Philippine Setting: Products and Natural Resources, People, Common traits, Regional Traits and Political Geography

Philippine History

PRODUCTS AND NATURAL RESOURCES y The Philippines is rich in natural resources that are as yet largely undeveloped. Its fertile plains and rich valleys produce diverse crops a few of which are produced for export and the rest for local consumption.

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Rice, the staple crop of the country, is produced largely in the Central Plains of Luzon, but the total production is not sufficient to meet the ever increasing demand of an exploding population.

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The still primitive way of agriculture is one of the causes of the failure of the Philippines to produce enough rice for export.

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However, a breakthrough in rice production was made during the first four years of President Ferdinand Marcos administration when the so-called miracle rice was developed.

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Other products, however, have been raised for export. Copra, abaca, gums, resin, rubber, and sugar have found ready markets abroad.

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Lumber, minerals, and metals have been exported in large quantities to swell Philippine exports to an average of about 800 000 000.

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Mining, which is a basic industry, produces more than 700 million pesos worth of minerals.

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Metallic minerals, such as copper, gold, silver, iron, lead, zinc, manganese, and chromium are exploited for their commercial value, while the non-metallic minerals like salt, coal, clay, asbestos, sulphur, gravel, limestone, and gypsum are so far not yet exploited for large- scale export.

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It is suspected that oil is present in some Philippine sites, but attempts to locate these sites have so far been unsuccessful.

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The Philippine forests, which cover some 40, 000 square miles, produce timber for local consumption and export. Philippine hardwoods are known over the world.

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However, in recent years, senseless and unscrupulous timber men have practically denuded the forests, with the result that the water supply of the lowlands has been tremendously lessened and the number of trees considerably reduced.

THE PEOPLE y y The Filipino belongs to a mixture of races although basically he is a Malay. Centuries of cultural and commercial contacts with the countries of Asia and almost four centuries of domination by Western Powers have made the Filipino comparatively sophisticated. y There is in him a blending of the East and the West, so that his character exhibits curious contradictions which foreigners are apt to misunderstand. y Doubtless, the Filipino at the coming of the Spaniards was brown-skinned like his Malay forebears. y With Spanish colonization, however, there appeared a kind of Filipino who was obviously the result of the not-so-licit relations between the conqueror and the conquered. y The light-skinned and high-nosed Filipino multiplied with the coming of the Americans. y The inter-marriage between the Filipino and the foreigner, particularly the white, led to a class known as the mestizo class, also humorously called the mestizoisie. y In Philippine society, it is well to distinguish the types or classes of mestizos.

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When one says mestizo, the obvious implication is that the person spoken of is Spanish-Filipino.

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All other half-breeds are qualified by the nationality of their parents. Thus, a Filipino with an American father or mother is called American mestizo; a with Chinese father or mother is called Chinese mestizo; with an Indian father or mother is called Indian mestizo, and so on down the line.

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Between the mestizo and the native, there has been a barrier of feeling that borders on hostility.

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This feeling has its origin in the late Spanish period or, more specifically, during the nineteenth century, when the mestizo, by virtue of his social and financial status, looked down upon the native as a boor.

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The native naturally resented this attitude and in turn infused the term mestizo with unsavory cannotations, e.g., pretentious, boastful, arrogant, etc. In the mind of the native arose from his awareness of his Apanish origins.

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But while thus striking a superior posture before the native, the mestizo almost always felt inferior to the pure Spaniard who considered them so far below him as not to be taken seriously. The mestizo, therefore, during the Spanish period, was Janus-faced: he was a Spaniard before a native, and a Filipino before a Spaniard.

COMMON TRAITS y It is difficult, if not impossible, to define what a Filipino is. All that can be done is to pick out some traits common to the average Filipinos and to separate those that are obviously Spanish or American. The common traits are probably basically Malay and characterize the Filipinos as people. y One patent Filipino trait that immediately commends itself to the foreigner is his hospitality.

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People all over the world are hospitable in their own way but Filipino hospitality is something that is almost a fault.

