Philippines A state in Southeast Asia, formed by the island group of the same namelocated between the Pacific Ocean, the South China Sea and the Celebes Sea. The major islands of the vast archipelago are: Luzon, Mindanao, Samar, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Mindoro, Leyte, Cebu, Bohol. Physical characteristics The archipelago extends between 20 ° 40 ‘and… Read More »
The term new wave, very often used inappropriately, is certainly fitting to address a discourse on the new Filipino cinema, the one that established itself internationally in the early 2000s (the International Film Festival of Rotterdam, followed, later, by other exhibitions of cinema, such as, for example, that of Pesaro, have helped to create awareness… Read More »
Mount Hamiguitan Wildlife Sanctuary (World Heritage) Mount Hamiguitan Wildlife Sanctuary, the sixth World Heritage Site in the Philippines since 2014, and the first on Mindanao Island. Mount Hamiguitan Wildlife Sanctuary: Facts Official title: Mount Hamiguitan Wildlife Sanctuary Natural monument Wildlife reserve, which is characterized by the diversity of its habitats for plants and animals; Home… Read More »
Era of Duterte (since 2016) Never before in the history of the republic has the relationship between president and vice-president been so shattered as it was in the case of Aquino and Jejomar Binay just under a year before the presidential election on May 9, 2016. The controversy between the two turned out to be… Read More »
Baroque churches in the Philippines, the four churches are evidence of Spanish colonial history in Southeast Asia. Visit watchtutorials.org for climate in Philippines. They combine European and Asian building traditions. There are three churches on Luzon, one is on Panay. Baroque Churches in the Philippines: Facts Official title: Baroque churches in Manila, Santa Maria, Paoay and Miagao… Read More »
MABUHAY – Welcome to a visit to the Pearl of the Orient – the tropical paradise with its 7,107 islands, as the Republic of the Philippines, which has been independent since July 4, 1946, is called. With a population of 103 million people, the Southeast Asian island kingdom is the 12th most populous country in… Read More »
Alphabetized adults: 95% (2014) Major religions: Roman Catholic & Protestant (91%) Urban population: 45% (2016) Life expectancy (female / male): 72 / 65.3 (2015) Gender Inequality Index: Rank 97 of 160 (2017) Number of births: 3.06 (2016) Infant mortality: 42/1000 live births (2016) Is there a Filipino culture in a country whose name – in… Read More »
Is there a Filipino culture in a country whose name is of colonial origin? What could be the national bond that unites the more than 7,000 islands with their different peoples and different languages, religious practices and eating habits? People who are interested, politicians, scientists and artists always bite their teeth when answering this question.… Read More »
Currency: Philippine Peso (PHP) Exchange rate: 59.06 Peso per € (December 2020) Time zone: UTC / GMT + 8 hours Country code (phone): +63 Climate (for capital): Tropical All about money The Philippine currency is the peso. One peso is equal to 100 centavos. There are banknotes in circulation to the value of 20, 50,… Read More »
Entry & residence requirements Entry into the Philippines is only possible for German citizens with a valid (also temporary) travel or children’s passport. It is recommended to ensure that travel documents are valid for 6 months beyond the intended duration of stay. For German tourists who hold a passport, a free Visa on Arrival is… Read More »
Multilateral and bilateral development cooperation (DC) After the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank (WB), the European Union (EU) is the Philippines’ most important multilateral partner. The 28 member states of the EU together contribute around 60 percent of international development cooperation, making them the world’s largest donor. As the largest internal market… Read More »
Information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure According to zipcodesexplorer, the Philippines have an ICT infrastructure that is typical of developing countries: landline telephony and wired (broadband) Internet are not widespread. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), there were around four million landline connections and around four million broadband Internet connections in 2017. Measured against… Read More »
Traditional sports include stick fighting, Arnis, Escrima, Kal Sports in the Philippines and Traditional Games. Sabong Cockfighting and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation PAGCOR provide insights into other types of entertainment that are not consistently considered sport. Basketball and baseball are just as popular in the country as soccer is in Europe. In both… Read More »
Art and culture The Kulay Diwa Gallery has compiled a list of contemporary Filipino artists. Important links on art and culture in the country include: Cultural Center of the Philippines Ballet Philippines Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) Goethe Institute Manila Filipino visual artist Emmanuel Garibay Manners & values A child hears the word “Mano” –… Read More »
7,107 islands – actually a challenge for the international tourism industry to make the Philippines one of its main destinations. But under the sweeping palm trees there is poverty and violence. The Philippines – a specialty in the region – owe their name to a Western European heir to the throne and later king. Colonized… Read More »
