Aside from the period
of Japanese occupation,
the United States retained
sovereignty over the
islands. After World War II,
the Philippines was
recognized as an
independent nation.

Manila
Manilais
thecapitalandsecond
largest cityof the
Philippines. It is one of
thesixteen citieswhich,
along with
themunicipalityofPateros,
make upMetro Manila, the
National Capital Region,
whose overall population is
around 12 million.
The city of Manila has a
total population of
1,652,171 according to the
2010 censusand is the
second most populous city
in the Philippines,
behindQuezon City. The

Geography
The Philippines is anarchipelagoof 7,107 islandswith
a total land area, including inland bodies of water, of
approximately 300,000 square kilometers.Its 36,289
kilometers of coastline makes it the country with the
5thlongest coastline N. latitude and is bordered by
thePhilippine Seato the east, theSouth China Seato
the west, and the Celebes Seato the south. The island
ofBorneois located a few hundred kilometers
southwest and Taiwan is located directly to the north.
TheMoluccasand Sulawesiare located to the southsouthwest andPalauis located to the east of the
islands.

Politics

Benigno S. Aquino III, the current and

15th president of the Republic of the

The Philippines has a

democratic government
in the form of a
constitutional republic
with apresidential
system. It is governed as
aunitary statewith the
exception of
theAutonomous Region
in Muslim
Mindanaowhich is largely
free from the national
government. There have
been attempts to change
the government to
afederal,unicameral,

Religion
The Philippines is asecular nationwith a constitutional
separation of church and state. As a result of Spanish
cultural influence, the Philippines is one of
twopredominantly Roman Catholiccountries in Asia,
the other beingEast Timor, a formerPortuguese
colony. More than 90% of the population are
Christians: about 80.6% belong to theRoman Catholic
Church while 9.5% belong toProtestantChristian
denominations, such as theIglesia ni Cristo,
thePhilippine Independent Church,United Church of
Christ in the Philippines(amainline ProtestantUnited
Church), and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Sports in Philippines
Varioussportsand pastimes are popular in the
Philippines
includingbasketball,boxing,cockfighting,volleyb
all,football,
badminton,karate,taekwondo,billiards,ten-pin
bowling,chess, andsipa.Motocross,cycling,
andmountaineeringare also becoming popular. In
2010,Manny Pacquiaowas named"Fighter of the
Decade"for the 2000s (decade) by theBoxing
Writers Association of America(BWAA),World
Boxing Council(WBC), andWorld Boxing
Organization(WBO).

Basketball in Philippines
Basketball is played at both amateur and
professional levels and is considered to be the
most popular sport in the Philippines. Philippines
have PBA basketball league (Philippines
Basketball Association) witch is very similar to
NBA ,but weaker. Despite fact this league brings
about 10,000 spectators per game. Pinoy people
also love national team witch parcipated in 2014
Fiba World Cup. The Philippines finished 21st with
a 1-4 record at the2014 FIBA Basketball World
Cupheld inSeville,Spain. The country was
awarded MVF Best Country (on Fan support
through
out the tournament).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=556JIOw_EJs

Manny Pacquiao
Emmanuel"Manny"Dapid
ran Pacquiao,born
December 17, 1978) is
aFilipinoprofessionalboxera
ndpolitician. He is the first
and onlyeight-division world
champion,in which he has
won ten world titles, as well
as the first to win thelineal
championshipin four
different weight classes.
According toForbes, he was
the 14th highest paid athlete
in the world as of 2013.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
m84viHO7wL0

Customs
Import regulations::
Free import:
1. all passengers (18 years of age and over) (duty free allowance only once per
year per passenger):
a. 400 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 grammes pipe tobacco;
b. 2 bottles alcoholic beverages of not more than 1 litre each;
2. once a year the following categories of passengers may bring in goods as
specified below duty free:
a. returning residents who have stayed abroad more than 6 months:
used electronic or electrical appliances and personal effects up to the value of
PHP 10,000.-;
b. contract workers:
used personal effects up to value of PHP 10,000.- and
used home appliances, limited to 1 of each kind, up to the value of PHP 10,000.-.
Prohibited:
1. printed subversive, obscene and pornographic materials;
2. drugs or substances for abortion;
3. gambling machines and articles, jackpot or pinball machines, lottery
sweepstakes tickets, coin operated video machines;
4. articles of gold, silver and precious metals without indications of actual
fineness of quality;
5. misbranded and/or adulterated drugs or foodstuffs.

 Arms and Ammunition regulations::

Prohibited:
firearms and firearm parts, replicas, explosives and ammunition.
Wild Fauna and Flora::
Prohibited:
1. marijuana, poppy, coca leaves, heroin, opium or any other prohibited drugs;
opium pipes and parts thereof;
2. transport of all plants, planting materials, fruits and vegetables, regardless
of quantity, if not accompanied by a valid quarantine documents (Import
Permit/Authority to Import).
Export regulations::
Free export by passengers (18 years and over):
- 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 500 grammes of tobacco;
- 1 quart of alcoholic beverages.
Pets::
All animals must be accompanied by:
- veterinarian good health certificate issued at the point of origin stating that
the animal has not been exposed to communicable disease; and
- prior import permit obtained from Bureau of Animal Industry.
Cats and dogs must also have a certificate of inoculation against rabies (issued
at point of origin). Pets may enter as passenger's checked baggage, in the
cabin or as cargo.
Baggage Clearance regulations::
Baggage is cleared at the first port of entry in the Philippines. Crew members
should clear their luggage at the Customs Crew Counter.
Exempt:transit passengers with a destination outside of the Philippines.