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Call it naivet but the Filipino opens his heart to you, a complete stranger, and offers you the best in his kitchen and bed chamber. He makes the bed for you and asks you, usually with a profusion of apologies, to make yourself feel at home, while he, the host, sleeps on the cold floor. He prepares water for your morning ablution, waits upon you at the table, and makes life worth living for you.

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There is always a sense of urgency in his movements, for he does not want to inconvenience you. He makes you feel that he is honored by your invasion of his privacy.

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The hospitality to a fault has been misunderstood by many foreigners, particularly by the Spanish adventurers of the past century, who thought that such show of profuse hospitality was a form of inferiority and obsequiousness.

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Thus, Rizal records that some Spaniards of the last century used to regale their hearers in the Peninsula with tales about the Indios whose hospitality they savored and abused and, having abused it, proceeded to tell their hearers that they fell victims to the wiles of the Filipino women.

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The family has been the unit of society and everything that revolves around it. The Filipino family ordinarily consists of the grandparents, the parents, and the children.

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The father is the head of the family, but while he rules, the mother governs. For it is the mother that reigns in the home: she is the educator, the financial officer, the accountant, the censor, the laundrywoman, and the cook

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But over and above the ruler and the governor are the grandparents, whose opinions and decisions on all important matters are sought. Will a new-born child be baptized? The grandparents are consulted and what they say carries much weight. Ignore them and you risk their stinging rebuke.

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Respect for the elders is one Filipino trait that has remained in the book of unwritten laws.

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The Filipino parent exercises almost absolute powers over the children. It is unthinkable for a Filipino to do an important thing without consulting his parents. The latter do not condone children talking back not only to them, but to those older than they are.

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The particle po may look innocent to you, but the little word shows respect for another. It is a sign of good breeding.

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In no other language is respect for another carried to higher point than in the Philippine languages. Are you speaking to an older man or woman? Then use the second person plural kayo, inyo, or ninyo. You are branded disrespectful and impolite if you use the second person singular: ka, mo, or ikaw.

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The elders believe, and demand, that they be obeyed right or wrong. That you have a string of degrees to your credit does not impress the elders; they know, for certain, that your academic degrees cannot compare favorably with their experience.

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Yours is the knowledge; theirs the wisdom they have drunk more water than you have! Their decision must, therefore, be sought on all important matters that affect the whole family, for what happens to one of the members affects the rest.

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It is this closeness of family ties, in particular, the collective responsibility, the accounts for the late development of Filipino nationalism.

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For no matter how cruelly and unjustly a member of the family had been treated, the elders cautioned the victim to be patient; remember, they used to say , that not only you but all of us will suffer if you retaliate.

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And the poor man, realizing the consequences of his planned action, controlled his emotions, swallowed his pride, satisfied himself with biting his lower lip, and sheepishly bowed to the will of the elders.

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Rizal painted this common family scene during Spanish regime in his El Filibusterismo, in the chapter Cabesang Tales.

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Respect for the elders includes respect for the elder brother or sister. It is the responsibility of the elder brother to perform the duties of the father or mother to the younger members of the family.

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The Filipino is naturally fatalistic. No amount of expostulation on the virtues of science of logic can dislodge him from his idea of fatalism.

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He believes that whatever happens to him is the work of Fate. This fatalism is best symbolized in the phrase Bahala na, a phrase that defies translation but which may be rendered loosely as come what may.

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Can you go through the wall of fire? Bahala na. There are dangers ahead, dont be so foolish as to rush in where angels fear to tread. Bahala na.

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Dont gamble your last centavo: you might go home with pockets inside out. Bahala na.

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He is big and strong; can you fight him? Bahala na. Such fatalism has bred in the Filipino a sense of resignation. He appears indifferent in the face of graft and corruption. He appears impassive in the face of personal misfortune. Yet this Bahala na attitude prevents him from being a crackpot.

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Loyalty to a friend or to a benefactor is one trait that is very strong in the Filipino. Do him a little favor and he remembers you to the end of his days. For to the Filipino, friendship is sacred and implies mutual help under any circumstances.

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A friend is expected to come to the aid not only of a personal friend, but also of the latters family.

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A mans friend is considered a member of the family and is expected to share tribulations as well as its prosperity and happiness. It is almost unthinkable for the Filipino to betray his friend, and if there be such one, he becomes a marked man: ostracism is the lightest punishment that can be meted out to him.

