99 Fun Facts About The Philippines

What is the capital city of the Philippines?

Manila is the capital. Founded as the Spanish colonial capital in 1571, it ceded the title to Quezon City from 1948 to 1976 before regaining it.

The Philippines takes its name from which king of Spain?

Philip II was still crown prince in 1543 when the explorer Ruy López de Villalobos is credited with naming two islands 'Las Islas Filipinas' in his honour; the name later spread to the whole archipelago.

Which Philippine city's underground river was named one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature?

Puerto Princesa's underground river, an 8.2 km stretch of the Cabayugan River running through a cave, had been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999 before a worldwide public vote gave it the new title.

What animal is widely recognized as the national animal of the Philippines?

The carabao, the domesticated water buffalo that ploughs rice fields, is popularly regarded as the national animal, though no law has ever declared one; the Philippine eagle is the official national bird.

Approximately how many islands make up the Philippine archipelago?

The official count is 7,641 islands, roughly 7,600; for decades the figure taught was 7,107, until the national mapping agency's new surveys in the 2010s added about 500 more.

What is the national language of the Philippines, which is primarily based on Tagalog?

Filipino is the national language of the Philippines and one of its two official languages, alongside English. It is a standardized version of Tagalog, enriched by other Philippine languages.

Which polymath novelist, executed for sedition in 1896, is popularly regarded as the national hero of the Philippines?

Jose Rizal holds the title by acclaim: no law or proclamation formally names him national hero, yet his novels galvanised the independence movement.

Which active stratovolcano in the Philippines is famous for its nearly perfect conical shape?

Mayon Volcano, famed for its near-perfect cone, is also the country's most active volcano; its 1814 eruption buried the town of Cagsawa, where a ruined church tower still stands above the debris.

Which soy-and-vinegar meat dish is often considered the unofficial national dish of the Philippines?

Adobo, a braise of meat in vinegar, soy sauce and garlic, grew out of a precolonial habit of cooking food in vinegar and salt so that it would keep in the heat.

What is the official currency of the Philippines?

The peso keeps the name of the old colonial coin, but on the money itself it reads 'piso': coins switched from English wording to the national language in 1967 and banknotes followed in 1969.

By law, the Philippine flag is flown with which colour on top in time of war?

Red goes on top in wartime: the flag normally flies with its blue stripe uppermost, and the flag law says to turn it over when the country is at war, so one flag can signal peace or war.

What is the highest mountain peak in the Philippines?

Mount Apo on Mindanao rises 2,954 metres (9,692 ft); the land around the peak was declared a national park in 1936 and is a refuge of the endangered Philippine eagle.

Magellan reached the Philippines in 1521 while seeking which islands?

The Spice Islands, today's Moluccas in Indonesia, were the goal; Magellan was killed at Mactan in April 1521, weeks after reaching the Philippines, and Elcano brought the last ship home in 1522.

What is the climate of the Philippines generally characterized as?

The climate is tropical and maritime: warm, humid and rainy, with a wet season and a dry season whose timing depends on the monsoon winds.

Which Ifugao landmark is popularly nicknamed the 'Eighth Wonder of the World'?

The Banaue Rice Terraces, hand-carved into the Ifugao mountains by the region's indigenous peoples, are popularly called the 'Eighth Wonder of the World'; nearby clusters form the UNESCO-listed Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras.

Which colourfully decorated Philippine passenger vehicle evolved from surplus American military vehicles after WWII?

Jeepneys were built from surplus US Army jeeps left behind after 1945, lengthened to carry passengers and painted in flamboyant colours, and became the country's most popular form of public transport.

What is the Barong Tagalog, the Philippines' national attire for men, typically made from?

Piña or abacá fibre gives the sheer, stiff cloth of a barong; piña is woven from the leaves of the pineapple, a plant the Spanish introduced, so this traditional fabric is a colonial-era invention.

Which flower, adopted by proclamation in 1934, is the national flower of the Philippines?

Sampaguita was made the national flower in 1934 by American governor-general Frank Murphy, yet it is no native: this jasmine comes from India and Bhutan and is also a national flower of Indonesia.

Who proclaimed Philippine independence from his family home in Kawit, Cavite, on June 12, 1898?

Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed independence at Kawit on June 12, 1898, but neither Spain nor the United States recognised it; American recognition came only on July 4, 1946.

What is the predominant religion in the Philippines?

Roman Catholicism was the faith of about 79% of Filipinos in the 2020 census; Islam, the largest minority religion, is the older arrival, having reached the islands through trade in the 14th century.

