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Telephone Number:
(63) 919 888 67 63
(63) 920 626 33 23 |
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The Philippines is made up of 7,107 islands covering a land area of 115,739 sq. m. (299,764 sq. km.). Main island groups are Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Capital is Manila. Time Zone is GMT + 8 hours.
CLIMATE
March to May is hot and dry. June to October is rainy, November to February is cool. Average temperatures: 78°F / 25°C to 90°F / 32°C; humidity is 77%.
POPULATION
There are a total of 76.5 million Filipinos as of the latest national census in May, 2000. Population growth is estimated at 2.36 percent annually. Luzon, the largest island group, accounts for more than half of the entire population.
LANGUAGES
Two official languages --- Filipino and English. Filipino which is based on Tagalog, is the national language. English is also widely used and is the medium of instruction in higher education.
Eight (8) major dialects spoken by majority of the Filipinos: Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinense.
Filipino is that native language which is used nationally as the language of communication among ethnic groups. Like any living language, Filipino is in a process of development through loans from Philippine languages and non-native languages for various situations, among speakers of different social backgrounds, and for topics for conversation and scholarly discourse. There are about 76 to 78 major language groups, with more than 500 dialects.
RELIGIONS
Some 83% of Filipinos are Catholic. About 5% are Moslem. The rest are made up of smaller Christian denominations and Buddhist.
UNIT OF MEASURE
The Metric System is used in most trade and legal transactions.
ELECTRICITY
220 volts a/c is the common standard. 110 volts a/c is also used, especially in major hotels.
CURRENCY
The Philippines' monetary unit is the peso, divided into 100 centavos. Foreign currency may be exchanged at any hotels, most large department stores, banks, and authorized money changing shops accredited by the Central Bank of the Philippines. International credit cards such as Visa, Diners Club, Bank Americard, Master Card, and American Express are accepted in major establishments.
SCUBA DIVING
The Philippines is to scuba divers what Switzerland is to skiers, Hawaii to surfers and Nepal to mountaineers: is a place you must visit at least once, to get the real heart of the sport. The country is a veritable smorgasboard of world-class dive sites set in a lush tropical environment with all the trappings you could wish for. Statistics from the Philippine Department of Tourism indicate that divers visiting the Philippines return for an average of 10 trips each which speaks volume about the quality of the dive sites and the professionalism of the operators. Lifted from the book, “Action Asia Adventure Travel Guide to the Philippines”.
LINKS
http://www.tourism.gov.ph/
http://www.camperspoint.com/ |
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Copyright © 2006, Dive Philippines |
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