31 Facts You Probably Didn't Know About The Philippines

Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/mattortile/buzzfeed-bayan?utm_term=.paBl7mODK#.mhwMGqNA7

1. The Philippines is the world's leading producer of coconuts, having produced 19.5 million tons of the fruit in 2010.

2. According to the 2000 census, 52 million people in the Philippines speak English, making it the fifth largest English-speaking nation behind the U.S., India, Pakistan, and the U.K.

3. Of the top 10 largest shopping malls in the world, three are found in the Philippines: SM Megamall, SM North Edsa, and SM Mall of Asia.

4. The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River in Palawan is 8.2 kilometers long. Until the discovery of a 10-kilometer underground river in Mexico, the Puerto Princesa River was the longest subterranean waterway in the world.

5. Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines in 1521, marking the start of the archipelago's colonization under Spanish rule, a 377-year period that lasted until 1898.

6. The islands were dubbed "the Philippines" after King Philip II of Spain.

7. As a result of the Spanish influence, the country is predominantly Christian with 90% of the population practicing some mode of Christianity, the vast majority being Roman Catholic.

8. The world's largest Christmas lantern was illuminated in San Fernando, Pampanga on Dec. 24, 2002. The structure was 26.8 meters in diameter and cost five million Philippine pesos.

9. Pope John Paul II offered a mass to about five million Filipinos on Jan. 18, 1995, at Luneta Park in Manila. The event went into the Guinness Book of World Records as the Biggest Papal Crowd at the time.

10. In 2009, about 1.39 billion SMS messages were being sent in the Philippines daily. The country was one of the earliest adopters of text messaging, earning the moniker "text capital of the world" from the mid '90s to the early 2000s.
11. The English word 'boondocks' is actually a Filipino loanword: the Tagalog word for 'mountain' is 'bundok.'

12. The word entered the North American vernacular in the 1940s, just as the Philippines became involved in the Second World War.

13. Taal Volcano in Talisay, Batangas, is one of the world's 17 Decade Volcanoes — volcanoes that need to be looked after given their active state and explosive history. It's also located in a lake, and has a lake inside it, with an even smaller island in it!

14. The amount of sulfur dioxide expelled by Mount Pinatubo during its eruption on Jun. 15, 1991, created a two-year haze of sulfuric acid all over the world. It caused global temperatures to drop by 0.5 °C (0.9 °F).

15. A Filipino named Roberto del Rosario made the karaoke machine in 1975, but a Japanese musician invented it four years earlier. Del Rosario, however, was the first to patent the product, which makes him the first patented producer of the karaoke.

16. In the province of Camiguin, there are more volcanos (seven) than towns (five). There hasn't been an eruption since the mid 1950s, but the island has the most number of volcanoes per square kilometer in the world.

17. The positioning of the Philippine flag's colors indicate a message. If it is flown with the red stripe on top, the nation is in a state of war. Otherwise, during peacetime, the blue is on top.

18. The modern yo-yo takes its name from a word in the Philippine language Ilocano, yóyo.

19. The University of San Carlos in Cebu City was founded by Spanish Jesuits in 1595, making it the oldest school in the Philippines.

20. Then in 1611, the University of Santo Tomas (or, lovingly, "Usté") was founded in Manila by the Dominican Order. It is the world's largest Catholic university in terms of population. Both it and University of San Carlos are older than Harvard, which was not founded until 1636.

21. The cone of the sea snail Conus gloriamaris is a highly valued collector's item, the first examples of which were found in the Philippines and sold at auction for upwards of $5,000.

22. In 2002, the world's biggest pair of shoes were made in Marikina City. The wingtips clock in at about 5.3 meters in length, 2.4 meters in width, and almost 2 meters in height. They cost two million Philippine pesos.

23. Manila, the capital city of the country, takes its name from a white flower that grew on mangrove trees, locally known as nilad. 'May nilad' can be translated to mean 'there are nilad there.'

24. The rice terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The terraces were built about 2,000 years ago and — thanks to the rough terrain keeping settlers out — remain as they would have been in pre-colonial times.

25. The Philippines has won at least eight major international beauty pageant titles: two for Miss Universe; five for Miss International; and at least one for Miss World, the current titleholder being Megan Young.

26. About 25 years before the first book was printed in the United States, the Tagala, the first Filipino-Spanish dictionary, was printed in 1613.

27. After the Second World War, the Philippine jeepney was born out of the G.I. Jeeps American soldiers brought to the country in the 1940s. It's Pinoy upcycling!

28. The Philippines' approximately 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi.) of land area are spread over 7,107 islands.

29. This gives the country 36,289 kilometers (22,549 mi.) of coastline and puts the Philippines at fifth place for the longest discontinuous coastline in the world.

