1.
Biliran, Biliran
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Biliran, officially the Municipality of Biliran, is a municipality in the province of Biliran in the Eastern Visayas of the Philippines. The population was 16,882 at the 2015 census, in the 2016 electoral roll, it had 11,711 registered voters. Biliran is located at 11°28′N 124°29′E, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 70.3 square kilometres constituting 13. 12% of the 536. 01-square-kilometre- total area of Biliran. Biliran is politically subdivided into 11 barangays, in the 2015 census, Biliran had a population of 16,882. The population density was 240 inhabitants per square kilometre, in the 2016 electoral roll, it had 11,711 registered voters
2.
Biliran (volcano)
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Biliran is an solfataric active volcano located in the island province of Biliran in the Philippines. The volcano caused the formation of the island, topo Sheets,3854 I,3855 II,3955 III,3854 II,3954 III. Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Biliran Page Biliran Island
3.
Provinces of the Philippines
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The provinces of the Philippines are the primary political and administrative divisions of the Philippines. There are 81 provinces at present, further subdivided into component cities and municipalities, the National Capital Region, as well as independent cities, are independent of any provincial government. Each province is governed by a legislature called the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. The provinces are grouped into 18 regions based on geographical, cultural, fifteen of these regions are designated with numbers corresponding to their geographic location in order from north to south. The Cordillera Administrative Region, National Capital Region, Negros Island Region, each province is a member of the League of Provinces of the Philippines, an organization which aims to address issues affecting provincial and metropolitan government administrations. A provincial government is autonomous of other provinces within the Republic, each province is governed by two main elected branches of the government, executive and legislative. Judicial affairs are separated from provincial governance and are administered by the Supreme Court of the Philippines, the provincial governor is chief executive and head of each province. The vice governor acts as the president for each Sangguniáng Panlalawigan, every SP is composed of regularly elected members from provincial districts, as well as ex officio members. The number of regularly elected SP members allotted to each province is determined by its income class, first- and second-class provinces are provided ten regular SP members, third- and fourth-class provinces have eight, while fifth- and sixth-class provinces have six. Exceptions are provinces with more than five congressional districts, such as Cavite with 14 regularly elected SP members, every SP has designated seats for ex officio members, given to the respective local presidents of the Association of Barangay Captains, Philippine Councilors League, and Sangguniáng Kabataan. The vice governor and regular members of an SP are elected by the voters within the province, ex officio members are elected by members of their respective organisations. National intrusion into the affairs of each provincial government is limited by the Philippine Constitution, the President of the Philippines however coordinates with provincial administrators through the Department of the Interior and Local Government. For purposes of representation, each province is guaranteed its own congressional district. One congressional representative represents each district in the House of Representatives, senatorial representation is elected at an at-large basis and not apportioned through territory-based districts. Those classified as highly urbanized or independent component cities are independent from the province. Local government units classified as component cities and municipalities are under the jurisdiction of the provincial government, the provincial government does not have direct relations with individual barangays. Supervision over a government is the mandate of the mayor. Provinces are classified according to annual income based on the previous 4 calendar years
4.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
5.
Philippines
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The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila. The Philippines has an area of 300,000 square kilometers, and it is the eighth-most populated country in Asia and the 12th most populated country in the world. As of 2013, approximately 10 million additional Filipinos lived overseas, multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelagos earliest inhabitants and they were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples. Exchanges with Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Islamic nations occurred, then, various competing maritime states were established under the rule of Datus, Rajahs, Sultans or Lakans. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in Homonhon, Eastern Samar in 1521 marked the beginning of Hispanic colonization, in 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from Mexico City, in 1565, the Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This resulted in Roman Catholicism becoming the dominant religion, during this time, Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific trade connecting Asia with Acapulco in the Americas using Manila galleons. Aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until after World War II, since then, the Philippines has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a dictatorship by a non-violent revolution. It is a member of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. It also hosts the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank, the Philippines was named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, during his expedition in 1542, named the islands of Leyte, eventually the name Las Islas Filipinas would be used to cover all the islands of the archipelago. Before that became commonplace, other such as Islas del Poniente. The official name of the Philippines has changed several times in the course of its history, during the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of the República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the name Philippines began to appear, since the end of World War II, the official name of the country has been the Republic of the Philippines. The metatarsal of the Callao Man, reliably dated by uranium-series dating to 67,000 years ago is the oldest human remnant found in the archipelago to date and this distinction previously belonged to the Tabon Man of Palawan, carbon-dated to around 26,500 years ago. Negritos were also among the archipelagos earliest inhabitants, but their first settlement in the Philippines has not been reliably dated, there are several opposing theories regarding the origins of ancient Filipinos
6.