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The American, then, suspects that the Filipino is sensitive. He is. He would not tolerate anyone berating his countryman. He is easily piqued when a foreigner, for instance, makes a sweeping generalization that is not flattering to the Filipinos, no matter how true he observation may be. It takes skillful diplomacy, tact, or, in more sophisticated language, a great deal of good public relations, to talk to an erring Filipino employee or worker, for a good-intentions rebuke by a superior might be taken as a slight on his character or integrity.

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The tendency to be indolent is, certainly, a trait of the Filipino. Rizal explained this tendency as the result of the tropical climate which makes even the Western indolent in these parts of Paradise. But aside from the warm climate, indolence may be partly explained by the abundance with which Nature has endowed the country a fact which makes the Filipino exert less effort in the belief that he does not have to work hard to make both end meet.

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Then, too, because of the close family and personal ties, the Filipino is assured of three square meals every day if only he would have the nerve he usually has to go from one relative to another. He knows that no relative or friend would turn him out and so he imposes himself on his willing or unwilling victims.

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Side by side with indolence is lack of initiative. This trait is explained by a natural fear of competition, for Filipino society is cooperative, not competitive.

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The experiences of college and university professors reveal the sad fact that the average Filipino student has to be hammered and whipped into line in order to make him work hard. He will not, on his own initiative, read more than what the professor assigns. Why exert so much effort and spend so much time when one can pass through college with a grade of 3? To get the white meat of a crabs legs, so the saying in Tagalog runs, you must pound those legs with a small pestle or with a big knife.

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The Filipino, being childlike, is naturally curious. But his curiosity is tainted with sympathy. There certainly is nothing malicious in his inquiries about ones health, about ones children, about ones salary, and so forth. Not infrequently is a sophisticated Filipino embarrassed when asked, casually and with an air of innocent abandon, where he works and how much he earns. An old woman of little Spanish breeding once asked a college graduate: Poco mas o menos, how much do you make?

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The poor man blushed and hesitantly answered, trying to avoid the horn of the bull, Oh, just enough for me and wife. Poco mas menos the hag insited. The young man metaphorically threw up his hands and finally gave the information sought. This poking into ones pie is easily misunderstood by a Western who, not accustomed to such kind of inquisitorial method, invariably suspects the Filipino of invading the privacy of ones life. No such thing is meant, however. The Filipino is solicitous and if ever he asks too many questions about anothers life and mode of living it is because as a man of abundant faith and sympathy, he wants and is ready to offer his unsolicited help.

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Helpful and cooperative, respectful and generous even to a fault, the Filipino is nevertheless individualistic in a different way.

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One finds poor cochero struggling desperately to put his horse on its feet after having stumbled on the street. The man in the street stops, surveys the scene nonchalantly and with apparent unconcern, and even laughs at the cochero who could not persuade his horse to cooperate.

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Jealously is another trait of Filipino. He does not look with favor on a woman who flirts with several men. To him the sweethearts or the wifes eyes are meant only for him and for no other. Even his closest friend cannot kiss his wife with impunity on the pretext that it is a brotherly kiss. The Filipino, therefore, requires complete faith and loyalty of his wife and loyalty of his wife and sweetheart.

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The Filipino, too, is a regionalistic. He does not think in terms of national boundaries but in regional oneness. This feeling is an extension of the closeness of family ties.

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Invariably, the Filipino believes that the person known to him, no matter how bad, is better than the one unknown to him no matter how good.

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Thus one finds college or university students calling a meeting of all those who come from the Ilocos, from Bulacan, from the Bicol region, from the Visayas, and so forth.

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And one finds, too, the political situation in which a Visayan candidate for the Presidency of the Republic has a running mate who comes from Luzon or vice versa.

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In the choice of candidates for senators, the principle of regional representation is followed, although the senators are elected at large. Then, in majority of the cases, a tagalong President gives preference to his fellow-Tagalogs in appointments to high positions.

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The name is true with an Ilocano President or a Visayan President with the possible exception of ex-President Sergio Osmena. Among Filipinos, the tagalogs are the least, if all, regionalistic.

