Interesting Facts you should know about the Philippines

Interesting Facts You Should Know About the Philippines

Posted by Junrey Belando at 11:08 PM

The Philippines is where we live in. It's a must that we ought to know what all Filipinos should know about their country.

Here are some of the facts that you should know about the Philippines:

1. The Philippine archipelago is composed of 7,107 islands. It is divided into three (3) main island groups, namely: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. (Source: National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA)).

2. Not many people know that the Philippines is ranked 12 among the most populated countries of the world. The country boasts “90 million” as of its official population. The figure itself is quite impressive to get one’s attention to this new emerging economy of the world.

3. Philippines boasts of a coastline of 36,289 kilometers. However, it still ranks fifth in the world for having the longest coastline.

4. In 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines and claimed the islands for Spain.

5.The Philippines have declared independence from both Spain and the United States. Independence from Spain was declared on June 12, 1898. The Philippines declared independence from the United States on July 4, 1946.

6. Ruy Lopez de Villalobos named the Philippines in honor of King Philip II of Spain.

7. There are some 80 major ethno-linguistic groups in the Philippines, with many subgroups, that make Philippine society a complex one. All these, traditionally, are groups practicing distinct cultures and using a domestic kind of economy. 

8. The Philippine islands were ceded by Spain to the United States for 20 million US dollars in the 1898 Treaty of Paris.

9. Mount Apo, found on the island of Mindanao is the highest point in Philippines. The height of this mountain is 2,954 m.

10. Philippines is known as the ‘text capital of the world’ because of the large number of texts sent to-and-fro by the people in one day. On an average, every day, about 35 million mobile subscribers in the country send about 450 million short text messages (SMS) on an average. The United States and Europe together can’t beat this daily text messages count.

11. Philippines is the only country in the world whose flag is hoisted upside down when the country is at war.

12. Metro Manila is the most populous of the 12 defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines and the 11th most populous in the world. 

13. The karaoke was invented in the Philippines and not Japan. Karaoke means “singing without accompaniment” in Japanese was invented by Roberto del Rosario. The invention of “Sing-Along-System” was later called karaoke.

14. A shell called Glory of the Sea (Connus gloriamaris) that is found in the Philippines is considered as one of the most expensive shells in the world.

15.  The largest bat in the world is the Giant Golden-crowned Flying-fox (Acerodon jubatus). It is a rare and endangered fruit bat that can be found only in the Philippines. It has a wing span of at least 1.5 m (5 ft) and weighs approximately 1.2 kg (3 lbs) and is also known as the Golden-capped Fruit Bat.

16. The world’s longest navigable underground river is Puerto Princesa Subterranean River found in Palawan. It features a limestone karst mountain landscape with an 8.2 km. navigable underground river. A distinguishing feature of the river is that it winds through a cave before flowing directly into the South China Sea.

17. Cagayan River or Magat River is the longest river in the Philippines.

18. The world’s largest Catholic university located in one campus in terms of student population is the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila. It is an academic institution founded by the Dominicans. It is 25 years older than the oldest university n the US – the Harvard University.

19. The bamboo organ at St. Joseph Church in Las Pinas City is arguably the world’s largest bamboo organ. The centuries-old musical instrument was constructed between 1792 and 1819. It has 174 bamboo pipes, 122 horizontal reeds of soft metal, a five-octave keyboard, and 22 stops arranged in vertical rows.

20. The world’s largest high school in terms of student population is Rizal High School in Caniogan, Pasig City. The school has more than 20,000 students. Graduation rites are conducted 5 times and that means the class valedictorian has to deliver his/her valedictory address 5 times also.

This is just a tip of the iceberg of cool and interesting facts about the celebrated facts of the Philippines. These and much more truly make me proud as a Filipino.Do you know something interesting and cool facts about our country? Just comment below and let's share it....now, isn't it cool to be Pinoy?