Which active Batangas volcano rises from an island inside a lake-filled caldera?

Taal's Volcano Island sits in a lake that fills an old caldera and holds a crater lake of its own; small as it looks, it is the country's second most active volcano, about 50 km from the capital.

Which archipelagic province, the largest by area, is the Philippines' 'Last Frontier'?

Palawan is called the 'Last Frontier' for its rich forests, reefs and wildlife, and in 1990 UNESCO made the entire province a biosphere reserve.

What is Cebu City's largest annual festival, known for street dancing and devotion to the Santo Niño?

Sinulog, held in Cebu City on the third Sunday of January, honours the Santo Niño, an image Magellan gave Cebu's ruler and his wife at their baptism in 1521 and the country's oldest Christian relic.

Which harvest festival in Lucban, Quezon, decks houses with produce and kiping rice wafers?

The Pahiyas Festival is held every 15 May in honour of San Isidro Labrador, patron of farmers; the leaf-shaped kiping wafers that decorate the houses are later eaten grilled or fried.

Which president proclaimed Tagalog the basis of the Philippine national language?

Manuel L. Quezon approved the choice of Tagalog in 1937 on the advice of the new Institute of National Language; the country now marks Language Month every August, the month of his birth.

Which president did the 1986 People Power Revolution drive from office?

Ferdinand Marcos fled to Hawaii after four days of mass, largely peaceful protest along the EDSA highway; in power since 1965, he died in exile in Honolulu three years later.

What is Malacañang Palace, on the Pasig River in the capital, primarily known as?

The presidential residence began as a private riverside summer house; Spanish governors-general moved in for good after an 1863 earthquake wrecked their palace in Intramuros.

What is the Philippines' largest category of export goods?

Electronics, led by semiconductors, made up more than half of Philippine goods exports in 2023; farm products came a distant second, though the country is the world's largest exporter of coconut products.

The eastern coast of the Philippines, facing the open North Pacific, looks out on which sea?

The Philippine Sea is the part of the western North Pacific east of the islands; close to them its floor plunges more than 10 km into the Philippine Trench, where one tectonic plate dives beneath another.

Which tiny primate of Bohol and nearby islands has enormous eyes and a head that can turn 180 degrees?

The Philippine tarsier's eyes are each about as big as its brain and fixed in their sockets, so instead of glancing sideways it swivels its whole head, up to 180 degrees either way.

Which indigenous martial art was declared the national sport of the Philippines in 2009?

Arnis, the stick-fighting art also called eskrima or kali, was made the national martial art and sport by a 2009 law that puts its symbol on the Philippine Sports Commission's seal and opens the national school games with it.

Which president, swept in by People Power, oversaw the 1987 constitution?

Corazon Aquino set aside the old charter, named a commission to write a new one, and saw it ratified by plebiscite on February 2, 1987; it limits a president to a single six-year term.

Which prize, often called 'Asia's Nobel', was established in the Philippines in 1957?

The Ramon Magsaysay Award was set up in 1957 by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in memory of President Ramon Magsaysay, who had died in a plane crash that March; it honours service across Asia.

Which October 1944 naval battle is by some measures the largest in history?

Leyte Gulf was fought over four days, 23 to 26 October 1944, and crippled the Japanese fleet; it was the largest naval battle of World War II.

Which gem was proclaimed the national gem of the Philippines in 1996?

South Sea pearl was declared the national gem by President Fidel Ramos in 1996; the pearls grow so large because they come from Pinctada maxima, the biggest of all pearl oysters, farmed in Philippine waters.

What is the longest river system in the Philippines?

The Cagayan River drains a broad, flat valley hemmed in by mountains, so its floodwater is slow to drain away; after Typhoon Vamco in November 2020 it overflowed and swamped towns across the valley.

Which Luzon mountain, the Philippines' third highest, is famed for its 'sea of clouds' at dawn?

Mount Pulag, at about 2,928 metres, is counted the coldest place in the country: summit temperatures can dip below freezing in the cool months, and frost is common on its grassy top.

Who was the chieftain of Mactan whose warriors killed Ferdinand Magellan in battle?

Lapu-Lapu's warriors, about 1,500 by one eyewitness count, overwhelmed a landing party of some fifty on 27 April 1521; he is honoured today as the first Filipino hero to resist foreign rule.

What Chinese-derived noodle dish is a staple of Philippine cuisine?

Pancit, the general term for noodle dishes introduced by Chinese traders, is a fixture at Filipino birthdays because long noodles signify long life.

