Chapter 1

PHILIPPINES: LAND AND PEOPLE
The History of the Philippines dates back 50,000 years ago.

It was until 5,000 B.C. that Austronesian-speaking people
settled in
the Philippines and established maritime trading with other
parts of
Southeast Asia.
Location and Land Area
The Philippines is geographically located within the
coordinates of
116 - 127 East longitude and 4 - 21 North latitude.
Composed of 7,107 islands and a land area of 300,000
square
kilometers, with a length of 1850 km. and a width of about
965 km.
The Philippines has a coastline of 17,500 km.
Three prominent bodies of water that surrounds the
Philippines:
Pacific Ocean - East
South China Sea - West and North
Topography
The Philippines consists of plains, valleys, hills and
mountains with
altitudes varying from 1,790 to 3,144 meters. Mount Apo
being the
highest point of the country.
The Philippines is also surrounded by narrow strips of flat
lowlands,
which constitutes the coastal rims while its shorelines are
irregular.
Climate
The Philippines has three seasons:
Wet to rainy weather June to October
Cool and dry weather November to February
Hot and dry weather March to May
Temperature ranges from 21C to 32C with 27C as its
average.
Coolest month is January and the warmest is May.
More than 20 typhoons pass the country every year.
Territorial and Political Subdivision

The Philippines has three major islands: these are Luzon,
Visayas,
and Mindanao.
Luzon is the largest island of the country with a total land
area of
104,688 square kilometers and ranked as 17th largest island
in the
World.
The Philippines has 17 regions, 138 cities, and 42,095
barangays.
The Barangay is the smallest political unit in cities and
municipalities
in the Philippines is divided.
Each Barangay consists of more or less 1,000 inhabitants
headed by a
Barangay chairman.
Volcanoes
Being part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, volcanoes are found at
the
intersection of the tectonic plate of the Philippines and the
Eurasian
plate.
A total of 200 active and non-active volcanoes are found in
the island
that causes the country to experience earthquakes.
The Philippines mineral deposits can be classified into metals (gold,

iron ore,
lead) and non metals (cement, marble, and lime).
About 37% of the Philippines is covered by forest or woodland.
An estimated number of 9,000 flowering plants and 200 fruit trees
surround
the entire archipelago.
The country is endowed with an approximate of 52,177 species of
animals.
418 of these species are considered threatened. The most is the
water buffalo
or carabao.
There are also 760 species of bird in the Philippines. The second
largest eagle
in the world, the monkey-eating eagle is found in the southern part
of the
country.
500 species of fish can be found in Philippine waters. These include:
Pandaca Pygmea smallest fish in the Philippines (Malabon)
Sinarapan smallest commercial fish (Camarines Sur)
Tourist Spots
Prominent Tourist Destinations in the Philippines:
Banaue Rice Terraces Ifugao, Mountain Province
Hundred Islands -Pangasinan
Puerto Princesa Subterranean River - Palawan
Tubbataha Reef - Palawan
Boracay Aklan
Chocolate Hills Bohol
Taal Volcano Batangas
Mayon Volcano Albay, Bicol region
Corregidor Bataan
Intramuros (Walled City) Manila
Filipino Values
Filipino values are attributed from many influences; they could
be both
influenced by its ancestor or by its colonizers. Some values are
bipolar
(can be positive or negative). The following are positive and
negative
Filipino values:
Positive Filipino Values
Bayanihan system spirit of kinship and camaraderie.
Damayan system deep sympathy for people who lost their
loved ones.
Familism close family relations.
Fun-loving
Hospitality receptive and generous to guests.
Compassionate being sympathetic to others even to a stranger.

Regionalism preference in giving favors to ones province mate
before others.
Friendly being sociable.
Flexible ability to adjust to norms.
Religious strong conformance to religious beliefs.
Respect to elders being courteous to older people.
Resourcefulness being creative, ability to do things that are next to
impossible.
Patience tenacity and strong determination in every undertaking.
Utang na loob a feeling of obligation to repay someone who
extends
assistance to another.
Negative Filipino Values

Bahala na Attitude trait of leaving everything to God to intervene
and
determine the outcome of his/her deeds.
Colonial mentality showing high regard to foreign produced goods
over
local ones.
Crab mentality characterized by an attempt to pull down
someone who
has achieved success beyond others.

Euphemism substituting a harsh word with a mild and acceptable
word in
order not to offend or hurt another person.
Filipino Time a Filipino attitude of being late.
Gaya-Gaya Attitude attitude of copying or imitating other culture.
Jackpot mentality mentality getting rich quick through fast ways
everything is destined by fate.