Regions of the Philippines
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In the Philippines, regions, ISO 3166-2, PH) are administrative divisions that serve primarily to organize the provinces of the country for administrative convenience. Currently, the republic of the Philippines is divided into 18 regions. Most government offices are established by region instead of individual provincial offices, the regions themselves do not possess a separate local government, with the exception of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which has an elected regional assembly and governor. The Cordillera Administrative Region was originally intended to be autonomous, since that time, other regions have been created and some provinces have been transferred from one region to another. June 22,1973, Pangasinan was transferred from Region III to Region I, july 7,1975, Region XII created and minor reorganization of some Mindanao regions. July 25,1975, Regions IX and XII declared as Autonomous Regions in Western, august 21,1975, Region IX divided into Sub-Region IX-A and Sub-Region IX-B. Minor reorganization of some Mindanao regions, november 7,1975, Metropolitan Manila created. June 2,1978, Metropolitan Manila declared as the National Capital Region, july 15,1987, Cordillera Administrative Region created. August 1,1989, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao created, Region XII reverted to an administrative region. October 23,1989, First creation of Cordillera Autonomous Region, ratification rejected by residents in a plebiscite. October 12,1990, Executive Order 429 issued by President Corazon Aquino to reorganize the Mindanao regions, february 23,1995, Region XIII created and minor reorganization of some Mindanao regions. Sultan Kudarat transferred to Region XI,1997, Minor reorganization of some Mindanao regions. December 22,1997, Second creation of Cordillera Autonomous Region, ratification rejected by residents in a plebiscite. December 18,1998, Sultan Kudarat returned to Region XII, september 19,2001, Most Mindanao regions reorganized and some renamed. May 17,2002, Region IV-A and Region IV-B created from the former Region IV region, may 23,2005, Palawan transferred from Region IV-B to Region VI, Mimaropa renamed to Mimaro. August 19,2005, Transfer of Palawan to Region VI held in abeyance, may 29,2015, Negros Island Region created. Negros Occidental and Bacolod from Region VI and Negros Oriental from Region VII transferred to form new region, july 17,2016, Republic Act No.10879 established the Southwestern Tagalog Region from the former Region IV-B. As of May 2015, the Philippines comprises 18 administrative regions and these regions are geographically organized into the three island groups of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao
7.