Which historic Intramuros church is a UNESCO site and one of the Philippines' oldest stone churches?

San Agustin Church, completed in 1607, is the country's oldest stone church; when the walled city was levelled in the fighting of 1945, it was the only one of Intramuros's seven churches to survive.

Which Philippine resort island was closed to tourists for six months in 2018?

Boracay was shut from April to October 2018 after President Duterte called it a 'cesspool' because of sewage running into the sea; it reopened with new rules to limit visitor numbers.

Which lagoon-and-cliff tourist town is the gateway to the Bacuit archipelago in the Philippines' westernmost province?

El Nido, Spanish for 'The Nest' after the swiftlet nests harvested from its cliffs, is the jumping-off town for the Bacuit archipelago's limestone islands and lagoons.

Which Philippine folk dance has performers stepping between bamboo poles beaten together in rhythm?

Tinikling takes its name from the tikling rail bird and imitates it stepping between grass stems and dodging the bamboo traps set by rice farmers.

The pili nut, from a tree native to the Philippines, is the flagship commodity of which region?

Bicol is the pili heartland: the native tree stands up to the typhoons that regularly cross the region, and most of its buttery nuts come from Sorsogon, Albay and Camarines Sur.

Which marine protected area in the Sulu Sea is a UNESCO site known for its coral reefs?

Tubbataha's two atolls lie in the middle of the Sulu Sea, 150 km from the nearest city; after dynamite and cyanide fishing reached them, divers campaigned until they became a national marine park in 1988.

Which Iloilo City festival features costumes and tribal dance competitions honoring the Santo Niño?

Dinagyang, held in Iloilo City on the fourth Sunday of January, honours the Santo Niño and recalls the 'Barter of Panay', in which Malay settlers are said to have bought the island from the Ati.

Which Filipino boxer became the first to win world titles in eight different weight divisions?

Manny Pacquiao won his first world title as a flyweight in 1998 and his eighth as a light middleweight in 2010, some 40 pounds heavier; he later sat in the Philippine Senate from 2016 to 2022.

Which central Philippine island group includes Cebu, Bohol and Panay?

The Visayas, one of the three main island groups, has seven large islands clustered around inland seas; the first lasting Spanish settlement in the archipelago was planted here, at Cebu, in 1565.

What is the traditional bamboo-and-nipa stilt house of the Philippine lowlands called?

The bahay kubo, or nipa hut, is raised on stilts with bamboo walls and a nipa-palm thatch roof; its design influenced the Spanish-era stone-and-wood bahay na bato.

Which toy did Philippine immigrant Pedro Flores start making in California before selling out to Duncan?

The yo-yo had been played in the Philippines for hundreds of years, and Flores first made them by hand for neighbourhood children before buying machinery to turn them out faster.

Which fruit did food technologist María Orosa turn into a Philippine alternative to imported tomato ketchup?

Banana ketchup is naturally brownish-yellow, so makers often dye it red to resemble the tomato kind it replaced.

Uniquely among national flags, what does flying the Philippine flag with its red stripe on top signal?

A state of war is declared by flipping the flag so red flies above blue, a signal first used in February 1899.

Which English word for remote countryside did American soldiers bring home from the Tagalog word for mountain?

Boondocks comes from 'bundok', picked up by troops fighting in the Philippine–American War of 1899–1902 and later clipped to 'the boonies'.

Which Philippine boxer, later elected a senator, is the only fighter to win world titles in eight weight divisions?

Manny Pacquiao, nicknamed PacMan, is also the only boxer to hold world championships across four decades, from the 1990s to the 2020s.

Which home-grown Philippine fast-food chain began in 1975 as a family ice cream parlour in Cubao?

Jollibee switched to hot meals when they outsold the ice cream, then withstood the 1981 arrival of McDonald's by cooking for local tastes.

Which Philippine singer originated Kim in Miss Saigon and gave Disney's Jasmine and Mulan their singing voices?

Lea Salonga became the first Asian actress to win a Tony Award, and she landed the part of Kim by auditioning with a song from Les Misérables.

Which Philippine volcano's 1991 eruption, the 20th century's second-largest, cooled the whole planet for two years?

Mount Pinatubo dropped global temperatures by about 0.5 °C, yet most people were unaware it had ever erupted until it began stirring in early 1991.

In which sport did Hidilyn Diaz win the Philippines' first Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Games?

Weightlifting was a sport Diaz first learned from her older cousins, using makeshift barbells made of mag wheels or concrete.

