Philippines Land and Sea
By James Harris
The legend of how the Philippines were born is unique. Before there was the land, there was nothing but sea and sky and a great bird flew in the sky. By and by the great bird grew tired of its endless flight and began to search for a place to rest its wings. When it found none, it provoked a war between the sea and sky. The raging sea hurled a tempest of great waves at the sky. The sky threw down a rain of giant boulders and gemstones. The boulders became great continents. The gemstones became the islands of the Philippines. Eventually, lush forests of bamboo grew up on the islands. The great bird returned and, landing on the tallest bamboo tree, began to peck it open. From it emerged MALAKAS, the strong one, and MAGANDA, the beautiful one. These were the first Filipinos.
The Philippine Islands lie in Southeast Asia. There are over 7,100 islands that make up the Philippine Islands. They cover roughly 496,500 square miles. The total land area is about 117,000 square miles. Only about a thousand of its islands are populated, and less than half of these are larger than one square mile. Eleven islands make up 34 percent cent of the Philippine land mass. Two of these, Luzon and Mindanao, measure 41,000 and 37,000 square miles respectively. The Philippines have more than 500 species of flowering plants. The climate is tropical, and generally hot and humid all year round. About 60% of the Philippines receive between 70 and 100 inches of rainfall annually. Population was estimated at over 80 million in 2000.
English, Filipino (Tagalog), and Spanish are the official languages, with Filipino as the national language. It is spoken by over 55% of the people. Over 90% of the population is Christian, mostly Roman Catholic, with roughly 5% Muslim.
From the hills of Ilocos and the tall forests of the Cagayan in the North down through the green plains of Tarlac and Pampanga stretches Northern Luzon, the broadest land mass on the Philippines' largest island. Like the rest of the nation, it is a tapestry of varied landscapes and cultures. To the far Northwest lies Ilocandia, hemmed in on one side by the China Sea, on the other by mountains. The Conquistadors came here in search of gold, brings with them a rich Hispanic culture that is still very much a part of the country side. They found a rugged people that transformed the land into an agricultural heartland. The field of Ilocos produces most of the garlic used in the Philippine cuisine. To this day the people of Ilocos are considered the epitome of industry and frugality. They have migrated to other parts of the Philippines and throughout the world and carried this hardy spirit with them. Also there are the Igorot people who carve rice terraces by hand out of the mountainsides of Luzon's peaks. Many of the terraces rise to an altitude of 5000 feet, completely encircling entire mountains.
The Southern stretches of the mountain provinces are rich in minerals - gold, silver and copper. The lowlands to the West are lined with the white sand beaches of the China Sea. To the East lie the Pacific Ocean and the equally rich waters off the coast of Isabela and Quezon. Here, for these people, the sea, with its more than 2000 species of fish, provides food and livelihood. Rice is the mainstay of the Philippine diet. The central plains are the rice bowl of the Philippines, with hundreds of thousands of acres under rice cultivation.
Manila is the seat of the government, the fashion center, the intellectual pacesetter, the fountainhead of all religious and educational movements, and one enormous shopping arcade. Manila is one for traffic jams and its asphalt jungle; gaudy and ruthless but irresistible. Manila was a Malay settlement trading with Chinese and Annamese when its documented history began. The Spanish documents recount that the Manilan's were charming people, exquisitely clean, fond of colorful cloths, addicted to jewelry and merriment and very pleasant and generous.
South of Manila, the island of Luzon twists and turns like a green serpent. Just South of Manila, is Laguna de Bay, the largest inland body of water in the Philippines. It covers 355 square miles and is used by the many fishermen who fish day and night on the lake.
The fertile farm land of Laguna Province is a series of gentle plains and quiescent volcanoes. Neighboring Cavite Province is also largely agricultural, but both provinces have a wide agro-industrial base and an expanding industrial foundation. Batangas Province to the South was formed by lava from the province's once formable Taal Volcano. Batangas is also considered one of the Philippines' finest cattle ranching regions. Sugar Cane fields are found in this region and also in other regions of the Philippines.