General and traditional medicine For general information about the health status of Filipinos, related laws and public pronouncements, visit the Department of Health (DOH) homepage. The health insurance company provides information about health care, while the “Handbook Philippines” (see reading tips) devotes several articles to the topic. Here is a list of the diseases Filipinos… Read More »
According to the WHO, the first recorded Covid-19 case in the Philippines was a Chinese citizen at the end of January 2020. However, the danger of an impending pandemic was downplayed by the Duterte regime and the coronavirus was able to spread – supported by the flow of goods on the world market, the international… Read More »
Based on the United Nations Millennium Declaration, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) came into force on January 1, 2016. The SDGs run for 15 years and contain the following 17 overall goals: End poverty Achieve food security and promote sustainable agriculture Healthy life for everyone Education for everyone gender equality Water and sanitation for everyone… Read More »
OFWs – Overseas Filipino Workers How do the families who stayed at home use the remittances of the so-called Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), i.e. around 11 million Filipino migrants and contract workers living and working abroad? An interesting website is investigating this question, where tips are given on how to spend the money wisely. New… Read More »
Unemployment and underemployment (officially estimated at 7.5 percent and just under 23 percent) and the region’s highest birth rate of 1.9 percent are further problems that urgently need to be resolved. According to the Geneva-based International Labor Organization (ILO)the Philippines has the highest unemployment rate in the ten-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Even… Read More »
GDP: 304.9 billion US $ (2016 according to WB) Per capita income (purchasing power parity): US $ 7,400 (2015) Human Development Rank (HDI): 113 of 189 (2017) Proportion of poverty (national poverty line): 25.2% (2012) Distribution of income (Gini coefficient): 43.04 (2012) Economic Transformation Index (BTI): Rank 33 (of 129) (2018) – Excerpt from: “Philippines:… Read More »
The main exports include electronic products, textiles, coconut products, copper and seafood, while the main imports are petrochemical products, industrial machinery and equipment and other capital goods. In the industry, there are mainly companies in the clothing and textile, pharmaceutical and chemical, wood, food and beverage, electronics and fish processing sectors. Heavy industry focuses on… Read More »
Anyone who travels through the country will meet people who are concerned in a variety of ways with organizing their (survival) life more badly than rightly. In the highland massif of the northern Cordillera region, ethnic groups of the Igorot still live in subsistence farming based on communal land ownership. About 200 kilometers southeast of… Read More »
The human rights situation in the Philippines deteriorated dramatically during the tenure of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (January 2001 to June 30, 2010) and was as worrying under her reign as it was during the Marcos era. According to neovideogames, Filipino human rights organizations such as Karapatan, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Asian Human… Read More »
Several major offensives by Philippine elite units and US special forces in the region failed to wipe out the ASG. On the contrary: Isnilon Hapilon, a commander of the ASG, was in a good mood in a YouTube video uploaded on July 23, 2014. A $ 5 million bounty is on his arrest. His message:… Read More »
Since the independence of the Republic of the Philippines on July 4, 1946, a number of virulent political, economic and social conflicts have existed, which to this day have not been resolved or only partially resolved by all governments. Counterinsurgency with tradition Counterinsurgency, or the struggle against internal subversion, was at the center of domestic… Read More »
Beyond the US connection Since the end of the Marcos era (1986), European-Filipino relations, which had been neglected until then, have intensified. As part of the ASEM and regular dialogues between Manila and the EU, relations with the Republic of the Philippines, with which the Federal Republic of Germany is celebrating the 60th anniversary of… Read More »
In the first few years since its independence on July 4, 1946, the foreign policy of the Republic of the Philippines remained largely shaped by the former colonial power, the United States of America. Especially until the mid-1950’s, when military associations of both states did everything in their power to smash the Hukbalahap, outside observers… Read More »
The end of 2020 in the heated climate of anti-communism Contemplative, even happy Christmas time? Nothing of the sort this year, although the Philippines is the stronghold of Roman Catholicism in Southeast Asia, and Christmas time there usually starts in early September. Unlike in previous years, there was no agreed ceasefire this time between the… Read More »
Mid-term elections in May 2019 – severe setback for the opposition In the mid-term elections on May 13, the members of the House of Representatives, half of the seats in the 24-member Senate and around 18,000 provincial and local councils were voted. The official final result meant a triumphant triumph for Rodrigo R. Duterte, who… Read More »