Philippines

Introduction

The Philippines are located at southeastern Asia, directly east of Vietnam and northeast of Malaysia, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. The land total 115, 124 sq mile (or 298,170 sq km). (A brief description, p.1) The Philippine islands are subject to frequent earthquakes and volcanic epidemics. Many islands of Philippines are mountainous, covered by tropical rain forest. The longest river is the Cagayan on Luzon, 217 miles long. (A brief description, p.1) Capital city is Manila, having more than 10 million people. Currency is Philippine Peso. Official languages are English and Filipino. The purpose of this report is the explore the physical attributes, cultural, economic, political aspects of the Philippines in order for a Canadian company, Jason Waterworks Ltd, to finalize the decision of go/no go into the Philippines.

Physical Attributes

The Philippines are very warm and humid all year round. Annual rainfall varies widely and heavy. Between March and May, hot, dry weather comes along with high humidity levels. Average annual temperature 80Ð'„1Ð'›9F; temperature usually range from 70Ð'„1Ð'›9F to 90Ð'„1Ð'›9F. (A brief description, p.1) Regarding communication, Philippines have high quality international radiotelephone and submarine cable services and adequate domestic and itner-island service. Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) serves Manila and city area. It has 38 airlines to over 26 cities and 19 countries world wide. The main carrier of NAIA is Philippine Airlines. The second biggest carrier is Cebu Pacific Air, positioned itself as true discount airline in the country. The City of Manila is the main seaport of the Philippines. North Harbor and South harbor experience high traffic periods during long holidays. (Manila, 2007, p.4)

Cultural

More than 170 languages are spoken in Philippines, while Filipino and English are both the official languages. Ð'ÐŽÐ'oEnglish was imposed by Americans during the U.S. intervention and colonization of archipelago.Ð'ÐŽÐ'± (Philippines, 2007, p.5) English is used in education, media, and business, although most people still see it as a second language. However, English is the preferred medium for textbooks. The Philippines is the worldÐ'ÐŽÐ'Їs 12th most populous country with a population of over 90 million in 2006. (Philippines, 2007, p.5) About 2/3 of the total population reside on the island of Luzon. The capital Manila is the 11th most populous city in the world. The literacy rate was 92.5% in 2003. (Philippines, 2007, p.5) Ð'ÐŽÐ'oLife expectancy is 69.91 years, with 72.28 years for females and 66.44 years for males.Ð'ÐŽÐ'± (Philippines, 2007, p.5) Population growth per year is around 1.92%. (Philippines, 2007, p.5) The people in Philippines are called Filipinos. Most descended from various Austronesian speaking migrants who arrived a thousand years ago from Taiwan, mostly related to the Ami

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Tribe. Various ethic groups nowadays include Bisaya, the Tagalogs, the Ilocanos, the Moro, etc. Other minorities include Spanish, Americans, Europeans, Australians, Japanese, Koreans, etc.

The Philippines is on of the two major Roman Catholic countries in Asia. About 90% of Filipinos are Christians, where 81% belong to the Roman Catholic Church, while 9% belong to Protestant denominations. (Philippines, 2007, p.5) On the other hand, indigenous traditions and rituals still affect religious practice. About 5% of Filipinos are Muslims, also known as Ð'ÐŽÐ'oMorosÐ'ÐŽÐ'±. Filipino culture is mixture of pre-Hispanic indigenous Austronesian plus Hispanic and American cultures. It is also under the influence of Chinese and Muslims cultures. The Hispanic influences in Filipino culture are largely originated from the culture of Spain and Mexico. The Hispanic influences are mostly seen in literature, language, food, art, religion, folk music and folk dance.

There is also Spanish influence in the country, especially seen in the countryÐ'ÐŽÐ'Їs churches, government buildings and universities. The Chinese influence in Filipino culture is most shown in Filipino cuisine. Other Chinese influences are linguistic borrowings and sometimes Chinese surnames. Americans influence Filipinos in some ways. The most populous sports among Filipinos are basketball and boxing. Many fast foods restaurants are western style, including McDonald, Pizza Hut, Burger King, KFC, etc. Many Filipinos enjoy watching American movies and listen to American music.

Economy

Regarding economic condition, the Philippines was not seriously affected by the Asian financial crisis of 1998 than other Asian countries. GDP declined 0.6% in 1998, expanded 2.4% in 1999, expanded 4.4% in 2000, but slowed to 3.2% in 2001 due to global economic slowdown. (Introduction, 2007, p.4) Nevertheless, average GDP become 5% from 2002 to 2006 showing the strong performance of the service sector, improved exports and agricultural output. (Introduction, 2007, p.4) However, Philippines also face higher oil prices, higher interest rate, and higher inflation. The Philippines have large budget deficit and this forces Manila spends a large portion of national government budget on debt service. (Introduction, p.4) Large unprofitable public operations especially in the energy sector are the main contribution to governmentÐ'ÐŽÐ'Їs debt. The implementation of expended Value Added Tax (VAT) in 2005 has boosted confidence in the governmentÐ'ÐŽÐ'Їs fiscal policy and helped to strengthen the peso. (Introduction, p.5)

In 2005 the Philippine economy showed a strong performance. Public debt was reduced, peso strengthens, private capital inflows grew, and tax administration and

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governance all improved. Private consumption fueled up economic growth, expanded by 4.9% despite rising oil prices, rising tariffs and excise taxes. However, investment and export were slowing down. Gross capital formation dropped 4.3% from the growth of 9.5% in 2004 due to poor political environment, and public capital outlay tightening. (Introduction, 2007, p.4) Low import growth in 2005 reflected fewer purchases of durable equipment, excepted telecommunication and electrical machines. The service sector continued with highest growth of 6.3%, contributed to over 47% to overall GDP. (Introduction, 2007, p.4) Services contributed 3.0% points to growth followed by industry (1.8%), and agriculture (0.4%). (Introduction, p.6) Within the service sector, financial grew 15.4% as the highest.

In 1949, the first Canadian trade mission

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