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So strong is this regionalistic feeling that the Filipino of one region looks down upon his countryman of another region. This strong regionalistic feeling may be traced to the Spanish administrators who pursued a policy of divide and conquer.

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The Spanish pattern of behavior in this regard is abundantly proved by the way the numerous revolts and uprisings were put down. Since there were few Spaniards in the Philippine, they pressed into service, say, the Pampangos, to put down an Ilocano uprising.

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A Pampango revolt, on the other hand, was to put down Ilocano soldiers. A tagalong revolt was usually put down by the Pampango under the leadership of the Spaniards, and so on. Thus, instead of uniting the Filipinos as a people, the Spaniard succeeded in dividing them by appealing to their regionalistic pride and prejudices.

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Probably the most discussed trait of the Filipino, especially by the white foreigners and by some Filipino Sociologist and Psychologist who carry around their bags of esoteric terms, is the sense of pakikisama.

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Simple as the term may appear to the merely learned, this Filipino trait has not been fully understood, especially in its connotations.

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In its original connotation, pakikisama may be translated loosely as the intensive signification of camaraderie or spirit of comradeship, the main elements of which are unselfishness and good faith. There is, therefore, no element of deceit, or dishonesty, or subversion of justice, attach to the term.

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Thus the term mabuting makisama and its opposite, masamang makisama, really refer to a persons way of dealing with his fellowmen: if he is selfish, or if he is incapable of empathy, or if he considers himself an island entire of itself, he is described as masamang makisama. But if he is understanding man, unselfishly helpful, and participates cheerfully in any community work, he is described as mabuting makisama.

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Thus, in Filipino society today, the most popular and highly respected people are not the honest intellectuals and artist, but the respectable robbers in high public positions; the experts in issuing press releases praising themselves for fictitious achievements; the crooked public relations men who are adept at twisting facts

in order to make an idiot appear a genius in public; and the unprincipled politicians who have never heard of decency and honor. y The beautiful Filipino trait of pakikisama has, therefore, been denuded of its nobility by the political imperatives and by the perverted sense of values that have dominated the character of many Filipinos precisely since the last World War. y That notable trait has disappeared from the urban centers and can only be found in its pristine form in the backward hamlets where the people have been untouched by civilization or have been able to defend successfully their simple life against the inroads of crass materialism. Such is the profile of the Filipino. Like all men the world over, he has the weaknesses of the fallen of Adam. But he, too, has his strengths and with these he finds his way in and about the society in which he lives and expects to die. REGIONAL TRAITS y Regional Traits That the milieu or environment exerts an influence and moulding the character of a people is proved in the Philippines where different regions exhibit different and, oftentimes, opposite traits. y These traits, which may be termed, regional, have been the upshot of economic and social factors. Thus, in poor isolated regions the inhabitants are frugal and industrious; while in more opulent areas of people are known for their careless abandon and love of the finer things of life. y But some characteristics regional traits are, however, difficult to explain in precise economic or social terms. Let us then begin from the north and work our way to the south. y From the North comes the Ilocano or Samtoy, as he wants to be called. An excursion into the northern region reveals that the Samtoy has spilled into the non-Ilocano provinces of Abra, Cagayan, Nueva Viscaya, northern Nueva Viscaya, Pangasinan, Zambales, and part of Tarlac.

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The Ilocos region is hemmed in one side by forbidding mountain ranges and on the other by the restless sea, so that economic opportunities are limited. The small piece of land that he cultivates is not sufficiently fertile to yield abundant crops. Such an environment could only produce adventurous, industrious, hardy, patient and frugal people.

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Economic pressure forces him to migrate to some greener valleys either in Mindanao or in Hawaii and continental United States. There, because of his patience, industry, and frugality, he craves out his fortune and most of the time succeeds. He is not one to stay put in a locality if better opportunities in some land beckon. It is for this reason that one finds the Samtoy everywhere in the Philippines.

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Samtoy frugality is proverbial and compares favorably with what is the Scot. It has been the custom of the Filipino to foot the bill if he happens to invite his companions to, say, a dinner or a round of drinks.

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It would be difficult for the Samtoy, under the circumstances, to dig into his pockets to take charge of the situation. This is because he earns his money the hard way, and he is not one to nullify his efforts by being spendthrift.