Eastern Visayas
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Eastern Visayas is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region VIII. It consists of three islands, Samar, Leyte and Biliran. The region has six provinces, one independent city and one highly urbanized city namely, Biliran, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, Eastern Samar, Southern Leyte, Ormoc, the highly urbanized city of Tacloban is the Eastern Visayas Regional Center. These provinces and cities occupy the easternmost islands of the Visayas group of islands, Eastern Visayas faces the Philippine Sea to the east. The region is known for its famous landmark, the San Juanico Bridge, dubbed as the Most Beautifully Designed, as of 2015, the region has a population of 4,440,150 people. Eastern Visayas lies on the east central section of the Philippine archipelago and it consists of three main islands, Leyte, Samar, and Biliran which form the easternmost coast of the archipelago. It has a land area of 2,156,285 hectares or 7. 2% of the country’s total land area. 52% of its land area are classified as forestland and 48% as alienable and disposable land. There are two types of climate prevailing in the region under the Corona system of classification, Type II, Type II climate is characterized by having no dry season but a pronounced maximum rainfall from November to January. Samar Island and the part of Leyte Island fall under this type of climate. Type IV on the hand has an even distribution of rainfall the year round. This type of climate is well exhibited at the half of Leyte island. In November 2013, the region was hit with the highest death toll in the country by Typhoon Haiyan, the regions sea and inland waters are rich sources of salt and fresh water fish and other marine products. It is one of the fish exporting regions of the country, there are substantial forest reserves in the interiors of the islands. Its mineral deposits include chromite, uranium, gold, silver, manganese, magnesium, bronze, nickel, clay, coal, limestone, pyrite and sand and it has abundant geothermal energy and water resources to support the needs of medium and heavy industries. Waray-Waray is the lingua franca of the Eastern Visayas Region spoken on the island of Samar, Biliran, a Sama language, distantly related to the languages of the region, called Abaknon is spoken in the island of Capul in Northern Samar. Cebuano is spoken in western and southern parts of Leyte and in Southern Leyte, Eastern Visayas consists of 6 provinces,1 highly urbanized city,1 independent component city,5 component cities,136 municipalities and 4,390 barangays. Eastern Visayas is primarily an agricultural region with rice, corn, coconut, sugarcane, primary sources of revenue are manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade and services
8.
Naval, Biliran
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Naval, officially the Municipality of Naval, is a municipality in the province of Biliran in the Eastern Visayas of the Philippines, serving as the provincial capital. The population was 54,692 at the 2015 census, in the 2016 electoral roll, it had 30,381 registered voters. The town of Naval was once named Bagasumbol, which was perceived by natives as being too warlike a description, the aboriginal name was later modified in 1859 to a more peaceful name—the presently known Naval. On May 26,1860, Naval was separated from Biliran, the following year, on July 31,1861, Romualdo Ximeno, Bishop of Cebu, officially declared Naval an independent parish. In August 1861, Father Santos de Santa Juana took up residence as the first parish priest of Naval. On September 26,1869, Naval was officially established and recognized as an independent pueblo, in 1957, the barrio of Higatangan was abolished, and its sitios of Libertad and Mabini were converted into barrios. Naval is located at 11°35′N 124°27′E, Naval is politically subdivided into 26 barangays. In the 2015 census, Naval had a population of 54,692, the population density was 510 inhabitants per square kilometre. In the 2016 electoral roll, it had 30,381 registered voters, the mayors of Naval were Brigido Caneja, Sr. Gerardo J. Espina, Jr. from 1998 to 2004, and Gerardo S. Espina, Sr. from 2004 to 2006. Presently, the town is headed by Susan Velasquez Parilla, the wife of then Governor Danilo Parilla, by land, Buses and vans travel to Tacloban and Ormoc, jeepneys go to other towns in Biliran, tricycles or motorbikes are used for transportation within Naval town. By sea, Several shipping companies provide connections to Naval, including Roble Shipping M/V Blessed Stars, Cokaliong Shipping M/V Filipinas Dumaguete, pump boats can be taken or chartered for going to Leyte, Higatangan Island, Naval and Mariripi. Naval has one public tertiary institution, public elementary schools Private elementary schools Cathedral School of La Naval Limpiado Memorial Foundation, Inc
9.
