CHAPTER 1

UNDERSTANDING PHILIPPINE HISTORY

 1. UNDERSTANDING HISTORY

 It is the possession and transmission of a culture that man differs from other animals, and the first culture
began with the habitual use of tools and articulate speech (Pulmer, ed. 1965. 16).
 History is the study of past events.
 Arnold Toynbee’s challenge and response theory, it is based on the idea that man respond to the situation
placed before him. His actions are based on his thoughts.
 History reflects the progress of civilizations and societies.
 Based on his hypothesis, the failure of a civilization to survive was the result of its inability to respond to
challenges.
 To illustrate, the prehistoric men had shown their ability to respond to the challenge of surviving amidst the
conditions of the environment.
 The preservation of the man’s material equipment is another challenge that people have to face.
 In the struggle of dauntless Filipino to regain the lost rights and freedom during the Spanish era, the
propagandists and revolutionaries responded to colonial oppression by resisting.
 His exchange theory refers to the systematic statement of principles that govern the exchange of goods
between individuals, groups, organizations, and nations.
 A case in point is the barter system, use din business transactions because there was no currency during
those days.
 For George Wilhelm Hegel (1770-1831), an idea is the moving force of History.
 Hegel’s role of historical man follows a principle, which he called Weltgiest or world spirit, which
embodies ideals like patriotism, heroism, and unity.
• Geisteswissenchaften
• Naturwissenchaften
 The combination of their thoughts like patriotism and heroism resulted to their historical acts, manifested
through their deeds and exploits in the battles that were fought against the Japanese forces during war era.
 The combination of their thoughts like patriotism and heroism resulted to their historical acts, manifested
through their deeds and exploits in the battles that were fought against the Japanese forces during war era.
 Another theory to be considered is the materialist concept of history or economic history by Karl Marx.
• He asserts that he prevailing economic system determines the form of societal organization and the political
and intellectual history of the epoch, which thus attribute actions and events in history to economic motives.
 To cite an instance, the intensification of inter-island contacts and the increasing specialization in
craftsmanship by early dwellers were brought about by economic consideration.
 According to Braudel, human actions are not only based on human
decisions but also on structures that may be natural or man made.
 In the Braudelian approach, to achieve “total history” is to integrate all
aspects of man’s past.
 TEODORO AGONCILLO
 For Rizal, history offers the key to
(1912-1985)
national identity and the basis for future
development.
 He edited Dr. Antonio de Morga’s
Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas.
 Teodoro Agoncillo is considered as the
father of Filipino nationalist
hisotiography.
Dr. Antonio de Morga
 He wrote the conditions of the Philippine
past by analyzing the conditions of the
masses.
RENATO CONSTANTINO  Philippine history is a people’s history
 According to Renato Constantino, history is “the
recorded struggle of people for ever increasing
freedom and for newer and higher realization of
the human person.”
 Based on Constantino’s supposition that
“Philippine history is a story of struggle,” the
study has to be reassessed with a nationalist
perspective in the interest of objectivity.
 History is not merely the work of heroes and great
men.
 He mentioned that history is not necessarily
presenting a long, unbroken chain of events. It
illustrates movement of people and ideas over
time and space.
WILHELM DILTHEY
(1833-1911)

 Absolute objectivity is inconceivable.

 The worldview that they have developed are
colored perspective from which people understand
their environments and the events happen.
 In conclusion, history can serve as a guide to
present and succeeding generations in facing the
challenges of the times.
2. Sources of History

