Geography and Demographics:
The Philippines is an archipelagic nation of 7,107 islands located south of mainland Asia. It is bounded on the west by the South China Sea, on the east by the Pacific. Ocean, on the north by the Bashi Channel, and on the south by the Sulu and Celebes Sea. It has no contiguous land borders with any other nation. Its nearest neighbors are Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. There are 3 major island, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. There are 70 provinces and 12 regions. The largest island is Luzon - site of Metro Manila, the capital and primary industrial center. The 11th largest urban area in the world, Metro Manila encompasses 18 cities and towns.

Cebu, in the central Visayas, is the country's largest international gateway. The second largest island, Mindanao, is the center of Philippines Islam, and it's currently the focus of an ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nation) growth development plan.

Climate:
Except on the higher mountains, the Philippines has a maritime tropical climate. Temperature has an average range of 26 to 28°C (70 to 82° F). High temperatures in Manila can go up to 30° C (86° F) in January and 33°C (91°F) in June. The dry season is from December to May, and the monsoon and typhoon season is from June to November.

Language:
Several attempts have been made to institutionalized Tagalog (also called Filipino or Pilipino) as the national language. But in an archipelago with more than 80 distinct languages and dialects, there is a continuing recalcitrance to what is viewed as Manila's linguistic hegemony. Tagalog (accent on the second syllable) is a Malay-Polynesian language with generous influences of Chinese, Hindi and Spanish; it's understood by most, but English wins by default as the lingua franca. It's used in education, government and commerce as well as in English proficiency is considered a basic key to social or economic advancement. The Philippines is, in fact, considered the third-largest English speaking country in the world. The American word boondocks (a rural area, or rough country filled with dense brush), coined in the first decade of this century, comes from the Tagalog word "bundok", meaning mountain the blending of Tagalog and English has created a colloquial slang called Taglish, which is heard in informal situations and in highly urbanized areas.

Religion:
Philippines is the only Christian country is Asia. Although the southern part, Mindanao is ruled by Islamic religion, but still a lot of Christian living in this island.

Roman Catholic - 83%
Protestant - 9%
Muslim - 4%

National Holidays:

New Year's Day	January 1
Maundy Thursday	Thursday before Easter
Good Friday	Friday before Easter Sunday
Labor Day	May 1
Independence Day	June 12
Dr. Jose Rizal's Birthday	June 19
Fil-Am Day Philippine-American Friendship Day	July 4
National Heroes Day	Last Sunday of August
All Saint's Day	November 1
Bonifacio Day	November 30
Christmas Day	December 25
Rizal Day (Commemorates Jose Rizal's execution at the hands of the Spanish)	December 30

Communication

Over one million television sets as well as an estimated 2.3 million radios and more than a million telephones are in use nationwide. There are 32 daily newspapers, over half of which are in English and the rest in various dialects. Telephones are available in all hotels, business offices, commercial centers and many public recreation areas. Local calls on public pay phones cost two pesos, while private pay phones usually charge three pesos per call. Long distance calls from Manila to major provincial cities and towns are readily connected (dial 109); rates are nominal. Overseas calls to over 120 countries may be made through International Direct Dialing (IDD) or with operator assistance (dial 108). Domestic and international telegram, telex and facsimile services are also available.

Good international radio and submarine cable services; domestic and interisland service adequate; 872,900 telephones; broadcast stations - 267 AM (including 6 US), 55 FM, 33 TV (including 4 US); submarine cables extended to Hong Kong, Guam, Singapore, Taiwan, and Japan; satellite earth stations - 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 2 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT, and 11 domestic; Internet access available

Transportation

Despite the difficult terrain, the Philippines has a good road system of some 157,810 km (some 98,110 mi), about 14 percent of which is paved. The country has about 1060 km (about 660 mi) of operated railroad track. The national air carrier is Philippine Airlines (PAL), and the main international airport serves Manila. The country has many seaports, the busiest including Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, and Zamboanga.