Economy

Main article: Economy of the Philippines

The Philippines is a developing country with an agricultural base, light industry, and service-sector economy. It has been listed in "Next Eleven" economies. The Philippines has one of the most vibrant business process outsourcing (BPO) industries in Asia. Numerous call centers and BPO firms have infused momentum into the Philippine market, generating thousands of jobs, including Fortune 500 companies.

The resiliency of the Philippine economy is due to low foreign inflows and an agriculture-based economy allowed it to snap back from international crises as evidenced by 3% growth in 1999 and accelerated to 4% in 2000. By 2004, the Philippine economy catapulted to over 6% growth after the East Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo pledged to turn the country into a First World state by 2020.^[16] In 2005, the Philippine peso was said to be Asia's best-performing currency.In 2006, the Philippine economy expanded at a rate of 5.4%, higher than of the previous year. The government plans to increase the country's GDP by 7% in 2007. The government forecasts the economy to grow at 9% by 2009.

Strategies for streamlining the economy include improvements of infrastructure, more efficient tax systems to bolster government revenues, furthering deregulation and privatization of the economy, and increasing trade integration within the region and across the world.

San Miguel Avenue in Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong - Pasig City Boundary

On November 1, 2005, a newly expanded value added tax (E-VAT) law was instituted as a measure to bridle the rising foreign debt and to improve government services such as education, healthcare, social security, and transportation. As of 2006, The Philippines' economic prosperity also depends in large part on how well its two biggest trading partners' economies perform: the U.S. and Japan.

Cebu City Business Park

Despite the growing economy, the Philippines will have to address several chronic problems in the future. Income inequality remains persistent; about 30 million people lived on less than $2 per day in 2005. China and India have emerged as major economic competitors, siphoning away investors who would otherwise have invested in the Philippines, particularly telecom companies. Regional development is also somewhat uneven, with the main island Luzon and Metro Manila gaining most of the new economic growth at the expense of the other regions.

In 2006, the Philippines experienced its lowest budget deficit in 8 years. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said that the nation is "making gains ahead of schedule." The Philippines' target in 2007 is to have a balanced budget. The 2006 budget deficit was at an all-time low of $1.27 billion.

The Philippines is a significant source of migrant workers; as of 2004, the Philippine government has estimated that there are over 8 million Overseas Filipinos while independent estimates by various Philippine civic organizations estimate the number at 11 million. Overseas Filipinos sent home a record $10.7 billion in 2005. The Filipino diaspora is present in 190 nations worldwide.In 2006, Overseas Filipinos remitted $12.8 billion back home and represents an almost 20% increase from the previous year. The government forecast for 2007 that at least $14 billion will be sent to the Philippines by Filipino workers.

The Philippines is a member of the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Colombo Plan, and the G-77, among others

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Geography

Main article: Geography of the Philippines

an archipelago of 7,107 islands with a total land area of approximately 300,000 square kilometres (116,000 sq. mi). It lies between 116° 40' and 126° 34' E. longitude, and 4° 40' and 21° 10' N. latitude, and borders the Philippine Sea on the east, on the South China Sea the west, and the Celebes Sea on the south. The island of Borneo lies a few hundred kilometers southwest and Taiwan directly north. The Moluccas and Sulawesi are to the south, and Palau is to the east beyond the Philippine Sea.^[6]

The islands are commonly divided into three island groups: Luzon (Regions I to V, NCR and CAR), Visayas (VI to VIII), and Mindanao (IX to XIII and ARMM). The busy port of Manila, on Luzon, is the national capital and second largest city after its suburb Quezon City.^[6]

The local climate is hot, humid, and tropical. The average yearly temperature is around 26.5°C (79.7°F). There are three recognized seasons: Tag-init or Tag-araw (the hot season or summer from March to May), Tag-ulan (the rainy season from June to November), and Taglamig (the cold season from December to February). The southwest monsoon (May-October) is known as the "habagat" and the dry winds of the northeast monsoon (November-April) as the "amihan".^[12] The country itself is undergoing desertification in place like Sorsogon, Baguio, Davao and the Sierra Madre mountain range.^{[citation needed]}