Sangguniang Panlalawigan
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The Sangguniang Panlalawigan, commonly known as the Provincial Board, is the Filipino language name given to the legislatures in Philippine provinces. They are the branch of the province and their powers. Along with the governor, the executive branch of the province. Encomiendas were organized only for the purposes of collecting tribute that went in part to the Roman Catholic Church, the Spanish army, later on areas which were organized and given the designation of province were led by an appointed alcalde who performed judicial, fiscal and executive functions. American rule brought radical changes to the system of government in the country. In 1901 the Philippine Commission enacted Act No,83, known as the Provincial Government Act, which outlined the powers, responsibilities and composition of the provincial government. As civil government took hold, the governorship was made elective, the composition of provincial boards were also later modified, with the treasurer and third member taken out and replaced by two members elected by popular vote. Not all provinces had the type of government. The passage of Republic Act No, however, the Board still had limited real legislative powers, as the provincial government was merely serving as an extension of national government. Republic Act No.5185 was enacted in 1967 with the intention of decentralizing authority,51, enacted in 1979, standardized the composition of all provincial legislatures by reducing the membership of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. All provinces were entitled to 6 elective SP members, unless they had more than one million residents or less than 100,000 residents, the powers and duties of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan was codified under Batas Pambansa Blg. 337, also known as the Local Government Code of 1983, the governor served as an ex officio member, who did not vote except only to break a tie, but had the power to veto items within, or entire, Sanggunian ordinances and resolutions. However the veto can be overridden by a vote of all voting SP members. The Sangguniang Panlalawigan was retained as the branch of all provincial governments under the 1987 Constitution. Since 1992 SP members are elected from districts to ensure geographical representation, the powers, duties and functions of the Sanggunian are outlined in Section 468 of the Local Government Code of 1991. The legislative body is tasked in general to enact ordinances, approve resolutions and appropriate funds for the welfare of the province. In the proper exercise of the powers of the province. The provincial vice-governor serves as its officer, who do not vote except in cases to break a tie
10.
Governor
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A governor is, in most cases, a public official with the power to govern the executive branch of a non-sovereign or sub-national level of government, ranking under the head of state. In federations, governor may be the title of a politician who governs a constituent state and these companies operate as a major state within a state with its own armed forces. For example, in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries, there are governors, school governors. The adjective pertaining to a governor is gubernatorial, from the Latin root gubernyare, the historical female form is governess, though female officials are referred to by the gender-neutral form governor of the noun to avoid confusion with other meanings of the term. Indeed, many regions of the pre-Roman antiquity were ultimately replaced by Roman standardized provincial governments after their conquest by Rome, in Pharaonic times, the governors of each of the various provinces in the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt are usually known by the Greek word. The core function of a Roman governor was as a magistrate or judge, and the management of taxation, under the Republic and the early Empire, however, a governor also commanded military forces in his province. Republican governors were all men who had served in senior magistracies in Rome in the previous year, a special case was Egypt, a rich private domain and vital granary, where the Emperor almost inherited the theocratic status of a Pharaoh. The Emperor was represented there by a sui generis styled praefectus augustalis. Otherwise, the governors of provinces had various titles, some known as consularis, apart from Egypt and the East, each diocese was directed by a governor known as a vicarius. The prefectures were directed by praefecti praetorio and this system survived with few significant changes until the collapse of the empire in the West, and in the East, the breakdown of order with the Persian and Arab invasions of the seventh century. At that stage, a new kind of governor emerged, the Strategos, today, crown colonies of the United Kingdom continue to be administered by a governor, who holds varying degrees of power. Because of the different constitutional histories of the colonies of the United Kingdom. Administrators, Commissioners and High Commissioners exercise similar powers to Governors, frequently the name Government House is given to Governors residences. The term can also be used in a generic sense, especially for compound titles which include it, Governor-general. In the United Kingdoms remaining overseas territories, the governor is normally a direct appointee of the British Government, the Governors chief responsibility is for the Defence and External Affairs of the colony. In some minor overseas territories, instead of a Governor, there is an Administrator or Commissioner, in Australia, each state has the governor as its formal representative of the Queen, as head of the state government. It is not an office but a ceremonial one. Each state governor is appointed by the Queen of Australia on the advice of the Premier, State Governors have emergency reserve powers but these are rarely used
11.