 In writing history, the historian not only relies on past thoughts, rather, reenacts it in the
context of analyzing the documents and other records left.
 Friars of the religious orders who had later known the dialects of the natives, recorded
observations of Filipino society and culture like Fray Juan de Plasencia (1589). Franciscan
and Fray Pedro Chirino (1604), a Jesuit.
 The Filipino Muslims were able to preserve written materials of great historical value. The
first is the sarsila or tarsila, and the another material is the kitab.
 Philippine Insurgent Records represents the records captured by the united States Army
during its suppression of the Filipino resistance against American takeover of the
Philippines from 1899-1903.
 An important repository of Filipiniana materials is the National Library, established in
Manila on March 9, 1900 to honor the memory of American military personnel killed during
the Filipino-American war.
 Public Law Act No. 1935, mandated the creation of The Philippine Library.
 In 1916, the colonial administration decided to merge The Philippine Library with other
entities and it came to be known as the Philippine Library and Museum.
 However, in 1928, the Philippine Legislature passed Public Law No. 3477 providing for the
separate entities to be called The National Museum and the National Library.
 Pursuant to Executive Order No. 486, s. 1951, issued by President Elpidio Quirino and a
follow up, Executive Order No. 39, s. 1963 by President Diosdado Macapagal.
 These records are now known as the Historical Data Papers or Provinvial Histories, intend
to replace government records destroyed during the World War II.
Sources of history may e classified as primary and secondary:

 Primary sources are those that have witnessed the event that took place or have been part of the
incident being studied.
 Secondary sources have not been part of the event being considered such as magazines, newspapers,
pamphlets, typescripts, and articles written about the primary sources.
 In the Philippines, aside from the National Archives, there are other important repositories of historic
documents, which include the Archives of the Dominican Province of the Philippines, the Archives
of the University of Santo Tomas, the Archives of the Province of Our Lady of the Most Holy
Rosary, the Jesuit Archives at the Ateneo de Manila University, and the Archives of the
Archbishopric of Manila.
 Archaeology studies and reconstruct the cultural events of the past through the material remains left by
people.
 Archaeological excavation refers to the systematic recovery and study of these pieces of material evidence.
 Prehistory, a term given by 19th century French scholars, covers the past human experiences prior to the
existence of written record.
 Archaeology gives us an idea on how things might have looked like at a particular time.
 Unfortunately, the reconstruction prehistory will always be incomplete. Many of the objects recovered
have disintegrated over time.
 Early archaeological undertakings in the Philippines began with the first major expedition in1881 by a
Frenchman, Alfred Marche in the island of Marinduque and the other sites in Central Philippines.
 Feodor Jagor, a German traveler, reported having encountered a priest in Naga Camarines Sur who
collected artifacts from ancient graveyards.
 Dr. Antonio de Morga, in his Sucesos de Las Islas Filipinas, decribed the ancient artifacts that were
recovered by farmers in Luzon, particularly in Ilocos, Pangasinan, Pampaanga, and Manila.
 Jose Rizal was noted to have found ground and polished stone tools during his exile in Dapitan,
Zamboanga del Norte.
 The second major archaeological exploration was carried out by Carl Guthe from the University of
Michigan from 19222-1925.
 From 1926 to the outbreak of the Second World War, much of the archaeological discoveries were done
by Henry Otley Beyer (1883-1966).
 The discovery of a major archaeological site in Novaliches in 1926 resulting from the construction of a
dam for Manila’s water supply.
 In 1947, Beyer published the Outline Review of Philippine Archaeology by Islands and Provinces a
pioneering research activity in Philippine prehistory.
 Larry Wilson, a mining prospector, assisted Beyer in the exploration of numerous Pleistocene site in
Northern Luzon.
 All over the archipelago, the fossilized remains of large mammals that roamed the islands during the
Middle Pleistocene Epoch have been discovered in 1920s.
 In Cabarruyan Island in Lingayen Gulf, a fossilized tooth of a dwarf elephant was reported to have been
retrieved.
 Von Koenigswald, a paleontologist known for his work on Java Man, gave the name for this specie.
 After the Second World War, increased interest in the prehistoric beginnings of the Philippines evolved.
Archaeology was alter on introduced as part of the curriculum at the University of the Philippines.
 Wilhelm G. Solheim II conducted the first postwar excavations in Masbate Island from 1951 to 1953.
Alfredo Evangelista and E. Arsenio Manuel assisted him in undertaking the work.
 Between 1950 and 1954, Solheim was the research associate at the Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnology of the University of the Philippines and the librarian and curator of the American Historical
Collection of the U.S. embassy in Manila.
 Fox led the Tabon Caves Archaeological Project in Southwestern Palawan, resulting in the unearthing
of late Pleistocene human fossils and stone tools and implements.
HOMO SAPIENS