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Mention has been made of the barren north. Nature not being so kind to him, the Samtoy finds surroundings not conducive to humor.

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Anybody who sees humor in such kind of environment is a born humorist. The Samtoy is not a born humorist. He takes life seriously and considers in an object of struggle. That is why he appears sluggish and shy, and creates the impression that he is getting ready to wrestle with the surrounding forces.

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He takes time in deliberating and appears hesitant in his manners. This lumbering characteristics of the Samtoy is shown not only in his physical

movements, but also his writings. He is not lyrical type; he is, rather, the epic type. y Thus it is that he developed poetry, as exemplified by Biag ni Lam-ang (life of Lam-ang), a kind of poetry that requires sustained efforts. Then, too, while his mood is meditative his styles his, nevertheless, rather elephantine. y Compare the prose of such Samtoy stalwarts as Salvador P. Lopez, Leopoldo Y. Yabes, Manuel E. Arguilla, and Consorcio Borje, with, say, N. V M. Gonzales, Teodoro M. Locsin, Nick Joaquin and other non-Samtoys, the one immediately senses the dragging style of the former and the easy, mellifluous ripple of the latters prose. y y Of all Filipinos, the Samtoy is the most regionalistic. As one goes down to the Central Plains and to the area immediately south of it, one finds the Tagalog belt. It comprises the Provinces of Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Bataan, a small part of Tarlac, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Quezon and the islands of Marinduque and Mindoro. Manila, the political capital of the Philippines and the center of cultural and commercial life, is at the heart of the region. y It is historical accident that makes the Tagalog feel superior to the rest of the Filipinos. He is neither frugal nor extravagant. y He exceeds the Tagalog in his love of the finer things in life, so much so that, in contrast with the Samtoy, he is ready to spend his last peso to enjoy his life to its last drop. Because he is not compelled by his environment to work half as much as his Samtoy brother, the Visayan is a spendthrift. But like his brother in the north, he is a adventurous and is afflicted with wanderlust. This Visayan girl, unlike her Tagalog sister, can leave home without compunction to follow the gleam of adventure. For this reason, she is more self-reliant than the Tagalog. y The Visayan is a hedonist. Give him a jug of tuba and a piece of dried fish and he will sing the wilderness into Paradise.

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He is a lover like the Tagalog, but he expresses his consuming passion in music, not in poetry. Thus, armed with a banduria, a ukulele or a guitar, he forgets his sorrows, even his hunger, if he is poor, caressing the strings of his musical instrument and singing to its accompaniment. He may not know the difference between a do and a mi on paper, but he can put together the notes of the scale to produce lilting, coquettish music.

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To the extreme south lies Muslim land. The Muslim is, among Filipinos, the fiercest lover of freedom. Adventurous like the Visayan and the Samtoy, he dares the high seas in search of manly adventure. He is a man of honor who sticks to highlighted word and will brave dangers to redeem his vow or promise.

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He is easily the best friend one can have and, certainly, the worst enemy. He is hardly like the Samtoy and like the latter produced epics.

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He is proud of his culture and does not offer meek apologies for it. Thus, while a large part of the Philippines was being subjugated and Christianized by the conquistadore, the proud Muslims of the south guarded his citadel, swept the seas with his fast vinta to protect himself from the Spanish version of Christianity and culture, and fought courageously against the Spaniard, later, against the American, in defense of his religion and freedom.

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One wonders why the Muslim brother has not been integrated into the Philippine body politic. There are obvious reasons.

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One is that as a non-Christian who has for centuries struggle for his individual identity he has come to suspect his Christian brother of betrayal, for the latter was used by the conquerors in their attempts to obliterate Muslim culture and religion.

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Consequently, the Muslim casts suspicious eyes on his Christian brother who, he thinks, is afflicted with Messianic delusion. There is nothing more abominable to the Muslim than to be told and discard his Moro, way of life.

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Then, too, the various governments of the Philippines, from the Spanish period down to recent times, had utterly neglected the Muslim, let alone the other minorities.