Liberal Party (Philippines)
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It was the ruling party after the election victory of Benigno Aquino III as the President of the Philippines. Abad, Jr. Franklin Drilon, Mar Roxas, and Benigno Aquino III, the Liberal Party was founded on January 19,1946 by Manuel Roxas, the first President of the Third Philippine Republic. It was formed by Roxas from what was once the Liberal Wing of the old Nacionalista Party, two more Presidents of the Philippines elected into office came from the LP, Elpidio Quirino and the redoubtable Diosdado Macapagal. Two other presidents came from the ranks of the LP, as members of the party who later chose to follow a different path by joining the Nacionalistas, Ramon Magsaysay. During the days leading to his declaration of martial law, Marcos would find his old party as a potent roadblock to his quest for one-man rule. Led by Ninoy Aquino, Gerry Roxas and Jovito Salonga, the LP would time and again hound the would-be dictator on issues like human rights, not even Marcos declaration of martial law silenced the LP, and the party continued to fight the dictatorship despite the costs. Many of its leaders and members would be prosecuted and even killed during this time and this ironically cost the party dearly, losing for it the elections of 1992. Franklin Drilon at a party meeting at the Manila Hotel. Days later, the Supreme Court proclaimed Drilon the true president of the party, during the fierce campaign battle that followed, the party was able to field new members breaking away from the then-ruling party Lakas Kampi CMD to become the largest minority party in Congress. The party ranges from the centre-left to the absolute Left-wing politics of the political spectrum, the partys ideology is known for its pro-liberalism, pro-democracy and social justice and it has its stances against populism or any right-wing aspects. Generally, the party strictly opposes conservatism especially based on socio-politics, economy, libertarianism was one of prominent ideologies of the party
12.
Mount Biliran
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Biliran is an solfataric active volcano located in the island province of Biliran in the Philippines. The volcano caused the formation of the island, topo Sheets,3854 I,3855 II,3955 III,3854 II,3954 III. Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Biliran Page Biliran Island
13.
Cities of the Philippines
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A city is one of the units of local government in the Philippines. As of December 12,2015, there are 145 cities, Cities are entitled to at least one representative in the Philippine House of Representatives if its population reaches 250,000. They are allowed to use a common seal, only an Act of Congress can create or amend a city charter, and with this city charter Congress confers on a city certain powers that regular municipalities or even other cities may not have. A citys local government is headed by an elected by popular vote. The vice mayor serves as the officer of the Sangguniang Panlungsod. Upon receiving their charters, cities also receive a full complement of executive departments to serve their constituents. Some departments are established on a basis, depending on the needs of the city. Source, Local Government Code of 1991, Cities, like municipalities, are composed of barangays, which can range from urban neighborhoods, to rural communities. Barangays are sometimes grouped into officially defined administrative districts, examples of such are the cities of Manila, Davao, Iloilo, and Samal. Some cities such as Caloocan, Manila and Pasay even have a level between the district and barangay levels, called a zone. However, geographic districts and zones are not political units, there are no elected city government officials in these city-specific administrative levels, rather they only serve to make city planning, statistics-gathering other administrative tasks easier and more convenient. Cities are classified according to annual income based on the previous four calendar years. There are currently 33 highly urbanized cities in the Philippines,16 of which are located in Metro Manila, Component Cities, Cities which do not meet the preceding requirements are deemed part of the province in which they are geographically located. If a component city is located along the boundaries of two or more provinces, it shall be considered part of the province of which it used to be a municipality, majority of the remaining cities are considered component cities. The five exceptions are listed below, independent Component Cities, Cities of this type have charters that explicitly prohibit their residents to vote for provincial officials. These cities are considered independent from the province in which they are geographically located, there are five such cities, Cotabato, Dagupan, Naga, Ormoc and Santiago. There are 38 independent cities in the Philippines, all of which are classified as highly urbanized or independent component cities. Some independent cities are still grouped with their provinces for the purposes of representation in the Congress of the Philippines
14.
