Philippines

The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an island nation in Southeast Asia located in the Pacific Ocean. It consists of 7,107 separate islands. The designated capital is Manila, but the official seat of government is Metro Manila, which contains the most populous city Quezon City. Across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan, and thus China, Vietnam sits to the west across the South China Sea, and Malaysia and Indonesia lie to the south.

## History

### Post-Independence

On October 24, 1945, the Philippines became one of the founding members of the United Nations and the following year, on July 4, 1946, it became recognized by the United States as independent, during the presidency of Manuel Roxas. Disgruntled remnants of the communist Hukbalahap continued to roam the countryside but were put down by President Elpidio Quirino's successor Ramon Magsaysay. Magsaysay's successor, Carlos P. Garcia initiated the Filipino First Policy, which was continued by Diosdado Macapagal, with celebration of Independence Day moved from July 4 to June 12, the date of Emilio Aguinaldo's declaration, while furthering the claim on the eastern part of North Borneo.

In 1965, Macapagal lost to Ferdinand Marcos, who was elected president. Early in his presidency he initiated numerous public projects but was accused of massive corruption, such as the embezzlement of billions of dollars in public funds. Amidst great social turmoil and nearing the end of his term, Marcos declared Martial Law on September 21, 1972. This period of his rule was characterized by political repression, censorship, and human rights violations. His wife Imelda continued to live a lavish lifestyle as the majority of Filipinos remained in poverty.

On August 21, 1983, Marcos' chief rival, opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr., was assassinated at Manila International Airport. Marcos eventually called for snap presidential elections in 1986 against Aquino's widow, Corazón. Marcos was proclaimed the winner, but the results were widely regarded as fraudulent, leading to the People Power Revolution. Marcos and his allies fled to Hawaii and Corazón Aquino was recognized as president.

The return of democracy and government reforms beginning in 1986 were hampered by national debt, government corruption, coup attempts, disasters, a persistent communist insurgency, and a military conflict with Moro separatists. During Corazon Aquino's administration, U.S. forces withdrew from the Philippines, due the rejection of the U.S. Bases Extension Treaty, and leading to the official transfer of Clark Air Base in November 1991 and Subic Bay to the government in December 1992. The administration also faced a series of natural disasters, including the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991. After introducing a constitution that limited presidents to a single term, Aquino did not stand for re-election.

Aquino was succeeded by Fidel V. Ramos, who won the Philippine presidential election held in May 1992. During this period, the economy was known as the "Tiger Economy in Asia", with an average of 6% GDP growth rate. However, the political stability and economic improvements, such as the peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front in 1996, were overlooked by the onset of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

### Early Twenty-First Century

Ramos' successor, Joseph Estrada assumed office in June 1998 and managed to regain the economy from −0.6% growth to 3.4% by 1999 amidst the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The government had announced a war against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in March 2000 and neutralized the camps including the headquarters of the insurgents. In the middle of ongoing conflict with the Abu Sayyaf, accusations of alleged corruption, and a stalled impeachment process, Estrada's administration was overthrown by the 2001 EDSA Revolution and succeeded by his Vice President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on January 20, 2001.

In Arroyo's 9-year administration, The economy experienced GDP growth from 4% in 2002 to 7% growth in 2007 with the completion of infrastructure projects like the LRT Line 2 in 2004 and managed to avoid the Great Recession. Nevertheless, it was tied with graft and political scandals like the Hello Garci scandal pertaining to the alleged manipulation of votes in the 2004 presidential elections. On November 23, 2009, the Maguindanao massacre led to the murder of 34 journalists.

Benigno Aquino III won the 2010 national elections and served as the 15th President of the Philippines. He was the third youngest person to be elected president and the first to be a bachelor. During the previous years, The Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro was signed on October 15, 2012, as the first step of the creation of an autonomous political entity named Bangsamoro. However, territorial disputes in eastern Sabah and the South China Sea have escalated. The economy in the country performed well especially in 2013 at 7.2% GDP growth which is 2nd fastest in Asia Aquino signed the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, commonly known as K–12 program in May 15, 2013 aiming to enhance the educational system in the country. On November 8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) struck the country and heavily devastated the country especially in the Visayas. On April 28, 2014, when United States President Barack Obama visited the Philippines, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, was signed.

## Government and Politics

The Philippines has a democratic government in the form of a constitutional republic with a presidential system. It is governed as a unitary state with the exception of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao which is largely free from the national government. The President functions as both head of state and head of government and is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The president is elected by popular vote for a single six-year term, during which he or she appoints and presides over the cabinet. The bicameral Congress is composed of the Senate, serving as the upper house, with members elected to a six-year term, and the House of Representatives, serving as the lower house, with members elected to a three-year term. The senators are elected at large while the representatives are elected from both legislative districts and through sectoral representation. The judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court, composed of a Chief Justice as its presiding officer and fourteen associate justices, all of whom are appointed by the President from nominations submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council.

### Administrative Divisions

The Philippines are divided into three island groups:

* Luzon
* Visayas,
* Mindanao.

These are subdivided into 18 regions, 81 provinces, 144 cities and 1,490 municipalities.

### Foreign Relations

The Philippines is a member of the G-30, ASEAN and APEC economic forums. The Philippines values its relations with the United States. It supported the United States during the Cold War and the War on Terror and is a major non-NATO ally. The Philippines has close relations with Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia, while maintaining growing relations with Thailand and Vietnam. The Philippines has predominantly negative relations with China over disputes in the South China Sea.