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Because of his fierce love of his culture and religion, the Muslim is looked down upon as aberration a Moro, with all its ugly implications. The result is that he becomes antagonist to any attempt to bring him to the Christian societys fold, for he believes that the attempt is made not because he is loved, but because his conversion to the Christian way of life is necessary. The proud Muslim does not accept such imposition.

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Here, then, are the complex traits of each of the major geographic regions of the Philippines. They are traits that make it difficult to define what a Filipino is. Taken together, they constitute a cross-section of the people whose character must be understood if their history is to be read correctly. Viewed subjectively, their traits are as a minor in which every Filipino sees himself. The image in the mirror is a modest profile. A master painter is needed to execute the portrait.

POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE PHILIPPINES y The Philippines is divided into a hierarchy of local government units (LGUs) with the 80 provinces as the primary unit. Provinces are further subdivided into cities and municipalities, which are in turn composed of barangays. The barangay is the smallest local government unit. y The Philippines is divided into 17 regions with all provinces grouped into one of 16 regions for administrative convenience. The National Capital Region however, is divided into four special districts. REGIONS OF THE PHILIPPINES

Luzon1. CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region) is a region in the Philippines composed of the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province, as well as Baguio City, the regional center. The Cordillera Administrative Region encompasses most of the areas within the Cordillera Central mountains of Luzon, the largest mountain range in the country. It is the country's only land-locked region. The region is home to numerous indigenous tribes collectively called the Igorot. 2. NCR (National Capital Region) is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines. It is composed of 16 cities namely City of Manila, Caloocan, Las Pias, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Pasay, Pasig, Paraaque, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig, Valenzuela and the Municipality of Pateros.

The region is the political, economic, social, cultural, and educational center of the Philippines. As proclaimed by Presidential Decree No. 940, Metro Manila as a whole is the Philippines' seat of government but the City of Manila is the capital.[4] The largest city in the metropolis is Quezon City. While the largest business district is the Makati Central Business District.

3. Region I (Ilocos Region)

The Ilocos region or Region I -- is a Region of the Philippines and is located in the northwest of Luzon. It borders to the east the regions of the Cordillera Administrative Region and Cagayan Valley and to the south the region of Central Luzon. To the west north is the South China Sea, otherwise known as the West Philippine Sea. The region is composed of four provinces, namely: Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union and Pangasinan. Its regional center is San Fernando City, La Union.

4. Region II (Cagayan Valley) is a region of the Philippines, also designated as Region II or Region 02. It is composed of five provinces, namely: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino. It has three cities; Industrial center-Cauayan City, its regional center-Tuguegarao, and its commercial center-Santiago City. Most of the region lies in a large valley in northeastern Luzon, between the Cordilleras and the Sierra Madre mountain ranges. The Cagayan River, the country's longest river runs through its center and flows out to Luzon Strait in the north, in the town of Aparri, Cagayan. The Babuyan and Batanes island groups that lie in the Luzon Strait also belong to the region. 5. Region III (Central Luzon) Also known as Region III (or Region 3), is an administrative division or region of the Republic of the Philippines, primarily serve to organize the 7

provinces of the vast central plain of the island of Luzon (the largest island), for administrative convenience. The region contains the largest plain in the country and produces most of the country's rice supply, earning itself the nickname "Rice Bowl of the Philippines". Its provinces are: Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales. The City of San Fernando, in Pampanga, is the regional center. 6. Region IV-A (CALABARZON) is one of the regions of the Philippines. It is also designated as Region IV-A and its regional center is Calamba City in Laguna. The region is composed of five provinces, namely: CAvite, LAguna, BAtangas, Rizal, and QueZON; the region's name is formed from the names of these provinces. The region is in southwestern Luzon, just south and east of Metro Manila and is the second most densely populated region. 7. Region IV-B (MIMAROPA) is an administrative region of the Philippines. It is one of two regions of the Philippines having no land border with another region, Eastern Visayas being the other, and is designated as Region IV-B. The name is a portmanteau combining the names of its provinces, which are: Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan. Calapan City is the regional center, however most regional government offices like the Department of Public Works [1] are situated in Quezon City, Metro Manila.