The emerald islands of Visayas are the "Old South" of the Philippines. This is a tropical paradise where the fruit fall from the trees and the fish all but jump into the net. It has a warm climate for easy living and causal temperament. It is a place of smiling women and elegantly simple houses of bamboo and palm. It is a land where song and dance is a language as much as is the dialect of each island. The 2 Eastern islands are rich in farms, forests and fish. They are Samar and Leyte. Like Leyte, the island of Bohol is a major producer of copra. The port of Cebu City on the nearby island of Cebu is the Philippines' second largest city and a major shipping depot for copra, sugar, logs and fish. It also ships mangos, grapes and other fruits of the Visayan belt. The Negros and Panay Islands is the sugar bowl of the Philippines, whose lowland plains stand tall with sugar cane in fields that stretch as far as the eye can see.
Mindanao is a vast island with some areas still uncharted. It is an island of fertile plateaus and mineral rich mountains. Mighty waterfalls and towering rain forests are found everywhere. There is rich timberland in the Northern regions also deposits of nickel, silver and gold. Farther to the West and South are the green fields of banana, pineapple and abaca plantations. Farther to the West, the Sulu Sea yields pearls and coral and hundreds of varieties of fish. Off the Eastern coast is the Philippine Trough, this descends to a depth of more than 35,000 feet. It is the second deepest ocean trench in the world. Crocodiles are found mainly in Mindanao, while only 3 varieties of poisonous snakes are widespread. They are the Coral Snake, Pit Viper and a type of small Cobra. Large Pythons are also found.
Palawan and the 1,769 small coral islands that speckle the sea comprise the rest of the Philippine Islands. Lang and narrow it stretches to the Southwest, almost touching the shores of Borneo. This is rugged country. Along the Western coast is a line of mountain ranges have peaks that rise more than 6,000 feet. Giant birds have nests in the caverns and niches of its peaks. Much of the land is fertile with streams and rivers that crisscross the ranch land. The land in the North is developed into cattle ranch land. Palawan is rich in wildlife, some unique to the island. The tiny Mouse-deer, or Pilandok, can be found nowhere else in the world. It is the smallest known species of hoofed mammal.
Just South of Luzon and North of Palawan lay Mindoro, the country's 7th largest island, having an area of 3,758 square miles. The island is largely mountainous with peaks rising above 8,000 feet. Much of the island is covered with forests, but a wide lowland area is used for agriculture farms. The Tamaraw, a tiny but fierce wild buffalo, can be found only on Mindoro Island.
The islands of the Philippines are a variety of different type of places and people. The people are always smiling and friendly to everybody and I wouldn't hesitate to go anywhere in the Philippines.
By James Harris
The legend of how the Philippines were born is unique. Before there was the land, there was nothing but sea and sky and a great bird flew in the sky. By and by the great bird grew tired of its endless flight and began to search for a place to rest its wings. When it found none, it provoked a war between the sea and sky. The raging sea hurled a tempest of great waves at the sky. The sky threw down a rain of giant boulders and gemstones. The boulders became great continents. The gemstones became the islands of the Philippines. Eventually, lush forests of bamboo grew up on the islands. The great bird returned and, landing on the tallest bamboo tree, began to peck it open. From it emerged MALAKAS, the strong one, and MAGANDA, the beautiful one. These were the first Filipinos.
The Philippine Islands lie in Southeast Asia. There are over 7,100 islands that make up the Philippine Islands. They cover roughly 496,500 square miles. The total land area is about 117,000 square miles. Only about a thousand of its islands are populated, and less than half of these are larger than one square mile. Eleven islands make up 34 percent cent of the Philippine land mass. Two of these, Luzon and Mindanao, measure 41,000 and 37,000 square miles respectively. The Philippines have more than 500 species of flowering plants. The climate is tropical, and generally hot and humid all year round. About 60% of the Philippines receive between 70 and 100 inches of rainfall annually. Population was estimated at over 80 million in 2000.
English, Filipino (Tagalog), and Spanish are the official languages, with Filipino as the national language. It is spoken by over 55% of the people. Over 90% of the population is Christian, mostly Roman Catholic, with roughly 5% Muslim.