 Human fossil bones of at least three individuals

were found.
 These classified as modern man or Homo
Sapiens.
 Neil McIntosh of the University of Sydney in
Australia undertook the analysis and X-rays of the
Tabon skullcap and mandible in 1975.
3. Unhistorical Data

 There are some narratives that have been previously accepted in Philippine history as facts but
later were found out to e historical errors.
 These unhistorical accounts include the Maragtas, the Code of Kalantiaw, and the Legend of
Princess Urduja.
 William Henry Scott (1921-1993) made the study of prehistoric source materials for the study of
Philippine history, the subject of his doctorial dissertation at the University of Santo Tomas.
 The research of Scott showed that Maragtas is not a prehispanic document but a book written by
Pedro Montecarlo.
 In the unprecedented doctoral study of Scott, he concluded that the Pavon manuscripts were not
genuine and that the Code of Kalantaw was a hoax.
 He presented his serious objections to this fake code. They are as follows:

1. There is no evidence that Fr. Pavon, the alleged author of the manuscript, was ever in the Philippines in
1838, or parish period of the town in 1839, the dates of the manuscript.
2. The contents of he manuscript are of dubious value. For example, the author prays for the preservation
of the King of Spain in 1838 and dedicates a book to him in 1839, but Spain had no king between1833
and 1874.
3. The author also states that the month of November was called a bad month for it brought air laden with
putrified microbes of evil fevers.
 It was only in the 1850s that Louis Pasteur discover the theory of infectious germs.
4. The Kalantiaw Code contains many strange edicts that contradict the character of the Filipino.
 Unfortunately, this tale is another historical error that has created false impressions and shoukd be
corrected.
Chapter 2
The Natural Setting and its People
Tagalog Origin Myths: Bathala
the Creator

