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The Philippines The island nation of the Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is located in Southeast Asia, the western most portion of the Pacific Ocean, north of Borneo, Indonesia and Malaysia, and due east of Vietnam across the South China Sea. Manila is its capital city. The Philippine archipelago comprises 1,107 islands, 700 of which are inhabited by humans, and it covers only 300,000 square kilometers of land area. The islands are divided into 3 major archipelagos; Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. A resident population of 88 million makes it the world’s 12th most populous country. There are 11 million Filipinos living abroad, which represents 11% of the total de jure population. The climate is tropical, hot and humid with an average temperature of 79.7ºF or 26.5ºC. There are three seasons; summer from March to May, a rainy season from June to November, and the cool season from December to February. Today’s Filipino society is a blend of peoples of Austronesian decent, which is a combination of Malay and Polynesian cultures, of Asian descent, and a mixture of the western cultures of Spain and the United States of America. The Filipino people are referred to as Kayumanggi for their beautiful golden brown skin. Paleontological and archeological findings prove that Homo Sapiens existed in Palawan circa 50,000 BC. An Australo-Melanesian people, the Negritos, migrated to the Philippines some 30,000 years ago. The ancestors of almost all Filipinos, the Malayo-Polynesian speaking people, arrived in these islands around 2,500 BC. Today the Filipinos are classified into many varied ethnic groups, including the Ilocano, the Moro, the Tagalog, the Visayan, Pangasinense, the Igorot, the Kapampangan, the Bicolano, the Lumad, the Mangyan, the Ibanag, the Gaddang, the Itawis, the Chabacano, the Badjao, the Ivatan, and the Palawan tribes. The Aetas, the Negritos and the Ati, are the aboriginal inhabitants of the Philippines. The Chinese, who have been migrating to the Philippines since pre-European and pre-US colonization times, form the largest non-Austronesian ethnic group of the overall population. Other minorities include Americans, Japanese, Asian Indians, Arabs, Koreans, Indonesians, and Filipinos of French and Spanish descent. Throughout the history of the Philippines, the different ethnic groups, colonizers and immigrants have intermarried, producing Filipino mestizos. These mestizos are descended from any ethnic and foreign lineage, and not just of mixed Austronesian and European ancestry. The Philippines was a colony of Spain for 333 years and then a colony of the United States after the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American war. It was also occupied by Japan for three years during the 2nd world war. Filipino is the official language along with English. During the US colonization of the Philippines, Americans imposed the English language. Today English is used in schools, law courts, religious institutions, in business and the media. Although English is still a second language it is the medium used for textbooks in secondary and tertiary levels of education. Most well educated Filipinos are well versed in speaking English. The literacy rate in the Philippines in 2003 was 92.5%; almost equal amongst males and females in proportion. Although the original indigenous religions along with Islam still flourish, Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion. Buddhism is also growing fast as it is in many parts of the world. Before the arrival of the Europeans in the 16th century, the Philippines already had well established cultural and trading relationships with China, India and the Middle East. These exchanges had been ongoing since the early 9th century. Ferdinand Magellan, under the services of the King of Spain, arrived in the Philippines with his crew in March 1521. He was later killed in battle by a mighty Muslim warrior named Lapu-lapu on the island of Mactan. King Philip II, who died of syphilis on September 13, 1598, and after whom the Philippines was named, sent a series of expeditions to these islands. This marked the beginning of the lengthy Spanish colonization of the country. The Kingdom of Spain’s intent was driven by greed and evil. Spain plundered the Philippines as it did in its other colonies. In the process of colonization the Spaniards massacred whole tribes of men, women and children. Women were raped and the survivors were treated as slaves. In 1565 Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived in Cebu from Mexico and established the first Spanish settlements there. In 1571 Manila became the capital of the Spanish colony. Many Filipinos today believe that their beautiful island nation should not continue to be named after the King of Spain who looted their country and died of venereal disease! Anglo-Americans did not think highly of Phillip II. In “Ten Great Events in History” historian and scientist James Johonnot describes King Phillip II of Spain as a “vain, bigoted, and ambitious” monarch who, “had no scruples in regard to means... placed freedom of thought under a ban, and put an end to the intellectual progress of the country.” In the late 19th century Jose Rizal was a student in Spain. He was among those responsible for the propaganda movement then underway in Spain that was aimed at informing the government of the cruelty and abuses of the Catholic priests in the Philippines as well as the other injustices of the Spanish administration. For many years the propagandists cried out for political and humanitarian reforms in the Philippines. Unable to gain support and mercy for his people in Spain, Jose Rizal returned to the Philippines to continue his movement at home. However, he was arrested immediately upon his arrival by the Spanish authorities. Earlier that year a group of Filipino known as the Katipunan, headed by Andres Bonifacio, commenced a revolution. National hero of the Philippines, Jose Rizal was a painter, sculptor, poet, writer, philosopher, doctor, scientist, scholar