From the hills of Ilocos and the tall forests of the Cagayan in the North down through the green plains of Tarlac and Pampanga stretches Northern Luzon, the broadest land mass on the Philippines' largest island. Like the rest of the nation, it is a tapestry of varied landscapes and cultures. To the far Northwest lies Ilocandia, hemmed in on one side by the China Sea, on the other by mountains. The Conquistadors came here in search of gold, brings with them a rich Hispanic culture that is still very much a part of the country side. They found a rugged people that transformed the land into an agricultural heartland. The field of Ilocos produces most of the garlic used in the Philippine cuisine. To this day the people of Ilocos are considered the epitome of industry and frugality. They have migrated to other parts of the Philippines and throughout the world and carried this hardy spirit with them. Also there are the Igorot people who carve rice terraces by hand out of the mountainsides of Luzon's peaks. Many of the terraces rise to an altitude of 5000 feet, completely encircling entire mountains.
The Southern stretches of the mountain provinces are rich in minerals - gold, silver and copper. The lowlands to the West are lined with the white sand beaches of the China Sea. To the East lie the Pacific Ocean and the equally rich waters off the coast of Isabela and Quezon. Here, for these people, the sea, with its more than 2000 species of fish, provides food and livelihood. Rice is the mainstay of the Philippine diet. The central plains are the rice bowl of the Philippines, with hundreds of thousands of acres under rice cultivation.
Manila is the seat of the government, the fashion center, the intellectual pacesetter, the fountainhead of all religious and educational movements, and one enormous shopping arcade. Manila is one for traffic jams and its asphalt jungle; gaudy and ruthless but irresistible. Manila was a Malay settlement trading with Chinese and Annamese when its documented history began. The Spanish documents recount that the Manilan's were charming people, exquisitely clean, fond of colorful cloths, addicted to jewelry and merriment and very pleasant and generous.
South of Manila, the island of Luzon twists and turns like a green serpent. Just South of Manila, is Laguna de Bay, the largest inland body of water in the Philippines. It covers 355 square miles and is used by the many fishermen who fish day and night on the lake.
The fertile farm land of Laguna Province is a series of gentle plains and quiescent volcanoes. Neighboring Cavite Province is also largely agricultural, but both provinces have a wide agro-industrial base and an expanding industrial foundation. Batangas Province to the South was formed by lava from the province's once formable Taal Volcano. Batangas is also considered one of the Philippines' finest cattle ranching regions. Sugar Cane fields are found in this region and also in other regions of the Philippines.
The emerald islands of Visayas are the "Old South" of the Philippines. This is a tropical paradise where the fruit fall from the trees and the fish all but jump into the net. It has a warm climate for easy living and causal temperament. It is a place of smiling women and elegantly simple houses of bamboo and palm. It is a land where song and dance is a language as much as is the dialect of each island. The 2 Eastern islands are rich in farms, forests and fish. They are Samar and Leyte. Like Leyte, the island of Bohol is a major producer of copra. The port of Cebu City on the nearby island of Cebu is the Philippines' second largest city and a major shipping depot for copra, sugar, logs and fish. It also ships mangos, grapes and other fruits of the Visayan belt. The Negros and Panay Islands is the sugar bowl of the Philippines, whose lowland plains stand tall with sugar cane in fields that stretch as far as the eye can see.
Mindanao is a vast island with some areas still uncharted. It is an island of fertile plateaus and mineral rich mountains. Mighty waterfalls and towering rain forests are found everywhere. There is rich timberland in the Northern regions also deposits of nickel, silver and gold. Farther to the West and South are the green fields of banana, pineapple and abaca plantations. Farther to the West, the Sulu Sea yields pearls and coral and hundreds of varieties of fish. Off the Eastern coast is the Philippine Trough, this descends to a depth of more than 35,000 feet. It is the second deepest ocean trench in the world. Crocodiles are found mainly in Mindanao, while only 3 varieties of poisonous snakes are widespread. They are the Coral Snake, Pit Viper and a type of small Cobra. Large Pythons are also found.
Palawan and the 1,769 small coral islands that speckle the sea comprise the rest of the Philippine Islands. Lang and narrow it stretches to the Southwest, almost touching the shores of Borneo. This is rugged country. Along the Western coast is a line of mountain ranges have peaks that rise more than 6,000 feet. Giant birds have nests in the caverns and niches of its peaks. Much of the land is fertile with streams and rivers that crisscross the ranch land. The land in the North is developed into cattle ranch land. Palawan is rich in wildlife, some unique to the island. The tiny Mouse-deer, or Pilandok, can be found nowhere else in the world. It is the smallest known species of hoofed mammal.
