Philippine History

Early Names of the Philippines

Ma-i Land of the Barbarians
Chin-San Mountain of Gold
Liu-Sung Land Adjacent to the Mainland
Mintolang Mindanao
Pishoye Visayas
Malilu - Manila
Islas de Poniente Western Islands
Archipelago of Magellan
Archipelago of Legazpi
Archipelago of St. Lazarus name given by Magellan in 1521.
Filipinas given by Ruy Lopez de Villalobos in 1543 in honor of King Philip II of Spain
The name was originally given by Bernardo de la Torre
Pearl of the Orient was first coined by Juan Delgado
Romantic name glorified by Jose Rizal
Philippine Islands the anglicized name of the Philippines during the American period
Republic of the Philippines the name given to the Philippines after the decolonization of
1946.
Maharlika name given by former President Ferdinand Marcos
Bounderies:
1. Bashi Channel North
2. Celebes Sea South
3. Pacific Ocean East
4. West Philippine Sea/South China Sea West
Yami island northernmost part
- Part of Batanes province and lies 78 miles south of Taiwan.
Saluag island southernmost part
- Part of Tawi-Tawi province, only 34 miles from Borneo

Oldest in the Philippines:
Oldest Province Cebu 1565
Oldest City Cebu City
Oldest Street Colon Street
Oldest Fort Fort San Pedro
Oldest Stone Church Baclayon Church Iloilo
Oldest Hospital San Lazaro Hospital
Oldest Bridge Jones Bridge (Puente de Espaa
Oldest School University of Santo Tomas
Oldest Corporation Ayala Corporation 1834 by sugar barons Domingo Roxas and Antonio
de Ayala
Oldest Bank Bank of the Philippine Islands (Banco Espaol-Filipino de Isabel II)
Oldest vice chewing betel nut (nganga)
Newest in the Philippines:
Davao Occidental Davao Region, January 14, 2013
Capital: Malita
Dinagat Island CARAGA region, December 2006
Capital: San Jose
Zamboanga Sibugay Zamboanga Region, February 22, 2001
Capital: Ipil
Mountains and Mountain Ranges
Sierra Madre straddles the eastern side of the island from Cagayan provinces in the north
and extends to the Bernardino Strait in the south.
Cordillera Central forms the western wall of the Cagayan Valley
Caraballo intersects with the Cordilleras in Northern Nueva Ecija and splits the range into
northern and southern parts.
Zambales Range begins at Bolinao, Pangasinan and straddles the China Sea coast to
Bataan.
Tagaytay Range runs through southern Cavite to eastern Batangas
Surigao Range lies at the Pacific coast
Butuan Range northeastern part of Butuan
Central Range covers Davao and Cotabato.
Western Range begins in Iligan, covers Zambaoanga Peninsula and ends at Basilan Strait.

Mt. Apo Davao/Cotabato the Philippines highest peak
Mt. Dulang Dulang Bukidnon; second highest mountain
Mt. Pulag Benguet; third highest mountain

Plains and Valleys
Central Plain of Luzon widest plain in the country which covers the provinces of Bulacan,
Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Pangasinan.
Central Mindanao has a main plain forming a basin covering North Cotabato, South
Cotabato and Maguindanao.

Cagayan Valley set between Sierra Madre, Caraballo and Cordillera mountain ranges
Compostela Valley covers part of Davao Oriental
Agusan Valley covers two provinces: Surigao and Agusan.

Rivers:
Cagayan River longest river which extends to three provinces: Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya and
Isabela.
Rio Grande de Pampanga second longest river
Agno River third longest River which extends between Benguet and Pangasinan
Agusan River Mindanaos longest river
Fourth longest river
Used as transportation channel to float down logs and mills to be processed into
plywood and lumber.
Rio Grande de Mindanao most extensive river system draining the entire central basin of
Mindanao.
Fifth longest river
Some of the river have fast-moving waters or are dammed to impound water for the
generation of electricity.
Agus River runs five power stations in Mindanao from Iligan to Maria Cristina Falls
Angat River Bulacan hydroelectric
Magat River Isabela power
Ambuklao and Binga dam Benguet