and multi-linguist. He wrote the political novels, “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo”, portraying the hideous cruelty and crimes that the Spaniards committed against the Filipino people. He also exposed the corruption of the church in the Philippines. Rizal was executed with the blessing of the King of Spain for his subversive behavior and his fight to liberate his people on December 30, 1896 at Bagumbayan, Manila, now called Rizal Park. In response to Rizal’s execution, Rev. Herbert: S. Bigelow, delivered the following sermon at the Vine Street Congregational church, Cincinnati, Sunday night, February 12, 1899: “In spite of the protests of humane Spaniards, Rizal was shot. One hour before his execution this gifted Filipino married his betrothed, a charming Irish girl, who afterward became a Philippine Joan of Arc. What a time for a wedding! The bride followed her lover to the place of execution. What a wedding march! Yet they would not permit her to give his body a decent burial. His own countrymen were compelled to do the shooting. Back of this row of Filipinos stood Spanish soldiers, ready to cut them down if they shrank from their cruel business. “Never,” says an eyewitness, “never shall I forget that awful morning, nor the horror-thrill that came with the report of crackling rifles as his mangled body fell on the public promenade, amid the jeers of Spaniards and priests, who had consummated thus one of the most cold-blooded crimes registered in history since the tragedy of Golgotha. My blood boiled, and from that hour I espoused the Filipino cause. Why did Spain shoot Rizal? Because he was found guilty of encouraging his countrymen to take up arms to secure their independence. Why are we shooting the Filipinos? Because, now that we have bought from Spain the right to lord it over those people, they are guilty of taking up arms against us to secure their independence. Our right to control the Filipinos is no better than Spain’s right, unless might makes right. If Spain committed a crime in shooting Rizal, then, before God we are criminals. The fact that we believe ourselves able to govern the islands better than Spain, or better than the people themselves, does not change the moral status of the question a hair’s breadth. If the conqueror is justified in conquering because he has implicit faith in himself, then there never was an unrighteous war. If national conceit, backed up by superior force, is sufficient justification for a war of conquest, then there is no such thing as right in this world and no safety whatever for any man’s liberty who has not the power to defend it by brute strength. If our right to shoot down Filipinos is to be sustained by the necessities of trade and our own good opinion of ourselves, then our patriotism is only a maudlin sentiment and our Christian professions are a shameless mockery. On the day following Rizal’s death his widow passed the Spanish lines in Manila, and made her way on foot to the camp of the insurgents. There she met Aguinaldo. He gave her command of a company, at the head of which this Irish bride gained more than one victory. Tonight this modern Joan of Arc may be dying on the battlefield, slain by American soldiers. Oh God! That we should have lived to see fair America, mad with visions of world-kingdoms and their glory, kneeling at the feet of him whom to serve is greed and hate and hell and death.” In 1898 the Spanish-American War began in Cuba and was soon ignited in the Philippines when the Spanish Squadron was defeated by Commodore George Dewey in Manila Bay. The independence of the Philippines was declared by Emilio Aguinaldo on June 12, 1898. Defeated in the war, Spain ceded the Philippines and Cuba to the United States of America, making these countries “independent” but with the US in charge of their foreign affairs. Technically at this point in history both the Philippines and Cuba were not fully independent states. The first Philippine Republic was proclaimed in Malolos, Bulacan in 1899 but was dissolved by the US forces. This resulted in the Philippine-American War which lasted until 1913, killing over a million Filipinos. The country’s status as a US territory changed in 1935 when it was proclaimed the Commonwealth of the Philippines. But before the country could become fully independent Japan invaded during the 2nd World War and occupied the islands for another 3 years. On July 4, 1946, the Philippines became an independent state. Since then it has suffered political instability including the actions of rebellious groups in the north and Muslim insurgencies in the south. During the late 1960’s and the early 70’s the economic growth of the Philippines was second only to that of Japan in Asia. The University of the Philippines during this time was the leading educational institution in the Far East. The elected president at that time was Ferdinand Marcos. Marcos declared Martial Law on September 21, 1972 after being barred from seeking a third term in office. Marcos, whose dictatorial rule was marked by cronyism, corruption and despotism, extended his power and tenure by military force. After the People Power Revolution on EDSA in 1986, Corazon Aquino, widow of opposition leader Benigno Aquino, took over the Philippine government. Marcos and his family fled to Hawaii. But the Philippine government under Cory Aquino was faced with enormous national debt, communist insurgencies, a Muslim separatist movement, corruption, and coup attempts. In 1992, Fidel Ramos took leadership and it was during this time that the Philippine economy improved. The 2001 People Power Revolution on EDSA led to the downfall of the following President, former actor and Mayor of San Juan, Joseph Estrada. Estrada has recently been pardoned after being held in jail or home arrest for over 5 years due to corruption charges. The current administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has also been criticized for alleged election rigging and corruption, also resulting in several coup attempts. |
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