The Philippines -
I now have two homes... Let me share with you some of the history and flavor of my first one..
The Philippines is a beautiful archipelago of more than 7,000 islands. These islands are distributed throughout over 114,00 square kilometers, with the South China Sea on its western shores and the vast Pacific Ocean to the east and south. Japan, China and Hong Kong lie to the north and Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia are to the west.
The Philippines has two official languages: English and Filipino . Filipino is mainly based on the Tagalog language (a relative of Malay), with heavy Spanish, Cebuano, Malay, Chinese (Hokkien), Hindi, Tamil, Sanskrit, Arabic, and American English influences. What a mixture we are!
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Pre 20th Century History
The first inhabitants of the Philippines arrived around 250,000 years ago, probably migrating over a land bridge from the Asian mainland - but they were driven back by several waves of immigrants from Indonesia, followed by maritime immigrations of Malayan people. In 1380, the Makdum arrived in the Sulu archipelago and began to establish what became a powerful sphere of influence over the next hundred years.
Ferdinand Magellan arrived in 1521 and claimed the archipelago for Spain. Magellan was killed by local chiefs who quite naturally disapproved of this notion. Ruy Lopez de Villalobos followed in 1543 and named the territory Filipinas after King Philip II of Spain. Permanent Spanish occupation began in 1565, and by 1571 the entire country, except for the Sulu archipelago, was under Spanish control.
A Filipino independence movement grew in the 19th century and Filipinos fought on the side of the Americans in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. When the Spanish were defeated, General Aguinaldo declared the Philippines independent. The USA, however, had other plans, and promptly purchased the islands from the Spanish for US$20 million.
Modern History
The USA eventually recognized the Filipinos' desire for independence and Manuel L Quezon was sworn in as President of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1935 as part of a transitional phase pending full independence. Japan invaded the Philippines in 1942, brutally interrupting this process and ruled until the USA re-invaded two years later. The Philippines received full independence in 1946.
Ferdinand Marcos was elected president in 1965, declared martial law in 1972 and ruled virtually as a dictator until 1986. The assassination of prominent opposition figure Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino Jr in 1983 sparked massive anti-government protests. A snap election in 1986 saw the opposition parties rally around Aquino's widow, Cory. Though Marcos claimed a doubtful win, Aquino initiated a program of non-violent civil unrest which resulted in Marcos fleeing the country.
Aquino re-established the democratic institutions of the country, but failed to tackle economic problems or win over the military and the Filipino elite. Aquino survived seven coups in six years and was succeeded by her defense minister, Fidel Ramos, in 1992.
In 1998, Ramos was replaced as president by the Philippines' answer to Bruce Willis, Joseph Estrada. Estrada, a former movie star elected more because of the popularity of his on-screen persona than because of any political experience. He was impeached and brought to trial in late 2000 on corruption charges. When Estrada and his political allies tried to derail the trial by blocking prosecutors' access to his financial accounts, the people decided they'd had enough and staged mass demonstrations in the streets of Manila.
Recent History
In January 2001 Estrada's former vice-president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, was sworn in as the new president of the Philippines. In an inauguration speech, Arroyo promised to wipe out poverty and corruption. We are still waiting for that to get worked out. Arroyo is far from popular, barely surviving coup attempts and street protests in 2005 and 2006, but she has at least given our country stability.
Spirit of Mabuhay
MABUHA
Y! This is the first word you may hear in the Philippines. The very first thing you discover in the Philippines is our people. We are a nation filled with friendly, smiling people who want to help you enjoy your visit to our beautiful island country. Mabuhay is the traditional greeting. It’s kind of like the Navajo word, Ya’at’eeh’ or the Hawaiin word Aloha. It is used to say hello, goodbye, or just a general all around friendly greeting. It’s more than just a word - it’s a national spirit! We try to bring some of that spirit with us ever time we come to your home.