Just South of Luzon and North of Palawan lay Mindoro, the country's 7th largest island, having an area of 3,758 square miles. The island is largely mountainous with peaks rising above 8,000 feet. Much of the island is covered with forests, but a wide lowland area is used for agriculture farms. The Tamaraw, a tiny but fierce wild buffalo, can be found only on Mindoro Island.
The islands of the Philippines are a variety of different type of places and people. The people are always smiling and friendly to everybody and I wouldn't hesitate to go anywhere in the Philippines.
Let us speak well of our own country.
The following was written by INTEL General Manager Robin Martin about the Philippines:
Filipinos (including the press, business people and myself) tend to dwell too much on the negative side, and this affects the perception of foreigners, even the ones who have lived here for a while. The negative perception of the Philippines is way disproportionate to reality when compared to countries like Columbia, Egypt, Middle East, Africa, etc.
Let us all help our country by balancing the negative with the positive especially when we talk to foreigners, whether based here or abroad. Looking back and comparing the Philippines today and 1995 (the year I came back), I was struck by how much our country has progressed physically.
Consider the following:
1. The great telecom infrastructure that we have now did not exist in 1995. 1995 was the year the telecom industry was deregulated. Since then billions of dollars have been invested in both fixed line and cellular networks producing a system with over 5,000 km of fiber optic backbone at a world competitive cost. From a fixed line capacity of about 900,000 in 1995 we now have over 7 million. Cellular phones practically did not exist in 1995; now we have over 11 million line capacity.
2. The MRT, many of the EDSA flyovers (including the Ayala Avenue flyover), the SKYWAY, Rockwell and Glorietta 4, the Fort, NAIA terminal 2 and most of the new skyscrapers were not yet built in 1995.
3. If you drive to the provinces, you will notice that national roads are now of good quality ( international quality asphalt roads). I just went to Iba, Zambales last week and I was impressed that even a not so frequently travelled road was of very good quality.
4. Philippine exports have increased by 600% over the past eight years. There are many, many more examples of progress over the last eight years. Philippine mangoes are now exported to the US and Europe.
Additional tidbits to make our people prouder:
1. INTEL has been in the Philippines for 28 years. The Philippines plant is where Intel's most advanced products are launched, including the Pentium IV . By the end of 2002, Philippine operations became Intel's biggest assembly and testing operations worldwide.
2. TEXAS INSTRUMENTS has been operating in Baguio for over 20 years. The Baguio plant is the largest producer of DSP chips in the world. DSP chips are the brains behind cell phones . TI's Baguio plant produces the chip that powers 100% of all NOKIA cell phones and 80% of Erickson cell phones in the world.
3. TOSHIBA laptops are produced in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
4. If you drive a BENZ, BMW, or a VOLVO, there is a good chance that the ABS System in your car was made in the Philippines.
5. TREND-MICRO , makers of one of the top anti virus software PC-Cillin develops its "cures" for viruses' right here in Eastwood Libis, Quezon City. When a virus breaks in any computer system in the world, they try to find a solution within 45 minutes of finding the virus.
6. Today a majority of the top ten U.S. Call Center firms in the U.S. have set up operations in the Philippines. This is one area in which I believe we are the best in the world in terms of value for money.
7. America Online (AOL) has 1,000 people in Clark answering 90% of AOL's global e-mail inquiries.
8. PROCTOR & GAMBLE has over 400 people right here in Makati (average age 23 years) doing back-up office work to their Asian operations including finance, accounting, Human Resources and payments processing.
9. Among many other things it does for its regional operations network in the Asia-Pacific region here in Manila, CITIBANK also does its global ATM programming locally.
10. This is the first year ever that the Philippines will be exporting cars in quantity courtesy of FORD Philippines. (I have an idea this article was! written between 2001 - 2002, so this operation should have been on-going for the last 3 years or so. CYN)
11. The government is shedding off graft and corruption slowly but surely. This is the first time in our history that a former president is in jail and facing charges of plunder. Despite all odds, we are still pursuing the ill-gotten wealth of Marcos now enjoyed by his unrepentant heirs.