Maana Habit attitude of delaying a certain task even though it
can be
done immediately.
Ningas-Cogon an attitude of being enthusiastic only during the
start of a
new under taking buts ends dismally in accomplishing
nothing.
Oversensitive tendency to be irritated upon hearing criticisms.
Pakikisama attitude of submitting oneself to the will of the group
for the
sake of camaraderie and unity.
Lack of sportsmanship attitude of not accepting defeats in
competitions
rather putting the blame either to their
opponents
or to the sports officials.
Tsamba lang Attitude an attitude of simplicity by declaring that
his/her
First Man in the Philippines

The first group of migrants came to the Philippines about
2,500,000 BC during the Ice Age or Middle Pleistocene
Period through the land bridges which connected the
country to mainland China.
Professor H. Otley Beyer (founder of the Anthropology
Department of the University of the Philippines) called the
early migrants of the country Dawn men since they
arrived during the dawn of time.
The Dawn Mans appearance can be described as brawny and
thick haired. Their activities included fishing hunting and
gathering.
Negritos
The Negritos came from Asian
mainland between 25,000 to 30,000
years ago through land bridges.
Thousand years after their arrival,
huge glaciers of ice melted and
raised the water level of the seas
causing the land bridges to
submerge detaching the Philippines
from the Asian mainland.
The Negritos were small in height
(below 5 in height), black skin, dark
kinky hair, round eyes, and flat
nose.
Negritos have no fixed houses; their
activities were hunting hunting,
fishing, and gathering.
The Negritos were the first
inhabitant of the Philippines.
Indonesians
The Indonesians came to the
Philippine in two waves. The first
wave came about 3,000 BC while the
second wave came about 1,000 BC.
The first wave of Indonesians were
slender and light in complexion with
a height ranging from 5 6 to 6 2.
The second wave of Indonesians
were shorter and bulkier.
The culture of the Indonesians was
very advanced for it belonged to the
New Stone Age (Neolithic). They built
houses engaged in agriculture,
cooked food using bamboo tubes and
crafted tools and weapons from
stone.
The Indonesians were responsible for
the creation of rice terraces.
Malay
Malays were known as expert
navigators. The first wave came
from 200 B.C. to 100 A.D.
(ancestors of the Bontoks, Ilongots,
Kalingas, and other tribes in
northern Luzon. The second wave
arrived from 100 A.D. to the 13th
century (ancestors of the Visayans,
Tagalogs, Ilocanos, Bicolanos,
Kapampangans, and other Christian
Filipinos).
The third and last wave of Malays
came from the 14th to 16th century
A.D. and were responsible in
introducing Islam in the Philippines.
Malays were medium in height and
slender in physique, brown
complexion, straight black hair,
dark brown eyes, and flat noses.
Malay
Malays possessed the Iron Age
culture, they introduced lowland
and highland method of rice
cultivation, irrigation,
domestication of animals, the
manufacture of metal tools and
weapons, pottery, weaving.
The Malays also introduced the
early concept of government, law,
religion, writing, arts, sciences,
and customs.
Formation of Barangay
Scattered ethnic groups formed barangays under the rule of the

Sultanates of
Sulu because of international trade between Southeast Asian and East
Asian
nations.
During the 3rd century; salt, metal, jars, and tobacco were considered
symbols
of wealth.
Trading centers emerged along the territories of Manila, Cebu, Butuan,

Pangasinan, Pampanga, and Aparri.
Tuan Mashaika (1380) Arab who founded the first Muslim

community in Sulu.
Karim Makdum (Sharif Awliya) converted a huge number of natives

to Islam
and established the first mosque in the
Philippines
at Tubig-Indangan on Simunul Island.
Raja Baginda (1390) continued the works of Sharif Awliya.

Syed Abubakan (Sharif Hashim) an Arab from South Arabia who was
crowned as sultan of the first sultanate
of
Sulu. He was said to be a descendant
of the
Prophet Muhammad.
Sharif Muhammad Kabungsuan (1515) introduced the Islamic

Faith in
Lanao del Sur and Cotabato.
Marriage between natives and muslims paved way for the existence of
Buayan
sultanate and Maguindanao, from then on, the Islam sultanate

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PHILIPPINES: LAND AND PEOPLE

The History of the Philippines dates back 50,000 years ago.

Territorial and Political Subdivision

The Philippines mineral deposits can be classified into metals (gold,

Compassionate being sympathetic to others even to a stranger.

Negative Filipino Values

has achieved success beyond others.

everything is destined by fate.

First Man in the Philippines

Scattered ethnic groups formed barangays under the rule of the

Trading centers emerged along the territories of Manila, Cebu, Butuan,

Tuan Mashaika (1380) Arab who founded the first Muslim

Karim Makdum (Sharif Awliya) converted a huge number of natives

Raja Baginda (1390) continued the works of Sharif Awliya.

Sharif Muhammad Kabungsuan (1515) introduced the Islamic

Lanao del Sur and Cotabato.

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