 
Who is Bathala?
In ancient mythology among the Tagalogs,
there was a creator, a supreme god. He was
known as Bathala Maykapal or Lumikha.
According to F. Landa Jocano’s Outline of
Philippine Mythology (1969), Bathala is the
grand conserver of the universe – the
caretaker of nature and the creatures of the
earth.
“Hence the beautiful word “bahala” or “mabahala” meaning “to care.” From this evolved the Filipino attitude
of “bahala na” or “Let Bathala take care of it” which gives a person tremendous courage in the face of danger.”
 We can only speak about the worship of Bathala with varying degrees of certainty. Most of the foundations of
Philippine Mythology are rooted in documentation by the Spanish. This creates a bit of a dilemma.
The same documentation that re-enforces mythological stories about gods and creation are one and the same
with the documentation that is being used to discredit belief in folkloric creatures (I’ll speak more on this in a
future article).
Using this documentation, we know that pre-Spanish Tagalogs on Luzon “worshipped” Bathala, the creator. We
also know that, for a time, Bathala was incorporated into Christian teaching by the friars in order to assist with
converting the population to Christianity.
“As for their sacrifices, each one of the natives, so far as I have seen, has in his house many idols, to whom
they pray. They call God, Batala (Bathala), and the chief idol which they have is thus named; but others call
him Diobata (Diwata) – at least among the Pintados (term used by Spanish to describe indigenous people with
tattooed bodies in Cebu, Bohol, Samar and Leyte) they give him this name.
The natives of this island (Luzon) usually call him Batala, and even consider him God of all creation.
Accordingly, after the religious came to this land and commenced to preach the faith of Jesus Christ, and to
baptize, the natives have not known how to give any other name in their language to God our Lord, except that
of Batala.”
Aman Sinaya is the primordial Tagalog
goddess of the sea and protector of fishermen.
She was one of the only three beings who
existed when the Earth was still young, the
other two being Bathala, god of the sky, and
Amihan, the North Wind.
Amihan is a genderless deity that is depicted as a bird in the
Philippine mythology. According to the Tagalog folklore,
Amihan is the first creature to inhabit the universe, along
with the gods called Bathala and Aman Sinaya. In the legend
Amihan is described as a bird who saves the first human
beings, Malakas and Maganda from a bamboo plant.
Amihan is also depicted with Habagat which explains the
wind patterns in the country. In one legend they are depicted
as children of the supreme deity Bathala. They are allowed
by their father to play in turns per half a year since having
the two play together causes destruction in the land. Amihan
is depicted as the gentler sister while Habagat is depicted as
the more active brother. In another legend, Amihan is
depicted as a giant who is at war with another giant Habagat.
1.How the Earth Was in the Beginning
 The story of creation shows the formation of the world and the infinite character of the
creator. The Holy Bible tells us that, "In the beginning of God created the heaven and earth
(Genesis 1:1).“
 One tagalog legend tells the story of how Bathala created the Filipino people.
 One day Aman Sinaya decided to send her waves and storms into the sky. In return,
Bathala threw giant boulders to stop her. This resulted to thousands of islands on the
surface of the sea, which became the Philippine archipelago.
 The fight continued for thousands of years , until manaul grew of it. He collected the rocks
from the mountains and dropped them on Gods. This ended the battle. The masses of rocks
thrown by the mythical bird became the islands of the Philippine archipelago.
 Out of the stalk came the first man, Si-kalac and the first woman, Si-kavay. Si-kavay bore
her first-born son Sibo. Samar, their first daughter came next.
 Numerous legends explain how places got their names. In many instances, the name of a place is derived
from a brief form of word linked to the story, for example Tagaytay from "taga Itay"; Mindoro, from the
names of a couple Mina and Doro; and Manila, from the word Maynila (there are nilad plants in the place).
 The legend of Bernardo Carpio called Hari ng mga Tagalog (King of the Tagalogs) presents an imagination
explanation of how the country was shaken by earthquakes. According to the legend, Bernardo Carpio was
rebuked by the gods for his insolence and left endlessly chained in the Montalban Gorge in Rizal Province.
 The analytical study of geology commenced with the publication of James Hutton's Theory of the Earth (2
volumes,1795). Hutton (1726-1797) a British geologist, formulated the uniformitarian theory of geology,
which maintains that the laws of nature have remained constant.
 Maps or charts covering the entire world or specific regions are contained in an atlas. Ptolemy, an
