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Before anything else here are some basic facts you need to know about the country. A compilation of some
basic information about the Philppines- the people, environment and the culture!!!

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The Philippine archipelago is composed of
7,000 islands, These islands, is clustered into
three major island groups- Luzon (the northern
islands), Visayas (the central islands) and
Mindanao (the southern islands). Throughout
the country, there are numerous bodies of water
(including some of the magnificent beaches and
wildest rivers, spectacular mountains ranges
and agricultural ranges.

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Tropical hot and humid all year round. Two
defined seasons. Dry season January to June,
Wet July to December. December and January is
the coolest month in the country while March to
May is the summer time.
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The Philippines has two official lan-
guages, Tagalog and English. Tagalog orig-
inated as the language of Manila and sur-
rounding areas.The vast majority of
Filipinos are fluent Tagalog speakers and
many also speak their own local dialect.
English was tought extensively during the American rule and remains
the official language of commerce, government and law. Fluency in
English varies according to the degree of education of the individual.
Anyone with a high school education can understand and speak English
quite adequately.
Spanish was once widely spoken, but is now largely absolete, Its use
is now confined small areas such as Cavite and Zamboanga.
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More than 80% of the population are Roman
Catholic and Catholic moral values are the basis
of the countrys laws.
The largest Protestant church is the
Iglesia ni Cristo, while other denominations such as
Mormons, Methodist ,Baptist, Jehovah’s Witnesses
and Episcopalians are in small numbers.
Muslims comprises aboput 10% of the
population and are concentrated in Central and
Western Mindanao, as well as the Sulu Island.
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"But I must explain to you how all this
mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and
praising pain was born and I will give you a
complete account of the system.
Pull qoute goes here...
The main unit of currency is the Philppine
peso.Paper notes are available in denomina-
tions of P1,000, P500, P200, P50, P20 whereas
coins are in denominations of P10, P5, P1, 25c,
10c, 5c.
Banks and hotels would have desk boards
for foreign exchange. Always inquire from them
about your currency equivalent in peso.
To be safe, change money only with dealers and money shops
authorized by the Central Bank.
You may also to consider paying for your purchases using credit
cards instead of cash. Internanional credit cards such as Mastercard,
Diners Club, American Express, and Visa are accepted in all major
establishment in and outside of Metro Manila.
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Filipinos tends to avoid conflict and
prefer calm, non-confrontational behaviour.
Respect and politeness for elders are
valued ideals.

6 Destination Philippines September 2005