Waterfalls:
Maria Cristina and Limunsudan Falls Iligan
Tinuy-an Surigao del Sur
Pagsanjan Falls - Laguna
Laguna de Bay countrys largest lake
Second largest in Southeast Asia after Tonle Sap in Cambodia
Lake Lanao second largest lake
Taal Lake third largest
Created by the collapse of a huge volcanic crater and by subsidence or sinking of the
land
Lake Mainit northeastern Mindanao
Countrys deepest lake
Fourth largest
Lake Naujan Mindoro
Fifth largest
Lake Buhi Camarines Sur
Home of one of the worlds smallest edible fish, the sinarapan

Calamities:
1. Earthquakes:
June 3, 1863 destroyed Manila Cathedral and damaged Governor Generals Palace forcing
the government to relocate in Malacaang.
Killed Fr. Pedro Pablo Pelaez one of the early Filipino Church reformers.
April 1, 1985 Mindanao and Visayas were rocked by series of earthquakes causing
hundreds of deaths and millions of pesos destroyed properties
July 16, 1990 caused by the movement among the Philippine Fault Zone.
Created twin earthquake with intensity 7.8 which affected Baguio, Cabanatuan and
Dagupan.
October 15, 2013 (Bohol) deadliest earthquake in the country in 23 years.
The energy of the quake released was equivalent to 32 Hiroshima bombs.
7.2 magnitude
2. Volcanic Eruptions:
a. Mt. Pinatubo Zambales
i. Most destructive volcano
ii. Last eruption 1991 after 600 years
b. Mt. Mayon - Albay
i. Known for its perfect cone
ii. Erupted 30 times since 1615 buried the towns of Cagsawa and Daraga
iii. Cagsawa belfry of the towns church remains
c. Taal Batangas
i. Located in a lake which is actually a crater of a giant volcano which collapsed
during pre-hispanic times.
3. Typhoons:
a. Uring Thelma November 2-7, 1991
i. 5,101 deaths in Leyte and Negros
b. Rosing Angela October 30, November 4, 1995
i. 1800 died in CALABARZON, NCR and Bicol
c. Frank Fengshen June 18-23, 2008
i. 1410 died in Eastern-Western Visayas, Romblon, Marinduque,
CALABARZON, NCR, Central Luzon
d. Nitang Ike - August 31-September 4, 1984
i. 1492 died in Surigao, Bohol, Cebu, Negros
e. Reming Durian - November 26-December 1, 2006
i. 754 died in Bicol, CALABARZON, Marinduque, Mindoro
f. Other Unforgettable typhoons:
i. Ondoy Ketsana - September 24-27, 2009
1. 464 died in NCR, CALABARZON, Central Luzon
ii. Pepeng Parma - September 30-October 11, 2009
1. 492 died in Northern Luzon, Cordillera
iii. Pedring Nesat- September 26-30, 2011
1. 43 died in NCR and Central Luzon
iv. Sendong - Washi December 16-17, 2011
1. 1268 died in Mindanao
v. Pablo - Bopha December 2-9, 2012
1. 1,146 died Mindanao
vi. Yolanda Haiyan - November 8, 2013
1. Had 6 landfalls
2. A total of 161,973 families (792,018 persons) were evacuated to 812
evacuation centers in 37 provinces, 38 cities, 215 municipalities in
Regions IV-A, IV-B, V, VI, VII, VIII, X, XI and CARAGA
Natural Wonders:
Plants that can only be found in the Philippines
1. Star of Leyte
2. Waling Waling
Hardwood
1. Yakal
2. Tanguile
3. Palosapis
4. Manggachapui
5. Bagtikan
6. Apitong
Animals that can only be found in the Philippines
1. Tamaraw
2. Philippine Eagle/Monkey-Eating Eagle
3. Philippine Freshwater Crocodile
4. Pandaca Pygmaea
5. Butanding
6. Sinarapan