Alexandrian scholar, produced the first collection of maps in about A.D.150. In the 16th century, Gerardus
Mercator used the term atlas in the title of his collection of maps. The term was derived from the custom of
placing the Greek mythological figure Atlas holding the earth on his shoulders on the title pages of map
collections. The first modern atlas titled. Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theater of the Earth), was published in
1570 by Abraham Ortelius, a Dutch cartographer.
 Ortelius noticed that the American continents seemed to have been disjoined from Europe and Africa.
He realized that the coasts of the three continents could be linked together like a huge jigsaw puzzle.
 Alfred Wegener (1880-1930), a German meteorologist, also noted his inquiry regarding the three
continents, which Ortelius had noticed 300 years ago.
 Wegener's theory of continental drift was contained in his book, The Origin of Continents and Oceans,
published in 1915. He named the supercontinent, Pangaea, a Greek word meaning "all land." Pangaea
had begun breaking up approximately 200 million years ago, earlier into a northern portion, which he
named Laurasia, and a southern portion, termed Gondwanaland by the Austrian geologist Eduard
Suess.
 Arthur Holmes (1890-1965), a British geologist advocated support for Wegener's theory, In 1928, he
proposed that the convection currents within the earth's mantle driven by radioactive heat might have
caused the mechanism for continental drift.
 In the 1950s, scientists began oceanographic research, which revealed the phenomenon known as
seafloor spreading. In the 1960s, the theory of plate tectonics was established. The theory explains that
the lithosphere (the outer layer of the earth) moves sideway above a less rigid layer called the
asthenosphere which is under extreme pressure.
 The first one results in the motion of tectonic plates while the latter, involves the
movement of water from the earth's surface to the atmosphere and those back to earth,
which is also known as hydrologic cycle, which eventually results to the washing out of
soil.
2. GEOLOGICAL FOUNDATION
 In Arthur Holmes book, The Age of the Earth (1913, developed a geologic time scale,
which he continued to work on until 1959.The dates given for certain geological
formations are informed estimate in terms of years before the present (BP). The geologists
seek listers and how the earth evolved into what it is today and forecast possible geologic
events.
 At about 65 million years ago, the dinosaurs that once occupied the valleys, plains, and
swamps became extinct. It is believed that these huge creatures perished with a huge
meteorite that hit the earth or with shattering volcanic eruptions. According to present
estimates, the planet earth is between 4.6 and 4.8 billion years BP. The first dinosaurs were
believed to have appeare around 225 million years ago, during the Mesozoic Era.
 The Philippine soil is composed of numerous rocks, which came from regions far from the
archipelago's present location. It was during the Tertiary period(54 million-2 million years
BP) of the Cenozoic era that the land structure of the Philippines was defined.
 The Pleistocene epoch of the Ice Age began with the freezing of the northern and southern
hemispheres, which led to an extensive spread of sea ice in the area. This created a suitable
climate for ice-age animals like the mastodon and saber-toothed tiger.
 The Pleistocene marked the beginning of evolutionary processes in both flora and fauna.
The freezing of the northern and southern hemispheres caused an extensive spread of sea
ice in the area and helped provide a suitable climate for ice-age animals like the mastodon
and saber-toothed tiger. In Asia, the Mongolian area and the Himalayas were also topped
with ice sheets. There was a widespread distribution of glaciers in the higher regions of the
African continent.
 During the Pleistocene, the glaciers accumulated a big quantity of water in the form of ice,
causing water levels in the world's oceans to drop. The earth's climate, which began
warming some 18,000 years ago, caused the oceans to regain their present levels.
 Based on recent studies, the earth has undergone 20 cycles of glaciation over the past two million years.
During the Pleistocene, the glaciers accumulated a big quantity of water in the form of ice, causing water
levels in the world's oceans to drop. The earth's climate, which began warming some 18,000 years ago, caused
the oceans to regain their present levels. The movements of the water resulting from vast glaciations and
deglaciations in the temperate region caused convergence, as well as the separation of landmasses. Some
historians claim that the Philippines is a remnant of a lost continent in the Pacific called Mu or Lemuria, the
other remnants are Marianas and other mid-Pacific islands, and Borneo, Java, Sumatra, and the Celebes.