56,000,000 Filipinos speak, read and write in English even if we have our own national language. Speaking a second language takes a certain kind of unique intelligence.
Next time you travel abroad and meet business associates tell them the good news. A big part of our problem is perception and one of the biggest battles can be won simply by believing and by making others believe. This message is shared by good citizens of the Philippines who persevere to hope and work for our country.
The following was written by INTEL General Manager Robin Martin about the Philippines:
Filipinos (including the press, business people and myself) tend to dwell too much on the negative side, and this affects the perception of foreigners, even the ones who have lived here for a while. The negative perception of the Philippines is way disproportionate to reality when compared to countries like Columbia, Egypt, Middle East, Africa, etc.
Let us all help our country by balancing the negative with the positive especially when we talk to foreigners, whether based here or abroad. Looking back and comparing the Philippines today and 1995 (the year I came back), I was struck by how much our country has progressed physically.
Consider the following:
1. The great telecom infrastructure that we have now did not exist in 1995. 1995 was the year the telecom industry was deregulated. Since then billions of dollars have been invested in both fixed line and cellular networks producing a system with over 5,000 km of fiber optic backbone at a world competitive cost. From a fixed line capacity of about 900,000 in 1995 we now have over 7 million. Cellular phones practically did not exist in 1995; now we have over 11 million line capacity.
2. The MRT, many of the EDSA flyovers (including the Ayala Avenue flyover), the SKYWAY, Rockwell and Glorietta 4, the Fort, NAIA terminal 2 and most of the new skyscrapers were not yet built in 1995.
3. If you drive to the provinces, you will notice that national roads are now of good quality ( international quality asphalt roads). I just went to Iba, Zambales last week and I was impressed that even a not so frequently travelled road was of very good quality.
4. Philippine exports have increased by 600% over the past eight years. There are many, many more examples of progress over the last eight years. Philippine mangoes are now exported to the US and Europe.
Additional tidbits to make our people prouder:
1. INTEL has been in the Philippines for 28 years. The Philippines plant is where Intel's most advanced products are launched, including the Pentium IV . By the end of 2002, Philippine operations became Intel's biggest assembly and testing operations worldwide.
2. TEXAS INSTRUMENTS has been operating in Baguio for over 20 years. The Baguio plant is the largest producer of DSP chips in the world. DSP chips are the brains behind cell phones . TI's Baguio plant produces the chip that powers 100% of all NOKIA cell phones and 80% of Erickson cell phones in the world.
3. TOSHIBA laptops are produced in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
4. If you drive a BENZ, BMW, or a VOLVO, there is a good chance that the ABS System in your car was made in the Philippines.
5. TREND-MICRO , makers of one of the top anti virus software PC-Cillin develops its "cures" for viruses' right here in Eastwood Libis, Quezon City. When a virus breaks in any computer system in the world, they try to find a solution within 45 minutes of finding the virus.
6. Today a majority of the top ten U.S. Call Center firms in the U.S. have set up operations in the Philippines. This is one area in which I believe we are the best in the world in terms of value for money.
7. America Online (AOL) has 1,000 people in Clark answering 90% of AOL's global e-mail inquiries.
8. PROCTOR & GAMBLE has over 400 people right here in Makati (average age 23 years) doing back-up office work to their Asian operations including finance, accounting, Human Resources and payments processing.
9. Among many other things it does for its regional operations network in the Asia-Pacific region here in Manila, CITIBANK also does its global ATM programming locally.
10. This is the first year ever that the Philippines will be exporting cars in quantity courtesy of FORD Philippines. (I have an idea this article was! written between 2001 - 2002, so this operation should have been on-going for the last 3 years or so. CYN)
11. The government is shedding off graft and corruption slowly but surely. This is the first time in our history that a former president is in jail and facing charges of plunder. Despite all odds, we are still pursuing the ill-gotten wealth of Marcos now enjoyed by his unrepentant heirs.
56,000,000 Filipinos speak, read and write in English even if we have our own national language. Speaking a second language takes a certain kind of unique intelligence.
Next time you travel abroad and meet business associates tell them the good news. A big part of our problem is perception and one of the biggest battles can be won simply by believing and by making others believe. This message is shared by good citizens of the Philippines who persevere to hope and work for our country.
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The Filipino American Association of Brevard County
