Paradise Philippines General Information

Filed under: Paradise Philippines General Information

Paradise Philippines is made up of 7, 107 islands covering a land area of 115,739 sq. m ( 299.764 sq.km ). Main island groups are Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Capital is Manila. Time zone is GMT+ 8 hours.

POPULATION

76.5 million Filipinos- as of the latest national census in May, 2000. Population growth is estimated at 2.36 % annually. Luzon, the largest island group.

CLIMATE
March to May - hot and dry

June- October- rainy

November to February- cool

Average Temperature- 78o F / 25oC to 90o F / 32oC

Humidity- 77%

LANGUAGES

Filipino and English- two official languages

Filipino- based on Tagalog, national languages

English- widely used and medium of instruction in higher education. There are 8 major dialects spoken by majority of the Filipinos which includes Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Bicol, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinense.

Filipino is the native language which is used nationally as the language of communication among ethnic groups. There are about 76 to 78 major language groups with more than 500 dialects.

RELIGIONS

Some 83 % are Roman Catholic, 5 % are Moslem. The rest are made up of smaller Christian denominations and Buddhist.

UNIT of MEASURE

The metric system is used in most trade and legal transactions.

ELECTRICITY

220 volts a /c is the common standard, 110 volts a/c is also used specially in major hotels.

CURRENCY

Paradise Philippines monetary unit is the peso divided into 100 centavos. Foreign currency may be exchanged at any hotels, most large department changing shops accredited by the Cental Bank of the Philippines, International credit cards such as Visa, Diners Club, Bank Americard, Master Card and American Express are accepted in major establishment.

PEOPLE

Filipinos are out for fun where-ever possible. Hospitality, a trait displayed by every Filipino, makes these people legendary in Southeast Asia. Perhaps due to their long association with Spain, Filipinos are emotional and passionate about life in a way that seems more Latin than Asian. Filipinos are a freedom-loving people, having waged two peaceful, bloodless revolutions against what were perceived as corrupt regimes.