Most of the mountainous islands used to be covered in tropical rainforest and are volcanic in origin. The highest point is Mount Apo on Mindanao at 2,954 metres (9,692 ft). There are many active volcanos such as Mayon Volcano, Mount Pinatubo, and Taal Volcano. The country also lies within the typhoon belt of the Western Pacific and about 19 typhoons strike per year.^{[citation needed]}

Lying on the northwestern fringes of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activities. Some 20 earthquakes are registered daily in the Philippines, though most are too weak to be felt. The last great earthquake was the 1990 Luzon earthquake.

The longest river is the Cagayan River of northern Luzon. The nearly circular Manila Bay, is connected to the Laguna de Bay by means of the Pasig River. Subic Bay, the Davao Gulf and the Moro Gulf are some of the important bays. Transversing the San Juanico Strait is the San Juanico Bridge, that connects the islands of Samar and Leyte.

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Politics and government

The government of the Philippines is organized as a, Presidential head of the government, and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The president is elected by popular vote to a six-year term, during which he or she appoints and presides over the cavinet of secretaries.

The bicameral congresscomprises the Senate and the House of Representative; members of the former are elected at large and those of the latter by geographical district. The 24 senators serve six-year terms, with half retiring every three years, while the House of Representatives comprises 250 members serving three-year terms.

The judicial branch of government is headed by the Supreme Court, with a Chief Justice as its head and 14 associate justices, all appointed by the President from nominations submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council. Other courts include the Court of Appeals, the Regional Trial Courts, and the Metropolitan Trial Courts.

As of June 2006, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is hoping to get agreement to amend the constitution to a unicameral parliament patterned after the Westminster model (at least according to the Lower House as of December 2006) under a federal setting similar to what they believe to be the German constitution. The country would be split into "states" with each one having a local legislature responsible for certain functions. Included in the amendments are plans to remove/ease the current ban on foreign ownership of property, land, and commercial organizations in the Philippines. Plans have been announced to decentralize government by moving departments from Manila to the provinces, such as the Department of Tourism to Cebu City, the Department of Foreign Affairs to Angeles City, and the Department of Agrarian Reform to Iloilo City.

The Philippines is a founding and active member of the United Nations since its inception on Octover 24, 1945 and is a founding member of the Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN). The Philippines is also a member of the East Asia Summit (EAS), an active player in the Asia Pacific Economic Corporation (APEC), the Latin Union, and a member of the Group of 24. The country is a major non-NATO Ally of the U.S. but also a member of the Non Alligned Movement.

The Philippines, along with the nation of Malta, is one of only two nations in the world where all civil marriages are for life, because civil divorse (for violations coming after the marriage) is banned, although annulment (for violations before the marriage, although it may manifest itself after the solemnization) is permitted.

The Philippines is currently in a dispute with Taiwan, China, Vietnam, and Malaysia over the oil- and natural-gas-rich Spratly Island and Scarborough Shoal, and with Malaysia over Sabah The Sultan of Sulu, who received Sabah as a gift in 1703 having helped the Sultan of Brunei defeat a rebellion, has given the Philippine government power to reclaim its lost territory. To this day, the Sultan Sulu's family receives "rental" payments for Sabah from the Malaysian government.

See also: Foreign relations of the Philippines, President of the Philippines, and Constitution of the Philippines

Further information: Armed Forces of the Philippines

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The Philippines

History of the Philippines

Archeological and paleontological theory suggests that Homo sapiens existed in Palawan about 50,000 BC. The Aetas are thought to have arrived in the Philippines more than 30,000 BC through land bridges, possibly from China or the Andaman Islands.^[4]

The ancestors of the vast majority of the Filipino people, the Austronesians from Taiwan, settled in northern Luzon around 2500 BC. They spread to the rest of the Philippines and later colonized most of Maritime Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific Islands. Arab, Chinese and Indian traders made contact with the Philippines during the course of the next thousand years until the arrival of the Europeans.

