Although composed of 7107 islands (7108 at low tide), with a total coastline longer than that of the USA, most of the population of The Philippines lives on just 11 of them.

The earliest inhabitants of the Philippines were the Negritos. Other tribes later arrived from Malaysia and Indonesia. The islands were occupied by the Japanese between 1942 and 1945, during World War II, only achieving independence in 1946. During the next two decades, there was a succession of presidents who maintained strong links with the United States.

In 1965, Ferdinand Marcos of the Nacionalista party won the Presidential elections and began a program of rapid economic development. By 1972, Marcos had instituted martial law and suppressed all political opposition. He also set about large-scale looting of the country’s finances to fill his and his family’s own foreign bank accounts.

By the mid-1980s, the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party, was able to sustain a major insurrection right across the country in both rural and urban areas. The turning point for the regime came after the assassination of Benigno Aquino upon his return from exile in 1983. Public opinion rallied behind his widow, Corazon Aquino in a massive campaign of demonstrations and non-violent protest, popularly dubbed ‘People Power’. Then, US President Ronald Reagan withdrew his backing from Marcos. The Filipino military, Marcos’ last bastion of support, followed suit and Marcos left for Hawaiian exile in February 1986. He died there in September 1989.

Even though the current president, Gloria Arroyo – daughter of Diosdado Macapagal, the president during the early 1960s, has promised to create jobs and to improve living standards, poverty and the country’s debt burden are still very high. This explains the high number of Filipinos residing abroad. Called balikbayans, these prove a steady source of incoming tourists in the country, representing approximately 8 per cent of all visitors. Aware of this situation, WOW Philippines, the cornerstone program of the Department of Tourism, is proving to be successful in attracting both domestic and foreign visitors to the country.

With a fresh mandate given to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004, infrastructure projects involving airports, expressways, inter-island transport and even the currently almost non-existent railway system are part of the 10-point development agenda for the presidency until 2010. Travel and tourism will surely benefit, as airports nationwide are being constructed or renovated to accommodate larger planes and more visitors, attracted by the country's warm tropical waters, coral gardens with beautiful marine life and dramatic drop-offs on the sea bed.

Inland, the rich history and culture of the Filipino people, the dramatic landscapes and thriving cities will fascinate the visitor. Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is also its heart and soul. It sets the rhythm of life in this archipelago and is a pulsating hub that blends the Oriental with the Occidental, the traditional with the modern, the mundane with extraordinary.

Geography
The Philippines lie off the southeast coast of Asia between Taiwan and Borneo in the Pacific Ocean and South China Sea. They are composed of 7107 islands and islets (7108 at low tide), 2773 of which are named. The two largest islands, Luzon in the north and Mindanao in the south, account for 65 per cent of the total land area and contain 60 per cent of the country’s population. Between the two lie the Visayas Islands.