Which Philippine street food is a fertilized duck egg, incubated for two to three weeks and then steamed?

Balut is usually made with eggs of the mallard, known locally as the 'Pateros duck', and fans argue over how developed the embryo should be.

Which Philippine dessert of crushed ice, milk, sweet beans and jellies is descended from Japanese kakigōri?

Halo-halo means 'mix-mix', and unlike its Japanese ancestor it tucks most of the ingredients under the ice instead of piling them on top.

Which Bohol landmark was created, one local legend says, by two feuding giants hurling mud at each other?

The Chocolate Hills are at least 1,260 grass-covered limestone mounds that dry out and turn brown in the dry season, hence the name.

Which unit, the smallest in Philippine local government, is named after the boats of early Austronesian settlers?

Barangay comes from balangay, the boat that carried Austronesian migrants to the islands, and the unit was historically known as the barrio.

Which widow of an assassinated opposition senator became the first woman president of the Philippines?

Corazon Aquino had spent most of her husband's career as a housewife raising their children, yet she became the face of the peaceful uprising that ended a two-decade rule.

Which bird of prey, first named for the monkeys it was thought to eat, is the Philippines' national bird?

The Philippine eagle is considered the world's largest eagle by length and wing surface, and it turned out to hunt colugos, snakes and monitor lizards too.

Which Tagalog word meaning 'long live' do Philippine hotels and restaurants use to welcome their guests?

Mabuhay became the hospitality industry's welcome after a 1993 campaign by restaurateur Rod Ongpauco, and it doubles as 'cheers' in a toast.

Which sport, brought by American teachers in the colonial era, is the most popular in the Philippines?

Basketball is so loved that the country's PBA became Asia's first professional league in the sport, and the second oldest in the world after the NBA.

The Philippines' frequent earthquakes and eruptions come from its place on the western edge of which seismic zone?

The Ring of Fire traces the rim of the Pacific, and the Philippines sits on its western fringe as part of an arc system studded with active volcanoes.

What is the star-shaped lantern called that Philippine families hang outside their homes during the Christmas season?

The parol stands for the Star of Bethlehem and was traditionally built from bamboo and Japanese paper, lit from inside by a candle or oil lamp.

Which cool mountain city, founded by Americans as a hill station in 1900, is the Summer Capital of the Philippines?

Baguio sits about 1,500 metres above sea level, cool enough for the pine forests that earned it a second nickname, the City of Pines.

Which whole roasted pig, the centrepiece of Philippine Christmas Eve dinners, did Anthony Bourdain praise most in Cebu?

Lechon in the Philippines grew out of native pig-roasting traditions with pre-colonial origins, shared with other Austronesian peoples.

Which revolutionary general from Kawit, Cavite, is regarded as the first president of the Philippines?

Emilio Aguinaldo's republic ended in 1901, when a force led by General Frederick Funston captured him at his headquarters in Palanan, Isabela.

Which former warehouse keeper co-founded the Katipunan and is often called the Father of the Philippine Revolution?

Andrés Bonifacio was known to members as the Supremo, yet the revolution's own war council had him executed in 1897 for sedition and treason.

Which Philippine president put the country under martial law in 1972 and held power for two decades?

Ferdinand Marcos described his rule as 'constitutional authoritarianism', and when it collapsed his family fled to Hawaii, where he died in 1989.

Which American general, ordered out of the Philippines in 1942, publicly vowed to return and did so in 1944?

Douglas MacArthur first made the promise at Terowie railway station in Australia, weeks after President Roosevelt ordered him to relocate there.

Which religion reached the southern Philippines along trade routes in the 14th century, long before Magellan's arrival?

Islam is now the country's second largest religion, and its first mosque there was established on the island of Simunul.

Which fruit, widely regarded as the Philippines' national fruit, is the famously sweet export crop of Guimaras island?

Mango from Guimaras is reportedly served at the White House and Buckingham Palace, though no law has ever made the fruit an official national symbol.

Which gymnast won two gold medals for the Philippines at the 2024 Paris Olympics, on floor exercise and vault?

Carlos Yulo became the first athlete from Southeast Asia to win multiple Olympic golds, and he is noted for his short stature even among gymnasts.

Which Philippine beauty queen was crowned Miss Universe 2015 after the host first announced Miss Colombia by mistake?

Pia Wurtzbach had needed three attempts just to win her national title, and she became the country's third Miss Universe after winners in 1969 and 1973.

Which giant fish, known locally as butanding, do snorkellers swim beside in the waters off Donsol, Sorsogon?