Sailing for the Spanish, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew were the first Europeans to arrive in the archipelago in 1521. Magellan was killed by indigenous warriors in Mactan Island while being involved with political conflicts with Lapu-Lapu. The conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi arrived from Mexico in 1565 and formed the first Spanish settlements, and paved the way for colonization. In 1571 he established Manila as the capital of the new Spanish colony.^[5]

Roman Catholic missionaries converted most of the inhabitants. In the next 333 years, the Spanish military fought off various local indigenous revolts and various external colonial challenges. Such challenges came from the British, Chinese, Dutch, French, Japanese, and Portuguese. The most significant loss for Spain was the temporary occupation of the capital, Manila, by the British during the Seven Years' War. The Philippines was ruled as a territory of New Spain from 1565 to 1821, before it was administered directly from Spain. The Manila Galleon which linked Manila to Acapulco, Mexico traveled once or twice a year, beginning in the late 16th century. The Philippines opened itself to world trade on September 6, 1834.

A propaganda movement, which included Philippine nationalist José Rizal, then a student studying in Spain, soon developed on the Spanish mainland. This was done in order to inform the government of the injustices of the administration in the Philippines as well as the abuses of the friars. In the 1880s and the 1890s, the propagandists clamored for political and social reforms, which included demands for greater representation in Spain. Unable to gain the reforms, Rizal returned to the country, and pushed for the reforms locally. Rizal was subsequently arrested, tried, and executed for treason on December 30, 1896. Earlier that year, the Katipunan, led by Andrés Bonifacio, already started a revolution, which was eventually continued by Emilio Aguinaldo, who established a revolutionary government, although the Spanish governor general Fernando Primo de Rivera proclaimed the revolution over in May 17, 1897. ^[6]

The Spanish-American War began in Cuba in 1898 and soon reached the Philippines when Commodore George Dewey defeated the Spanish squadron at Manila Bay. Aguinaldo declared the independence of the Philippines on June 12, 1898, and was proclaimed head of state. As a result of its defeat in the War, Spain ceded the Philippines, together with Cuba, Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States. By 1899, the Philippine-American War ensued between the United States and the Philippine revolutionaries, which continued the violence of the previous years. The US proclaimed the war ended when Aguinaldo was captured by American troops on March 23, 1901, but the struggle continued until 1913. The country's status as a colony changed when it became the Commonwealth of the Philippines in 1935, which provided for more self-governance. Plans for increasing independence over the next decade were interrupted during World War II when Japan invaded and occupied the islands. After the Japanese were defeated in 1945, the Philippines achieved independence from the United States on July 4, 1946.^[6]

Since 1946, the newly independent Philippine state has faced political instability with various rebel groups. The late 1960s and early 1970s saw economic development that was second in Asia, next to Japan. Ferdinand Marcos was, then, the elected president. Barred from seeking a third term, Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972 and ruled the country by decree. Marcos extended both his power and tenure by force. His authoritarian rule became marred with unmitigated, pervasive corruption, cronyism and despotism.

Opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr. was assassinated on August 21, 1983 upon returning from exile. In January 1986, Marcos allowed for a "snap" election, after large protests. The election was believed to be fraudulent, and resulted in a standoff between military mutineers and the military loyalists. Protesters supported the mutineers, and was accompanied by resignations of prominent cabinet officials. Corazon Aquino, the wife of Benigno Aquino, Jr., was the recognized winner of the snap election. She took over government, and called for a constitutional convention to draft a new constitution, after the 1986 EDSA Revolution. Marcos, his family and some of his allies fled to Hawaii.^[6]

The return of democracy and government reforms after the events of 1986 was hampered by massive national debt, government corruption, coup attempts, a communist insurgency, and a Muslim separatist movement. The economy improved during the administration of Fidel V. Ramos, who was elected in 1992. However, the economic improvements were negated at the onset of the East Asian financial crisis in 1997. The 2001 EDSA Revolution led to the downfall of the following president, Joseph Estrada. The current administration of president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been hounded by allegations of corruption and election rigging. Due to these allegations the current administration has had to suppress several attempted coups, the most recent taking place in Manila during March of 2006.

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