Philippines

The Philippines is an archipelago of 7,107 islands in the South China Sea located between Taiwan to the north and Borneo to the south. Just 2,000 of its islands are inhabited and only 500 are larger than a kilometer square. The nine largest islands of Luzon, Mindanao, Palawan, Panay, Mindoro, Samar, Negros, Leyte and Cebu make up 90% of the nation's land area. The Philippines is mountainous in nature. The highest mountain is Mt. Apo, which is located in Mindanao. The second largest is Mt.Pulog in Luzon. There are recorded 50 volcanoes and most of them are still active. The most famous is Mt. Mayon, known as the world's most perfect cone. One can find here the lowest volcano in the world, called Taal Volcano (History of the Philippines 1). The country has only a few rivers and they abound in small mountains streams, which swell up as much as three times their size during the rainy season. The climate of the Philippines is divided mainly in two seasons: the dry season and the rainy season. The cool dry season extends from December to February and is followed by the hot dry season that is from March to May. The rainy season begins in June and continues to November. The typhoon season is generally from July to September although occasional

Forty years ago, the Philippines was the most highly developed Southeast Asian country. It boasted the best-educated population in the region, and it seemed to be on the edge of sustained industrialization and economic development. By the late 1960s, however, Philippine development had been derailed. Through the 1980s and the 199s, the country's economy failed to outpace its population growth, resulting in declining living standards for the poor and the middle class. The country's educational and health system declined during the dismal decades of the 1980s and 1990s. The main reason of the depression was Ferdinand Marcos' dictatorship. He wasted hundreds of millions of dollars, and his regime instituted a kind of crony capitalism. It means that the president's close friends are either legally or illegally given business advantages in return for their political support. It seemed that corrupt officials and well-connected businessman stole more money from the state. Marcos declared military law in 1972 and suspended Philippine democracy, revolutionary activity intensified and the country began to fall into a downward spiral. People lost their faith and they started to look for other opportunities outside from the country. People usually work overseas. Men typically work in the construction industry, women as nurses or domestic servants. One can usually see that teachers leave their profession because the salary is low and they cannot support their family anymore. They work as nannies, and maids in Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates. The educational standard is in trouble because of the loss of so many teachers. By the mid 1990s, the Philippines economy showed some signs of revival. The government tried to solve some problems in terms of infrastructure, electricity, and