Scuba Diving~ "Island Hopping" In the Philippines [03/2011]

Alexander Stromberger-Wissiak

Uploaded on May 10, 2011

 

with Sea Explorers by Stromi www.pamedo.at using a Canon 550D Rebel T2i in an Aquatica Housing with 2x Sea&Sea YS-110a. We have been diving in Moalboal, Dauin, Cabilao and Malapascoa.

The Philippines (ⁱ/ˈfɪlɨpiːnz/; FI-lə-peenz; Filipino: Pilipínas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Repúblika ng Pilipinás), is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean.

To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia.

It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and made it one of the world's megadiverse countries.

Covering almost three hundred thousand square kilometres (over 115,000 sq mi) makes it the 73rd largest independent nation^[11] and an archipelago comprising 7,107 islands, the Philippines is categorized broadly into three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila.
With a population of more than 92 million^[6] people, the Philippines is the seventh most populated Asian country and the 12th most populated country in the world.

 An additional 12 million Filipinos live overseas.^[12] Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples who brought with them influences from Malay, Hindu, and Islamic societies.

 Thus, establishing various polities either ruled by Datus, Rajahs, Sultans or Lakans. Trade and subsequent Chinese settlement also introduced Chinese cultural elements which remain to this day.

The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 marked the beginning of an era of Spanish interest and eventual colonization. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain.

 The Spanish Empire began to settle with the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from New Spain (present day-Mexico) in 1565 who established the first Spanish settlement in the archipelago, which remained a Spanish colony for more than 300 years. During this time, Manila became the Asian hub of the Manila–Acapulco galleon fleet.

As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, there followed in quick succession the Philippine Revolution, which spawned the short-lived First Philippine Republic; the Spanish–American War; and the Philippine–American War.

In the aftermath, the United States emerged as the dominant power; aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands.

After World War II,^[13] the Treaty of Manila established the Philippine Republic as an independent nation.^[14] Since then, the Philippines has had an often tumultuous experience with democracy, with popular "people power" movements overthrowing a dictatorship in one instance but also underlining the institutional weaknesses of its constitutional republic in others.

Republic of the Philippines Repúblika ng Pilipínas
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  "Maka-Diyos, Maka-Tao, Makakalikasan at Makabansa"[1] "For God, People, Nature, and Country"
Anthem: Lupang Hinirang Chosen Land Menu 0:00
Capital		Manila[2] 14°35′N 121°0′E
Largest city		Quezon City
Official languages		Filipino English
Recognized regional languages		8 languages[3][show]
Optional languages		Spanish Arabic
Demonym		Filipino
Government		Unitary presidential constitutional republic
-	President	Benigno Aquino III
-	Vice President	Jejomar Binay
-	Senate President	Juan Ponce Enrile
-	House Speaker	Feliciano Belmonte, Jr.
-	Chief Justice	Maria Lourdes Sereno
Legislature		Congress
-	Upper house	Senate
-	Lower house	House of Representatives
Independence from Spainb and the United States
-	Established	April 27, 1565
-	Declared	June 12, 1898
-	Self-government	March 24, 1934
-	Recognized	July 4, 1946
-	Current constitution	February 2, 1987
Area
-	Land	300,000 km2[4] (73rd) 115,831 sq mi
-	Water (%)	0.61[5] (inland waters)
Population
-	2010 census	92,337,852[6]
-	Density	308.0/km2 (43rd) 797.2/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2012 estimate
-	Total	$424.355 billion[7]
-	Per capita	$4,429[7]
GDP (nominal)		2012 estimate
-	Total	$250.436 billion[7]
-	Per capita	$2,614[7]
Gini (2006)		45.8[5] medium · 44th
HDI (2011)		0.644[8] medium · 112th
Currency		Peso (Filipino: piso) (₱) (PHP)
Time zone		PST (UTC+8)
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+8)
Drives on the		right[9]
Calling code		+63
ISO 3166 code		PH
Internet TLD		.ph
a.	^a The 1987 Philippine constitution specifies, "Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis."[10]
b.	^b Philippine revolutionaries declared independence from Spain on June 12, 1898, but the Spanish claim of sovereignty was passed from Spain to the United States in the Treaty of Paris. This led to the Philippine–American War.

Etymology

Main article: Name of the Philippines

The name Philippines is derived from that of King Philip II of Spain. 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 name Las Islas Filipinas would be used to cover all the islands of the archipelago. Before that became commonplace, other names such as Islas del Poniente (Islands of the West) and Magellan's name for the islands San Lázaro were also used by the Spanish to refer to the islands.^{[15][16][17][18][19]}

The official name of the Philippines has changed several times in the course of the country's history. During the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of the República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the period of the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War until the Commonwealth period, American colonial authorities referred to the country as the Philippine Islands, a translation of the Spanish name.

 During the American period, the name Philippines began to appear and it has since become the country's common name.^[20] Since independence, the official name of the country has been the Republic of the Philippines.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of the Philippines

The Philippines is divided into three island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. As of March 2010, these were divided into 17 regions, 80 provinces, 138 cities, 1,496 municipalities, and 42,025 barangays.^[79] In addition, Section 2 of Republic Act No. 5446 asserts that the definition of the territorial sea around the Philippine archipelago does not affect the claim over Sabah.^[80]

A clickable map of the Philippines exhibiting its 17 regions and 80 provinces.

Region	Designation	Regional center
Ilocos Region	Region I	San Fernando, La Union
Cagayan Valley	Region II	Tuguegarao, Cagayan
Central Luzon	Region III	San Fernando, Pampanga
CALABARZON	Region IV-A	Calamba, Laguna
MIMAROPA	Region IV-B	Calapan, Oriental Mindoro
Bicol Region	Region V	Legazpi, Albay
Western Visayas	Region VI	Iloilo City
Central Visayas	Region VII	Cebu City
Eastern Visayas	Region VIII	Tacloban
Zamboanga Peninsula	Region IX	Pagadian[81][82]
Northern Mindanao	Region X	Cagayan de Oro
Davao Region	Region XI	Davao City
SOCCSKSARGEN	Region XII	Koronadal, South Cotabato
Caraga	Region XIII	Butuan
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao	ARMM	Cotabato City
Cordillera Administrative Region	CAR	Baguio
National Capital Region	NCR	Manila

Source: Wikipedia

Much too much information on this topic for this Blog post Check It Out at Wikipedia.org 

 

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