Whale shark encounters at Donsol were named Asia's best animal encounter by Time magazine in 2004, and sightings peak between February and May.

What are the small neighbourhood convenience shops of the Philippines called, from a Tagalog word meaning 'variety'?

Sari-sari shops sell goods by the piece, a practice called tingi, so customers on a tight budget can buy one unit instead of a whole pack.

Which endangered dwarf buffalo, with short V-shaped horns, lives wild only on the Philippine island of Mindoro?

The tamaraw is the only bovine found nowhere but the Philippines, and hunting and habitat loss have confined it to a few remote grassy plains.

Which hardwood, bearing fragrant yellow blossoms from February to May, is the national tree of the Philippines?

Narra is also traded as Amboyna wood or Philippine mahogany, and Governor-General Frank Murphy declared it the national tree in 1934.

Which Mindanao city, the largest in the Philippines by land area, is nicknamed the country's Durian Capital?

Davao City sprawls over more than 2,400 square kilometres, and durian, the so-called king of fruits, grows abundantly on the slopes nearby.

Which Ilocos Sur city did UNESCO list in 1999 as the best-preserved colonial town in Asia?

Vigan kept most of its old structures intact, though a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in 2022 damaged its cathedral and some of its heritage houses.

Which Philippine peninsula gave its name to the 1942 forced march of more than 70,000 prisoners of war?

Bataan was where the ordeal began: captives were driven from Bagac and Mariveles toward Camp O'Donnell, covering about 105 kilometres.

The Philippines was one of five founding members of which regional bloc, created in Bangkok in 1967?

ASEAN was born when the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand signed a declaration at Saranrom Palace.

What is the title of the Philippine national anthem, composed by Julián Felipe as a march without words?

Lupang Hinirang means 'Chosen Land', and its words arrived a year after the music, adapted from a poem by José Palma.

Which Philippine novel exposing the abuses of colonial friars was followed four years later by El Filibusterismo?

Noli Me Tángere is Latin for 'Touch Me Not', and a Philippine law requires every high school student in the country to read it and its sequel.

Which lake, the largest in the Philippines, takes its name from a shoreline town that was once a provincial capital?

Laguna de Bay means 'Lagoon of Bay', after the lakeshore town of Bay, a former capital of Laguna province; English speakers later mistook the word for a sea inlet.

For 250 years, trading galleons sailed once or twice a year between the Philippines and which Mexican port?

Acapulco was the route's far end from 1565 to 1815, reachable only after friar-navigator Andrés de Urdaneta pioneered the return passage across the Pacific.

Which Juan Luna painting of dying gladiators, the largest in the Philippines, won a gold medal in Europe in 1884?

Spoliarium took Luna eight months to finish and shows a scene in a Roman circus where dead fighters are stripped of weapons and garments.

Which conquistador crossed the Pacific to Cebu in 1565 and founded the first colonial settlement in the Philippines?

Miguel López de Legazpi made Cebu his first capital, moved the seat of government north six years later, and served as the first governor-general.

Which tadpole-shaped island fortress, nicknamed 'The Rock', guards the bay beside the Philippine capital?

Corregidor is only about 6.5 kilometres long, yet its coastal artillery batteries were built to keep enemy warships away from the capital.

Which pre-colonial script, sometimes wrongly called alibata, appears on Philippine banknotes and passports?

Baybayin is an abugida of the Brahmic family, and since 2002 it has had its own block in the Unicode standard, filed under the name Tagalog.

By what local name do people in the Philippines know Typhoon Haiyan, the world's deadliest storm of 2013?

Yolanda was the name assigned by the weather agency PAGASA as the storm approached, and gusts reached 275 km/h when it came ashore.

Which mountain range, the longest in the Philippines, stretches more than 540 kilometres along the Pacific coast?

The Sierra Madre is widely believed to act as a typhoon barrier, though the shelter is only truly effective for the valley directly behind it.

In which Bulacan town was the constitution of the first Philippine Republic proclaimed in January 1899?

Malolos hosted a partially elected congress that drafted the charter, and the state it founded is sometimes called Asia's first proper constitutional republic.

Which Ilocano woman took command of her assassinated husband's uprising against colonial rule in 1763?

Gabriela Silang led the movement for four months before the colonial government captured and executed her.

Which American rock band hired Philippine singer Arnel Pineda as frontman after finding his cover videos on YouTube?

Journey's Neal Schon tracked Pineda down in 2007 through the fan who had uploaded clips of his covers band, The Zoo.