Our Field
We will be working in the city of Dagupan on the main island of Luzon.
Republic of the Philippines
Area: 299,000 sq km (116,610 sq mi)
Population: 101,833,938 (July 2011 est.)
Capital City: Manila (estimated population: 21 million)
People: Predominantly descendants of Malays, Chinese and Muslim minorities and a number of mestizos (Filipino-Spanish or Filipino-Americans)
Language: Filipino (Tagalog) and English, plus numerous widely spoken indigenous languages, some Spanish
Religion: 82% Roman Catholic, 9% Protestant, 5% Muslim, 3% Buddhist
Government: Republic
President: Benigno “Noynoy” S. Aquino III
GDP: $199.6 billion (2010 est.)
Major products/industries: Electronic and electrical products, clothing
Major trading partners: USA, Japan, Taiwan
Location and Size: Archipelago (A group of islands) off coast of Southeast Asia, total 300,000 square kilometers, land area 298,170 square kilometers.
Topography: Archipelago of 7,100 islands: Luzon, Mindanao, Palawan, and numerous smaller islands, all prone to earthquakes. Largely mountainous terrain, creating narrow coastal plains and interior valleys and plains. Major plains include those of Central Luzon, northeastern Cagayan Valley, and Agusan Basin in far south. Numerous dormant and active volcanos, notably Mount Pinatubo in Central Luzon. Highest point Mount Apo (2,954 meters).
Climate: Tropical marine; northeast monsoon (December to February), southwest monsoon (May to October). Mean annual sea-level temperatures rarely fall below 27° C / 80 F. Frequent typhoons.
Education: Education in the Philippines is based on both Western and Eastern ideology and philosophy influenced by both Spain and the United States. Filipino children enter public school at about age four, starting from Nursery up to Kindergarten. At about seven years of age, children enter a Elementary school (6 to 7 years). This is followed by Highschool (4 years). Students then apply for College Entrance Examinations (CEE), after which they enter University (3 to 5 years). Other institutions include Private school, Preparatory school, International school, and Science High School. School year in the Philippines starts from June, and ends in March with a two-month summer break from April to May, one week of semestral break in October, and a week or two during Christmas, and New Year holidays.
Economy: A newly industrialized emerging market economy, it posted a real GDP growth rate of 5.3% in 2006 and 7.1% in 2007. Growth slowed to 3.8% in 2008 as a result of the global financial crisis. In 2009, the real growth rate was 1.1% despite of global economic recession. The Philippine economy grew by 7.6% in 2010, which several reports described as the fastest growth in 34 years
Language: The geography and history of the Philippines have conspired to produce a multiplicity of languages, some 80 dialects in total. The concept of a national language developed after the Spanish-American War in 1898 and Tagalog was declared the national language in 1936. There were several other contenders for this role, including Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Ilocano. A compromise reached in 1973 confirmed Filipino as the national language. This is based on Tagalog, but has linguistic elements of other Philippine languages. Despite this, English remains the language of commerce and politics in the Philippines.