Origin of the Philippines
Mu or Lemuria part of a huge continent in the Pacific.
Includes Borneo, Indonesia, Hawaii, Guam, Palau, Timor, Papua New Guinea
Melting of the icebergs due to some volcanic activities, the continent is submerged
in the Pacific Ocean and what remained are the above.
Products of Volcanism and Diastrophism
Diastrophism pertains to the movements of the solid parts of the earth.
Caused by earthquakes
Land Bridge Theory
The Philippines is connected to the mainland via the land bridges
Melting of the icebergs and volcanic eruptions land bridges submerged.
Fritjof Voss and Brailey Willis
Philippines have never been a part of the mainland Asia.
Philippine islands rose from the sea because it lies along the great earth fault lines
and continues to rise as the thin Pacific crust proves below it, due to violent
earthquakes.
Henry Otley Beyer
This theory is largely disproven
First humans came to the Philippines through land bridges which once connected the
country with Asia.
Aetas 30,000-25,000 years ago
Dark-skinned aborigines
Indonesian A 25,000-10,000 years ago
Tall, light skinned, straight haired
Indonesian B 10,000-1,000 CE
Heavier built, darker-skinned with flat noses
Malay
They came from Southeast Asia

Nunsatao Theory
Proposed by anthropologist Wilhelm Solheim believed that the ancestors of the Filipinos
came from Southeast Asia.
F. Landa Jocano believed that the source of the Filipino people began within the islands.
Out of Taiwan Theory
Archaeologist Peter Bellwood
Migration did not first take place on a south to north direction as proposed by Beyer.
The early humans crossed to the Philippines from what is now Southern China and northern
Vietnam to Formosa down to the archipelago.
Similarities and ages of archaeological evidences such as boats and pottery in South China,
Northern Vietnam, the Philippines and Micronesia, which included the Marianas.

Ethnolinguistic Groups
o Luzon
o Tagalogs Bulacan to Quezon province and the islands of Mindoro and Palawan and
part of Camarines Norte.
o Pampangos inhabit Central Luzon covering Pampanga, parts of Tarlac, Bataan and
Nueva Ecija.
o Ilocanos La Union, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur as well as Pangasinan, Northern
Tarlac, Zambales and the Cagayan Valley.
o Visayas
o Cebuanos dominant ones colonized eastern Negros, part of Leyte and much of
Mindanao.
o Ilonggos influence also spread to Mindanao.
o Boholanos
o Samarnons/Waray
o Aklanons
o Mindanao
o Lumads Mandaya, Bilaan, Tiruray, Tbolis, Subanons
o Moros Spanish colonizers thought that they were Muslims
o Tausug and Samal Sulu
o Maranao Lanao Provinces
o Maguindanaos and Iranuns Cotabato
o Yakans Basilan
o Badjaos Sulu
o Jama Mapun Cagayan de Sulu
o Palawani southern Palawan


Filipino Character
a. Positive
i. Strong belief in the existence of a Supreme Being
ii. Religiosity of the Filipinos
iii. We observe religious events like Christmas and Easter for the Catholics and
Ramadan, Eidl Fitr and Eidl Adha for the Muslims.
iv. This religiosity sometimes carried beyond what religion prescribes.
1. Carries amulets and charms
2. Anting-anting
v. Seguristas or people who would like to be assured of good results
vi. Avoid taking risks
vii. Give great respect for their elders
viii. Close family ties
ix. Extended Families
x. High regard for women
xi. Value of innnateness of ones character
xii. Loob essence of the person itself not just his policy in life.
xiii. Hospitality
xiv. Love of smile and are fond of humor
xv. Positive outlook in life
xvi. Non-confrontational people
xvii. Hiya self propriety
xviii. Person is prudent
xix. Strong concept of honor, loyalty, pakikisama
b. Negative
i. Tendency towards laziness or indolence
ii. Individualistic
iii. Prone to jealousy in the progress of others
iv. Talangka crab mentality
v. Indiscipline
vi. Fatalism things happen because of fate
vii. Bahala na
viii. Forgiving nation
ix. Imitate things
x. Ningas cogon beginning things with initial enthusiasm.
Regional Traits
Ilocanos thrifty and hardworking
Dry environment because of less rainfall
Pampangos melting pot of various native and outside influences
Tagalog neither frugal or extravagant
Melting place of people coming from various regions
His dialect is the basis of the national language and his region is the political and
commercial capital of the country.
Bicolanos very religious and even tempered
Many Filipino priests came from this region.
Predilection to spicy food was attributed as a sign of bravery and ability to endure.
Visayans love to live life to the fullest
Good singers and composers
Visayans of Eastern Visayas are mostly Waray.
Central Visayans are mostly Cebuanos
Visayans in Western Visayas consist of Ilonggos.
Known for colorful intonation.

Moros Southern Mindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi
Adventurous spirit and are proud of their history and religion.