3. The Archipelago's Name

 During the pre-Spanish era, early Chinese traders and geographers already knew the Philippines. Sung
Dynasty sources in 982 A.D. referred the islands as Ma-yi. Chau Ju-kua, a Chinese trade official, gave a
detailed account of his travel to various parts of the islands in 1225, which he called Ma-i.
 In 1521, Ferdinand Magellan named the islands, Islas de San Lazaro (Archipelago of St.Lazarus) when he
first set foot on our native soil. The name Philippines came from the word Filipinas given by the Spanish
navigator Ruy Lopez de Villalobos in 1543 in honor of Prince Philip of Asturias, who became King Philip II
of Spain, successor to King Charles I. The word Felipina was at first given by Villalobo's men to refer to
Leyte and Samar. Later, it ws given to the whole archipelago.
 In 1751, Fr. Juan J. Delgado, a Jesuit historian called Manila, Pearl of the Orient since it became a rich outlet
of Asian trade even prior to the coming of the Spaniards in the archipelago. Dr. Jose Rizal, the country's
foremost hero, gave the name Pearl of the Orient Seas to his native land on the eve of his execution in 1896.
 The name Filipinas first appeared in a rare map published in Venice in 1554 by Giovanni Battista Ramusio,
an Italian geographer. The Spanish Filipinas of Felipinas was later changed to Philippine Islands (P.I.) during
the American colonial era. It was renamed Republic of the Philippines (R.P.) after the recognition of its
independence in 1946.
 There were some filipinos who proposed new names for the Philippines since the name of our country was
given by the colonizers. Artemio Ricarte, a Katipunan general wanted it to be called the Rizaline Republic,
after Jose Rizal. Former President Ferdinand Marcos proposed the name Maharlika (also the name of his
guerrilla group in World War II), after his dream of making this nation great again.
 4. Geography and Resources
 The Philippines can be found in the Western Pacific Ocean. It is situated in the southeastern portion of asia.
 The Philippines is dubbed as the “Crossroads of the Pacific” because of the central location in the far east.
 The country is an archipelago of 7,107 islands and islets. It has a total land area of 300,000 square
kilometers.
 Manila is the capital and the largest city in the country. It is also the chief port and main commercial center
of the islands.
 Luzon, the biggest of the three major geographical groups, has an area of 141,395 square kilometers.
 Visayas has an area of 56,606 square kilometers.
 Mindanao with an area of 101,999 square kilometers.
 The northernmost point of the country is Y’ Ami Isle, which is 78 miles from Taiwan. The southernmost
point in Saluag Isle, only 34 miles east of Borneo.
 The Philippines is in the middle of two opposing tectonic plates, making it prone to seismic activity.
Between tectonic plates is a zone known as fault.
 The Philippines has the largest irregular coastline in the world. This is longer than the coastline of Great
Britain and twice the coastline of the United States. The country has 61 natural harbor in the Far East, has
an area of 1,970 square kilometers.
 Palawan forms the country’s boundary and has a total area of 1,765 islands and islets.
 The country has 16 regions which include the CALABARZON and MIMAROPA, ZAMBOANGA
PENINSULA, DAVAO REGION, SOCCSKSAGEN, ARMM, CAR, and Metropolitan Manila.
 The ARMM was created by Republic Act No. 6734 in 1989. it is composed of the Resources of
Mguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulo, Tawi-tawi, and Basilan.
 The La Mesa Nature Reserve Eco Trail officially launched on June 2, 2005 by the ABS-CBN Bantay
Kalikasan Foundation, the MWSS (owner of the forest reserve), and the Quezon City government, is an
eco tourism spot.
 In the Tagalog region, some people find Mount Makiling and Banahaw as mystic mountains for reflection
and recreation.
 According to the legend, Mount Makiling who protects the
forest that covers the mountain.
 Mount Banahaw along the Quezon border is also considered
a powerful energy source of pilgrims, spiritualists, and cults
having a blend of indigenous and catholic beliefs and rituals.
 These major mountain range are situated in Northern Luzon:
The Sierra Madre Range, the Cordillera Range, and the
Caraballo Range.
The Sierra Madre Range
 Is the largest and longest range in the country, faces the Pacific Ocean on the eastern coast
of Luzon.
 The Cordillera Mountain
 In the western part of Northern Luzon are parallel to the Sierra Madre Range. The Cagayan
Valley occupies the region between these two mountain ranges. The Cordillera extends from
Ilocos Norte down to Benguet and La Union area.
 In the Cordillera Range, Mount Pulog is the second highest peak in the country.

 The most productive gold and copper mine in the country are located within the Cordillera region. Roads
along the mountain range are known for their zigzag curves.
 The famous Banaue Rice Terraces, looking like stairways to heaven, is in the Cordillera.
 The city of Baguio is one of the most popular vacation destination in the country. It has become the
“summer capital of the Philippines.”