Municipalities of the Philippines
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A municipality is a local government unit in the Philippines. Municipalities are also usually called towns and they are distinct from cities, which are a different category of local government unit. Provinces of the Philippines are divided into cities and municipalities, which in turn, are divided into barangays, as of June 2015, there are 1,490 municipalities across the country. A municipal district is a local government unit, previously certain areas were created first as municipal districts before they were converted into municipalities. Municipalities have some autonomy from the National Government of the Republic of the Philippines under the Local Government Code of 1991 and they have been granted corporate personality enabling them to enact local policies and laws, enforce them, and govern their jurisdictions. They can enter into contracts and other transactions through their elected and appointed officials and they are tasked with enforcing all laws, whether local or national. The National Government assists and supervises the local government to make sure that they do not violate national law, the Judicial Branch of the Republic of the Philippines also caters to the needs of local government units. Local governments, such as a municipalities, do not have their own judicial branch and these responsibilities shall be under approval of the Sangguniang Bayan. The vice mayor shall sign all warrants drawn on the municipal treasury, in circumstances where the mayor permanently or temporarily vacates the position, he shall assume executive duties and functions. While vice mayor presides over the legislature, he cannot vote unless the necessity of tie-breaking arises, laws or ordinances proposed by the Sangguniang Bayan, however, may be approved or vetoed by the mayor. If approved, they become local ordinances, if the mayor neither vetoes nor approves the proposal of the Sangguniang Bayan for ten days from the time of receipt, the proposal becomes law as if it had been signed. If vetoed, the draft is sent back to the Sangguniang Bayan, the latter may override the mayor by a vote of at least two-thirds of all its members, in which case, the proposal becomes law. A municipality, upon reaching a certain requirements – minimum population size, first, a bill must be passed in Congress, then signed into law by the President and then the residents would vote in the succeeding plebiscite to accept or reject cityhood. One benefit in being a city is that the city government gets more budget, but taxes are much higher than in municipalities
15.
Almeria, Biliran
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Almeria, officially the Municipality of Almeria, is a municipality in the province of Biliran in the Eastern Visayas of the Philippines. The population was 16,951 at the 2015 census, in the 2016 electoral roll, it had 11,100 registered voters. Almeria is located at 11°37′N 124°23′E, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 57.46 square kilometres constituting 10. 72% of the 536. 01-square-kilometre- total area of Biliran. Almeria is politically subdivided into 13 barangays, in the 2015 census, Almeria had a population of 16,951. The population density was 300 inhabitants per square kilometre, in the 2016 electoral roll, it had 11,100 registered voters
16.
Cabucgayan, Biliran
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Cabucgayan, officially the Municipality of Cabucgayan, is a municipality in the province of Biliran in the Eastern Visayas of the Philippines. The population was 20,788 at the 2015 census, in the 2016 electoral roll, it had 13,090 registered voters. Cabucgayan derived its name from the snail called bukgay, in the Waray-Waray language, to make a singular noun into a plural noun, the article ka is added before the word and the article an after the word. Kabukgayan, therefore, means a place there are many snails. It belongs to the two types of climate, Type II and Type IV, the total land area dedicated to agriculture is 2,905 hectares or 59. 63% of the total land area. The three major forest products are timber, rattan and wild abaca, Cabucgayan is politically subdivided into 13 barangays. In the 2015 census, Cabucgayan had a population of 20,788, the population density was 380 inhabitants per square kilometre. In the 2016 electoral roll, it had 13,090 registered voters
17.
Caibiran, Biliran
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Caibiran, officially the Municipality of Caibiran, is a municipality in the province of Biliran in the Eastern Visayas of the Philippines. The population was 22,524 at the 2015 census, in the 2016 electoral roll, it had 14,698 registered voters. Caibiran is located at 11°34′N 124°35′E, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 83.55 square kilometres constituting 15. 59% of the 536. 01-square-kilometre- total area of Biliran. Caibiran is politically subdivided into 17 barangays, in 1948, the barangays of Ungale, Tuo, and Inasuyan were transferred to Kawayan, Biliran. In the 2015 census, Caibiran had a population of 22,524, the population density was 270 inhabitants per square kilometre. In the 2016 electoral roll, it had 14,698 registered voters
18.