8. Region V (Bicol Region) is one of the 17 regions of the Philippines. Its regional center is Legazpi City. Bicol (also spelled Bikol) is composed of four provinces in the Bicol Peninsula, the southeastern end of Luzon island, and two island-provinces adjacent to the peninsula.[1] The region is composed of six provinces, namely, Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon and the island-provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate. The regional centers are Legazpi, the political and administrative center; and Naga City, the cultural, business and religious center.

Visayas9. Region VI (Western Visayas) one of the regions of the Philippines, is designated as Region VI. It consists of six provinces; Aklan, Antique, Negros Occidental, Capiz, Guimaras and Iloilo and 16 cities making it the region with the highest number of cities. Iloilo City is the regional center.[1] The presence of almost all the government agencies' regional offices in the city and it's geographical proximity to the other Region VI provinces affirm Iloilo City as the regional center. 10. Region VI (Western Visayas)

is a region of the Philippines located in the central part of the Visayas island group. It consists of four provincesBohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor and the highly urbanized cities of Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, and Mandaue City. The region is dominated by the native speakers of Bisaya. Cebu City is its regional center.

The land area of the region is 15,875 km . As of the 2007 census, it has a population of 6,398,628, making it the 5th most populous of the country's 17 regions.

11. Region VIII (Eastern Visayas) is one of the two regions of the Philippines having no land border with another region, MIMAROPA being the other, and is designated as Region VIII. It consists of six provinces and seven cities, namely, Biliran, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, Southern Leyte, the cities of Ormoc City, Baybay City, Maasin City, Calbayog City, Catbalogan City, Borongan City and the highly-urbanized city of Tacloban, the regional center. These provinces and cities occupy the easternmost islands of Visayas: Samar, Leyte and Biliran. Eastern Visayas directly faces the Pacific Ocean. The land area of the region is 23,432 km km . As of 2007, it has a population of 3,912,936.

Mindanao12. Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula) is a peninsula and an administrative region in the Philippines. Designated as Region IX, the region consists of three provinces, namely, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, and Zamboanga Sibugay, its component cities of Dipolog, Dapitan, Pagadian, and Isabela (Capital of Basilan Province, which is a part of the ARMM) and the Highly-urbanized, Independent and Chartered city of Zamboanga. The regional center is Zamboanga City.

13. Region X (Northern Mindanao) is composed of five provinces: Camiguin, Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Bukidnon and Lanao del Norte and two cities: Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro City, classified as highly-urbanized. The regional center is Cagayan de Oro City, where the national government's regional offices and other big establishments are located. Lanao del Norte was transferred to Northern Mindanao from Region XII (then called Central Mindanao) by virtue of Executive Order No. 36. 14. Region XI (Davao Region) is one of the regions of the Philippines, located on the southeastern portion of Mindanao. Davao Region consists of four provinces, namely: Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, and Davao del Sur. The region encloses the Davao Gulf and its regional center is Davao City. Davao is the Hispanicized pronunciation of daba-daba, the Bagobo word for "fire" (the Cebuano translation is "kalayo"). 15. Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN) is a region of the Philippines, located in central Mindanao, and is officially designated as Region XII. The name is an acronym that stands for the region's four provinces and one of its cities: South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City. The regional center is Koronadal City located in the province of South Cotabato.[2] Cotabato City, though geographically within the boundaries of the

province of Maguindanao, itself is part of SOCCSKSARGEN, and is independent of that province. 16. Region XIII (CARAGA Region) is an administrative region of the Philippines, on the northeastern portion of the island of Mindanao. It is the newest region in the Philippines and is also called Region XIII. The Caraga Region was created through Republic Act No. 7901 on February 25, 1995. The region is composed of five provinces: Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Dinagat Islands[1]; six cities: Bayugan, Butuan, Cabadbaran, Surigao, Tandag, Bislig; 71 municipalities and 1,346 barangays. Butuan City is the regional center. 17. ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) is the region, located in the Mindanao island group of the Philippines, that is composed of predominantly Muslim provinces, namely: Basilan (except Isabela City), Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. It is the only region that has its own government. The regional capital is at Cotabato City, although this city is outside of its jurisdiction.

REFERENCES: Agoncillo (History of Filipino People) Political Geography of the Philippines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_the_Philippines)