 On the southwestern coast of Luzon is the Zambales Moountain Range. It extends from the shores of
Western Pangasinan to parts of Bulacan and Bataan.
 Luzon has a mountainous extension to the southeast called Bicol Peninsula.
 In the Visayas, the most prominent mountain ranges are found across major
islands.
 The islands in the Visayas have mountainous terrains except Samar and Bohol.
 In Mindanao, there are four mountain ranges: The Diwata Range, the Tago-apo
Range, the Kalatungan-kitanglad Range, and the Daguma Range.
 The Diwata Range borders the Pacific coast and west of it lies the valley of Agusan.

 Tago-apo Range forms a paralleled ridge to Diwata Range. Located in the area are the Balatukan Mountain,
the volcanic peaks of Camiguin, Kinabalin, Kumakata, and the Mount Apo in Davao del Sur, which also the
highest mountain in the country.
 The Kalatungan-kitanglad Mountain Range which includes Mounts Butig, Kidongin, and Ragang, is situated
in Lanao provinces.
 The Daguma Range extends near Saragani Bay in the south. Volcanoes at the boundaries of Daguma
Range are Mount Blik, south of Cotabato City, and Mount Parker, west of General Santos City.
 Mt. Pinatubo, which have been dormant for 611 years started to emit fumes on April 2 1991 after a
hydrothermal explosion at the volcano’s crater took place.

 Taal Volcano, a regular tourist drawer, is a volcano within a volcano. It is rising from a lake, which is the
crater of a larger volcano, now extinct.
 Mt. Mayon, world famous for its near-perfect conical shape, had its first recorded eruption in 1616.

 Kanlaon Volcano had erupted six times in 1985 and thrice in 1986. In 1989, it had a minor eruption.
 Chocolate Hills is one of the geological monuments of the country. The other four national geological
monuments are Taal Volcano in Batangas, Montalban Caves in Rizal Province, Sand Dunes in Ilocos Norte
and Hundred Islands in Pnagasinan.

 The Cagayan River, with a length of 513 kilometers, is the longest river in the country.
 Between Samar and Leyte is the San Juanico Strait, the narrowest strait in the world.
 Laguna de Bay is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia.
 The deepest among these lakes of Laguna is Lake Calibato, which is 176 meters deep.
Lake Calibato
 Lake Lanao propelling hydroelectric plants supply around three-fourths of Mindanao’s power requirements.

 In the middle of the tropical Blue and emerald green waters of the Sulu Sea and Palawan lies the Tubbataha
Reef, just one of the sandbars and reefs known for its rich beautiful dive sites and marine resources.
 In the middle of the tropical Blue and emerald green waters of the Sulu Sea and Palawan lies the Tubbataha
Reef, just one of the sandbars and reefs known for its rich beautiful dive sites and marine resources.
 Boracay is known for its warm blue waters, powder-fine white sand, and a palm fringed four-kilometer
beach.
 The largest plain in the archipelago is the Central Plain in Luzon, knownwas the “Rice Granary of the
Philippines.” There are about 10,000 species of flowering plants and ferns in the country.
 Famous of the Philippine woods is narra.

 The mangroves are among the significant ecosystems that characterize the coastal areas of the archipelago.
 The country abounds in animal life. Of the 201 species of mammals in the country, 179 are terrestrial and 22
are marine.
 The Philippine Carabao, a swamp type of domesticated water buffalo has long been an important work
animal.
These are some unique animals in the world are also found in the Philippines.