30. Depending on the method of classification, there are 125 to 170 languages in use in the Philippines, such as Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon, Bicolano, Waray, and Kapampangan.

31. The Philippines welcomed its 100-millionth citizen on July 27, 2014, making the country the seventh most populated country in Asia and the 12th in the world.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Tourism

 

So many places in the world rely heavily on tourism as a key source of income and employment nowadays, as well as a way of showing off national and local heritage, plus perceived successes.

Unfortunately, tourism can also be a source of problems too, especially if it is not managed correctly. A constant flow of foreign visitors can, for instance, undermine the beauty, uniqueness, character, and social coherence of a tourist destination over time.

It is easy to underestimate the scale of world tourism without being aware of the figures. There were estimated to be around 983 million international tourist arrivals In 2011 — this is nearly a 5 percent increase on the numbers in the previous year.

Travelers in those sorts of numbers can easily present huge challenges and problems for many destinations, including transport, places to stay, policing, and maintenance.

Advantages

• It brings in money. This is probably the main advantage of tourism and the reason why it has been promoted so much in recent years in developing countries especially. Whether in developing or developed countries, the income generated can make up a significant proportion of the national income.

• It provides jobs for the locals. Hotels, bars, transport, shops, and restaurants all need staffing. Tourism can provide much-needed employment for people.
• It raises the profile of the place generally. Tourism gives the locality a chance to show itself off and raise its profile in the world.
• It can provide a incentive for investment in infrastructure such as roads and rail networks, as well as funding local medical and education facilities.
• It can provide economic incentives for a place to preserve, regenerate, and provide upkeep in their urban and wildlife areas.
• Visitors promote international links, which can provide more business and cultural connections in the medium to long term.

Disadvantages

• Tourism can often cause environmental damage with things like pollution and forest fires. Even if tourists behave responsibly, the sheer number of the them can cause problems. Things like ancient buildings, monuments, and temples often struggle to cope with the vast amounts of tourist traffic and they suffer wear and tear or damage.
• The commercialization of culture can undermine the soul of a tourist destination. Local traditions that have a rich cultural heritage are reduced to wearing costumes and putting on acts for the tourists in return for money.

• Tourists can often lack respect for local traditions and culture, not following local dress standards, getting drunk in public, or behaving rudely or inappropriately towards locals.
• Although often jobs are created by tourism, most are relatively low level, such as bar work, hotel service, restaurant serving, and so forth. They also have little prospect for promotion.
• Tourism jobs are quite commonly seasonal and insecure with no extra benefits, such as pensions, sick pay, or health care. Some areas can be inundated with visitors during busy times, and then virtually deserted for many months.
• Money can end up being directed to tourist areas when it could be used more effectively elsewhere in a country. The locals who don’t live in specific tourist areas miss out and suffer relative decline.

• Often times, most of the tourism industry (travel companies and hotels, for one) in a developing country is actually owned by big foreign companies. They make the major profits, leaving local businesses with relatively little benefit.
• There is often an imbalance, where it becomes so successful that other forms of income generation are neglected and an economic dependence on tourism forms. This is fine in good times, but it can leave the country vulnerable to economic ruin. This can lead to political upheaval, terrorist attacks, or natural disasters, and tourism consequently dips or dries up altogether.

Source: https://soapboxie.com/economy/Advantages-and-disadvantages-of-tourism 

 Pros and Cons of Tourism

Pros:

• It is good for a region’s economy, creating jobs based on the tourist influx and businesses like hotels and boutiques that cater to tourists.
• It allows visitors to experience a region in a planned and expected way; tourist destinations are organized in a way where there are usually enough hotels and restaurants, for example.
• Regions that get a lot of tourism have the incentive to keep their area clean and safe, which benefits all residents.
• Added sales taxes collected from tourists may benefit local infrastructure and schools.

Cons:

• The kinds of jobs tourism creates are often low-paying service jobs, like maids and store clerks.
• Added tourists put strains on an environment; for example, litter, excess traffic on roadways, and overcrowded beaches and parks.
• Added tourists put strains on public services, such as police and ambulance.
• Tourists may be seasonal, and the town may suffer off-season due to the slowdown in income.
• The wrong kind of tourism can bring in a seedy element and increase crime, bars, strip clubs, etc.
• Tourist destinations can often seem “inauthentic,” not really portraying the overall region accurately.
• A popular place may see increased housing prices, as seasonal visitors buy up “summer houses,” reducing the supply of available housing for locals.

