NATIONAL LEADER Rev. Nicasio Sicat CHURCH STATISTICS 37 churches; 26 Missions; Bible Institute: La Roca Christian School. Work was organized in 1983.

NEEDS
www.pfwb.org/worldwitness/projects.htm#PhilippinesSouthern

PEOPLES
Most of the population migrated from Malaysia and Indonesia between 24th century BC and 11th century AD. Native peoples such as the Aetas and the Igorots may have subsisted without being assimilated into the other ethnic groups. In the 15th century, when Islamic communities arrived from Borneo, some 200,000 Chinese traders were already established on the islands. The Spanish arrived in 1521, evangelizing much of the population as they conquered. Some peoples of Malay extraction, were not converted. Finally, from 1898 onwards, US colonization influenced Filipino culture and society.

RELIGIONS
Catholics- 83 percent; Protestants- 8 percent, Muslims- 5 percent, Anglipayans (Independent Filipino Church)- 3 percent; Animists and Buddhists.

LANGUAGES
The Philippines present a complex linguistic map. 55 percent of the population speaks Filipino (official), based on Tagalog, a language of Malaysian origin. English, spoken by 45 percent, is obligatory in schools. 90 percent of the population speaks one of the following: Cebuano (6 million); Hiligayano (3 million); Bikolano (2 million); Waray-Waray (1 million). Spanish and Chinese are minority languages.

POLITICAL PARTIES
Lakas ñg Bansa (The People’s Struggle); the Laban Party (The People’s Power Movement), founded in 1988 by Benigno Aquino, the Democratic Christian Party; the BISIG, socialist movement of Tagalog speakers; the People’s Reform Party founded in 1991; the Liberal Party; the right-wing Nationalist Party. The main leftist opposition force is the National Democratic Front (NDF) which includes mass organizations, religious and cultural groups led by the Philippine Communist Party (PKP) and its military wing, the New People’s Army (NPA). In the Cordillera region, an NPA splinter group, the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA) organized the Cordillera Bodong Association (CBA) which demands full autonomy for the north. In the southern Muslim areas, the Moro National Liberation Front also demands autonomy. Kababaihan Para Sa Inang Bayan (Women for the Motherland), created in 1986, the first party exclusively for women; the Mindanao Alliance, regional.

THE STATE

OFFICIAL NAME
Republika ñg Pilipinas.

ADMINISTRATION
3 regions, 73 provinces.

CAPITAL
Manila

OTHER CITIES
Quezon City 1,627,900 people; Davao 867,800; Cebu 641,000; Calaocan 629,500; Zamboanga 453,200 (1991).

GOVERNMENT
Presidential republic. Gloria Macapagal, President since January 2001. Bicameral Legislative: Chamber of Deputies (Congress) 250 members, 200 elected by general vote, 50 chosen by the President, and a 24-member Senate.

NATIONAL HOLIDAY
July 12th, Independence Day (1946).

ENVIRONMENT
Of the 7,000 islands that make up the archipelago, spread over 1,600 km. from north to south, eleven account for 94 percent of the total area and house most of the population. Luzon and Mindanao are the most important. The archipelago is of volcanic origin, forming part of the Ring of Fire of the Pacific. The terrain is mountainous with large coastal plains where sugar cane, hemp, copra and tobacco are grown. The climate is tropical with heavy rainfall and dense rainforests. The country is the main producer of iron ore in Southeast Asia, there are chrome, copper, nickel, cobalt, silver and gold deposits. Like other countries in the region, it is suffering the effects of rapid deforestation.