• The Tamaraw or Bubalus

mindorensis of Mindoro, which
looks like a dwarf carabao.
• The Tarsier of Bohol, the
smallest monkey in the world.
• The Calamian deer or Cerous
calamianesis (pilandok) of
Palawan, the world’s smallest
deer.
 Unfortunately, some animals are near extinction (called endangered species), which includes the
Philippine Eagle, the Tamaraw, and the Tarsier.
 There are about 25,000 species of insects in the islands. The largest insect in the country is the giant moth
(Attacus atlas), with wingspan of one foot.
 The largest and smallest bats in the world are found in the country.
 The world’s second largest after the Harpy eagle found in the amazon forests is the Philippine Eagle, found in
the jungles of Luzon and Mindanao. It has earned the title of “ King of Philippine Birds.”
 Other interesting birds in the country are the Kalaw, which the Spanish colonizers dubbed as “ clock of the
mountains,” the Katala (Philippine cockatoo), which mumbles and croons like a man, and the tiny Philippine
falconets, only six and a half centimeters long.
 Also found in the Philippines is the world’s rarest shell, called Glory of the Sea (Connus gloriamaris) and the
Tridacna gigas, which is the world’s largest shell and has a length of one meter and weighs 600 pounds.
 The smallest shell in the world, The Pisidum, is also found in our country.

 In n1995, they recorded a total of 2,140 species of Philippine fishes. Among the commercially known fish
found in numerous fishing grounds are the bangus (milkfish), dalag (mudfish), dilis (anchovy), lapulapu
(seabass), galunggong (round scad) tanguingi (mackerel), tamban (Indian Sardines), and bariles (tuna).
 Some of the endemic freshwater species are considered endangered. These includes the Harengula
tawilis, locally known as tawilis, sinarapan, and pandaka pymaea, the pygmy goby.
 Tawilis, a freshwater species of sardines are found in the Lake taal, Batangas.
 Sinarapan, the smallest commercial fish, can only be found in Lake Buhi and Lake Baton, Camarines
Sur.
 Tabios, the world’s smallest vertebrate, which ranges from 7.5 to 11 millimeters, is said to be dwelling in
the Navotas and Makabon Rivers.
 The world’s largest fish is also found in the country. This is the whale shark, which is 50 feet or more in
length. It was first sighted off the coast of Mariveles, Manila Bay, in 1816 by Filipino fishermen’s, who
called it paying bulik (striped shark).
 Gold mining is an ancient industry in the country.
 Mount Diwalwal located at Compostela Valley province has been the site of gold rush since 1983.
 Mankanyan, the oldest and longest copper mine in the country still exists. Other copper deposits are
found in the islands of Negros and Rapu-Rapu (which located in Albay) and the province of Zambales.
 The greatest iron-bearing area is the country in Surigao.
 The world’s largest deposit of nickel has been discovered in Monoc Isle, off he coast of Northern Mindanao.
 Vast Marble deposits are found in Mindoro, Romblon, Palawan, Cebu, and Bicol.
 Deposits of coal are in Cebu, Sorsogon, Masbate, and Sibugay Peninsula.
 Potential oil and natural gas resources are to be tapped in the disputed Spartly Islands located in the South
China Sea. It is an archipelago of more then 100 islets, reefs and atolls, with a total landmass of less than 5 sq
km.
 The Philippines is one of the claimants of these islands, along with China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, and
Malaysia.
 The dramatic increase of Philippine crude oil production was primarily due to the development of deep-sea
oil deposits beneath the natural gas bearing structures in the Malampaya field.
5. Country’s Climate
 The Philippines, situated at the Torrid Zone, has a tropical climate with a mean annual
temperature of about 27 c (almost 80 F).
 The country have two seasons, dry and wet.
 In most of the Islands, rainy seasons occurs from May to November. During this period the
blows from the southwest. Often, the June to October. The dry season occurs from
December to April, when the wind blows from the northeast.
6. The Filipino People
 Philippines is inhabited by different ethnics groups. The
Filipino people is a harmonious mixture diversity and
homogeneity. Despite of diverse ethnic and cultural
backgrounds, forces of assimilation have constantly worked to
overcome the differences.
7. Theories on the Origin of Filipinos
 Long before the Spanish colonizers came into the Philippines,
people with distinct cultures had already inhabited the islands. The
migration theory of H. Otley Beyer. Regarding the peopling of the
archipelago became the most widely known version in Philippines
prehistory. According to Dr. Beyer, the ancestors of the Filipinos
came in waves of migration.
Thank you!!!