The Philippines

Demographics
The national population of the Philippines is approximately ninety million people. The national language of the Philippines is Filipino, which is also called Tagalog. English is also spoken and understood throughout the country. English is the language for commercial and legal transactions. The Philippines is the third largest English-speaking country in the world. The major religion of the Philippines is Roman Catholicism. The Philippines is divided into three different geographical areas: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. There are fourteen regions, seventy-three provinces and sixty cities. Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is a large city by the bay and situated in Luzon.

An Important Artifact and an Explanation of its Importance
On June 13, 1889, the Philippine flag was erected as a symbol for national resistance of the first republic. The Philippine national flag is rectangular in shape with two horizontal ribbons of blue and red, a sun, and three stars. The blue stripe represents unity and moral principles such as peace, love, truth and justice. The red stripe symbolizes patriotism and bravery while the white triangle stands for equality and fraternity. The sun signifies national awakening and progress. Its eight sunrays represent the eight provinces of the Philippines which resisted the colonial power and eventually surrendered under Spanish martial law.

An Important Personality from the Philippines
An important personality to originate from the Philippines is Lea Salonga. Lea Salonga was born on February 22, 1971, to Feliciano Salonga and Ligaya Imutan in Manila. As a child, Lea originally wanted to be a psychiatrist. However, soon her talents for singing and acting were revealed. At the age of seven, Lea Salonga made her professional debut at the Repertory Philippines' production of The King and I. At the age of ten years old, Lea Salonga began her recording career and eventually received a gold record for her first album. As Lea Salonga grew older, her career grew more successful. Many of her achievements include the starring role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon where she won the Lawrence Oliver Award and she also won an Oscar as the recording voice for Jasmine in the song A Whole New World for the Walt Disney movie, Aladdin. Some of the Filipino films Lea Salonga has starred in are Sana'y Maulit Muli ("May it be Repeated") and Bakit Labis Kitang Mahal ("Why I Love You So Much"). Lea Salonga is currently completing her first U.S. concert tour.

Five Interesting Business Practices in the Philippines

The Philippine National Bank
On July 22, 1916, the Philippine National Bank (PNB) was founded as a government-owned banking institution with head office in the old Masonic Temple along Escolta, Manila. Its initial directive was to offer financial services to Philippine industry and agriculture and provide for the government's economic development effort. Once World War I began in Europe, it created an enormous demand for the major exports of the Philippines, namely: sugar, copra, coconut oil, Manila hemp and tobacco. Consequently, the Philippine legislature passed Public Act 2612 on February 4, 1916, providing for the business of the PBS to replace Agricultural Bank. The PNB became the first universal bank in the Philippines. Today, the PNB continues to be one of the largest banks in the Philippines with a large variety of competitive products to respond to the assorted needs of its clientele which includes more than two million depositors.

Jollibee
Jollibee is the leading fast food chain in the Philippines. It began in 1975 as a two-branch ice cream parlour and later extended its menu to comprise of hot sandwiches and other meals. In 1978, Jollibee Foods Corporation was incorporated with seven outlets to begin including hamburgers in its menu which resulted in an enormous success. By 1989, Jollibee became the first food service company to be part of the Philippine Stock Exchange resulting in the spread of its capitalization and allowing expansion locally and across the borders of the Philippines. Today, there are over four hundred Jollibee restaurants in the Philippines and several international restaurants in countries like the United States and Hong Kong.

United Coconut Associations of the Philippines, Inc. (UCAP)
The United Coconut Associations of the Philippines, Inc. (UCAP) is a confederation of organizations involved in various industry activities based in London, the Philippines. The UCAP was established on June 16, 1964, as a non-stock, non-profit association. Its primary mandate is to join all rudiments of the coconut industry and work for their well-being and to act as an information centre about the coconut and related subjects.

Shoemart
Shoemart is the multi-billion dollar number one Filipino retailer based in Manila. Shoemart operates a retail chain of stores throughout the Philippines including Department Stores and Specialty Shops, Toy Kingdom, Ace Hardware, Surplus Shops, The Home, Star Appliance, Family Drugs plus many more.

Bench
Bench began in 1987 as a small store selling men's t-shirts. Today, Bench is the largest clothing and accessories retailer in the Philippines. Bench offers an assortment of men's, women's and kid's clothing and accessories which includes footwear, house ware, watches, and more. Bench is owned by the Philippine-based Sayen Corporation. There are more than one hundred and twenty Bench boutiques in the Philippines and around the world.

Education
Education in the Philippines follows the American system with English as the main instruction. Schools are organized into public (government) sectors or private (non-government) sectors. The school calendar in the Philippines begins in June and ends in March. Philippine colleges and universities follow a semester calendar from June until October and November until March. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bautista, Veltisezar. Lea Salonga: Singer/Actress. 18 October 2005. http://www.filipinoweb.com/leasalonga.html

Dayrit, Conrado S. The Truth About Coconut Oil: The Drugstore in a Bottle. 18 October 2005 http://www.ucap.org.ph/

Our History. 18 October 2005. http://www.pnb.com.ph/history.asp

Philippines. 18 October 2005. http://www.indexmundi.com/philippines/

The Jollibee Phenomenon. 18 October 2005. http://www.jollibee.com.ph/corporate/phenomenon.htm

Trivers, Andrea. Philippine Phenomena "Bench" to Open First U.S. Store at Serramonte. 18 October 2005. http://www.serramontecenter.com/go/PoolbUrban.cfm?MallID=606&FPURLID=2130556285

#1 Retailer In The Philippines Uses PoS Designer. 18 October 2005. http://www.jpma.com/news/pos_philippines.asp