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Tales of the Pearl of the Orient Seas: Interesting Facts about the Philippines


1. Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos during his expedition in 1542 named the islands of Leyte and Samar Felipinas after the then Prince of Asturias eventually the basis of the country's common name.

2. Philippines is the 73rd largest country in the world, 7th most populated country in Asia, the 12th most populated country in the world and one of the world's largest and most influential diasporas.

3. The oldest human remains found are the Callao Man reliably dated by uranium-series dating to 67,000 years ago and Tabon Man carbon-dated to around 24,000 years.


4. Baybayin is one of the several indigenous scripts of the Philippines.

5. Filipinos generally belong to several Asian ethnic groups classified linguistically as part of the Austronesian or Malayo-Polynesian speaking people.The two most important non-indigenous minorities include the Chinese and the Spaniards.


6. In 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines and claimed the islands for Spain.

7. From 1565 to 1821, the Philippines was governed as a territory of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (now Mexico) and then was administered directly from Madrid after the Mexican War of Independence. 

8. Islands were ceded by Spain to the United States for 20 million US dollars in the 1898 Treaty of Paris.


9. Aguinaldo declared Philippine independence from Spain in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898. Annual national holiday is observed on 12 June to commemorate the Day of Freedom.

10. Between 1942 to 1945, Japanese occupation of the Philippines occurred.

11. On July 4, 1946, the Philippines attained independence. The first in South East Asia to gain full independence after WWII.

12. The Philippine Trench is the 3rd deepest trench in the world.

13. University of San Carlos in Cebu City, arguably the oldest educational institution in Asia circa 1595.

14. Philippines was once considered the “texting capital of the world.”

15. Philippines has a tropical maritime climate and is usually hot and humid. There are three seasons: tag-init or tag-araw, the hot dry season or summer from March to May; tag-ulan, the rainy season from June to November; and tag-lamig, the cool dry season from December to February.


16. Philippine Airlines is Asia's first airline.


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