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-tourism

Japan Anti-Terrorism Law - Tourists May Be Unknowingly Arrested - Complete List of 277 Crimes

Source: https://www.tokyozebra.com/blog/japan-anti-terrorism-law-all-277-acts

Japan passed an Anti-Terror Conspiracy Law on May 29, 2017.  The Law itself consists of 277 acts.   Simply planning or talking about performing one the 277 acts on platforms such as social media, can result in a visit by the police and jail time.  Perhaps even Liking or Sharing something related to one of the 277 crimes can get you arrested.  The idea behind this Law, is it enables Law-enforcement to arrest and prosecute anyone who plans and discusses crimes even if those crimes are never committed. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations and other critics say that some of the 277 acts have no obvious connection to organized crime or terrorism.  This is alarming because in Japan, Authorities can hold a suspect for up to 23 DAYS and can deny the suspect legal representation before the Japan Authorities decide to file charges.  If the suspect is officially charged for the crime, conviction rate in Japan is about 99%.

Unfortunately, there is little documented English information detailing the 277 acts listed under the new Anti-Terror Conspiracy Law.  The purpose of this article is to notify Japan Tourists and Foreign Residents in Japan about the 277 acts so they do not mistakenly violate the Anti-Terror Conspiracy Law.

Note: The authors of this article are not Lawyers nor are Professional Translators.  We simply want to share this information in English so that  Japan Tourists and Foreign Residents in Japan adhere to the the new Anti-Terror Conspiracy Law.  If you feel that some of the translation is incorrect please leave a note in the comment section below and we will update the English translation.  Also, please feel free to discuss your thoughts about the new Anti-Terror Conspiracy Law in the comment section below.

TOP 10 JAPAN ANTI-TERROR CONSPIRACY LAW ACTS THAT CAN GET JAPAN TOURISTS AND JAPANESE FOREIGN RESIDENTS ARRESTED.

These acts don't seem to have anything to do with Anti-Terrorism. Even if you don't commit the crime, but you simply PLAN to do it, you can legally be arrested now. The debate is not whether or not these acts are illegal, because they have always been illegal, but rather the RIGHT Japan Authorities now have to arrest someone if they simply THINK someone is PLANNING to commit one of the 277 listed crimes.

1. Illegally avoiding Customs -Planning to sneak that salami in your suitcase or maybe not report all the cash in your bag?  
2. Copyright Infringement - Do you have pirated songs on your phone or pirated movies on your PC?  
3. Aviation risks - Planning on flying your drone in Tokyo, which could potentially crash into a plane or helicopter? 
4. Damaging important cultural properties - Planning to visit some shrines or temples to maybe to write your name on the wall or hop onto a statue to take a picture?  
5. Usage or Possession of cannabis - Are you from the Netherlands or a part of the United States where cannabis is legal?  Planning to to ask around for it when you arrive in Japan?
6. Prostitution - Receiving compensation - Any girls (or guys) visiting Japan planning to go on that Sex Hustle?
7. Facilitation or provision of a prostitute or sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer.  - Also known as Pimping.
8. Forest theft in the area of forest reserves - Planning to take some mushrooms or cherry blossoms home with you?  
9. Accessoryship to civil commotion and others - Ever hit the like/share button on Facebook or any other social media platform regarding protests or civil injustice? 
10. Obstruction of business by damaging a computer.  Ever get pissed off by an employer or business and plan on damaging their computers?

Full article in: https://www.tokyozebra.com/blog/japan-anti-terrorism-law-all-277-acts

Acts included in the Philippine Law for the Protection of People against Terrorism

Based on Republic Act No. 9372 -  March 6, 2007

AN ACT TO SECURE THE STATE AND PROTECT OUR PEOPLE FROM TERRORISM

This is an attempt to explain in easier terms acts of terrorism as identified by Philippine Law:

Terrorism : Acts that fall in the following categories:

1. Piracy, general mutiny (violent takeover. robbing or destruction of sea vessels in Philippine waters)
2. Rebellion or insurrection
3. Forcefully taking over of government
4. Murder
5. Kidnapping and illegal detention
6. Destruction of property by arson
7. Destruction by means of toxic substances or nuclear waste
8. Hi-jacking 
9. Highway robbery
10. Unlawful possession of firearms, ammunition or explosives
11. Unlawful distribution of firearms, ammunition or explosives
12. Unlawful manufacture of  firearms, ammunition or explosives

http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2007/ra_9372_2007.html

Other links:

https://consortiumnews.com/2015/07/23/philippines-terror-inducing-war-on-terror/

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-philippines-own-war-terror-15903

http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/09/16/war-on-terrorism-rodrigo-duterte.html

Martial Law in Mindanao

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/23/asia/philippines-mindanao-clashes-martial-law/index.html

Duterte's Drug War

http://time.com/philippines-drug-war/

Philippine News Sites

 

http://news.abs-cbn.com/

http://www.inquirer.net/

http://www.philstar.com/headlines