Culaba, Biliran
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Culaba, officially the Municipality of Culaba, is a municipality in the province of Biliran in the Eastern Visayas of the Philippines. The population was 12,325 at the 2015 census, in the 2016 electoral roll, it had 9,106 registered voters. Culaba is located at 11°39′N 124°33′E, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 73.42 square kilometres constituting 13. 70% of the 536. 01-square-kilometre- total area of Biliran. Culaba is politically subdivided into 17 barangays, in the 2015 census, Culaba had a population of 12,325. The population density was 170 inhabitants per square kilometre, in the 2016 electoral roll, it had 9,106 registered voters. Culaba National Vocational School Bool National High School Culaba Community Hospital Bool Health Center Bacolod Health Center Pinamihagan Health Center
19.
Kawayan, Biliran
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Kawayan, officially the Municipality of Kawayan, is a municipality in the province of Biliran in the Eastern Visayas of the Philippines. The population was 20,291 at the 2015 census, in the 2016 electoral roll, it had 13,983 registered voters. Kawayan is located at 11°42′N 124°22′E, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 61.02 square kilometres constituting 11. 38% of the 536. 01-square-kilometre- total area of Biliran. Kawayan is politically subdivided into 20 barangays, in 1948, the barangays of Ungale, Tuo, and Inasuyan were transferred from Caibiran, Biliran. In the 2015 census, Kawayan had a population of 20,291, the population density was 330 inhabitants per square kilometre. In the 2016 electoral roll, it had 13,983 registered voters
20.
Maripipi
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Maripipi, officially the Municipality of Maripipi, is a municipality in the province of Biliran in the Eastern Visayas of the Philippines. The population was 7,159 at the 2015 census, in the 2016 electoral roll, it had 4,764 registered voters. Maripipi is located at 11°47′N 124°21′E, composed of Maripipi Island, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 27.83 square kilometres constituting 5. 19% of the 536. 01-square-kilometre- total area of Biliran. Maripipi is politically subdivided into 15 barangays, in the 2015 census, Maripipi had a population of 7,159. The population density was 260 inhabitants per square kilometre, in the 2016 electoral roll, it had 4,764 registered voters
21.
Barangay
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A barangay, formerly referred to as barrio, is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward. In colloquial usage, the term refers to an inner city neighbourhood. The word barangay originated from balangay, a kind of boat used by a group of Austronesian peoples when they migrated to the Philippines, as of June 2015, there were 42,029 barangays throughout the Philippines. When the first Spaniards arrived in the Philippines in the 16th century, the name barangay originated from balangay, a Malay word meaning sailboat. The first barangays started as small communities of around 50 to 100 families. By the time of contact with Spaniards, many barangays have developed into large communities, some of these barangays had large populations. In Panay, some barangays had 20,000 inhabitants, in Leyte,15,000 inhabitants, in Cebu,3,500 residents, in Vitis,7,000 inhabitants, there were smaller barangays with less number of people. But these were generally inland communities, or if they were coastal and these smaller barangays had around thirty to one hundred houses only, and the population varies from one hundred to five hundred persons. According to Legazpi, he found communities with twenty to thirty people only, traditionally, the original “barangays” were coastal settlements of the migration of these Malayo-Polynesian people from other places in Southeast Asia. Most of the ancient barangays were coastal or riverine in nature and this is because most of the people were relying on fishing for supply of protein and for their livelihood. They also travelled mostly by water up and down rivers, trails always followed river systems, which were also a major source of water for bathing, washing, and drinking. The coastal barangays were more accessible to trade with foreigners and these were ideal places for economic activity to develop. Business with traders from other countries also meant contact with cultures and civilizations, such as those of Japan, Han Chinese, Indian people. These coastal communities acquired more cosmopolitan cultures, with developed social structures, during the Spanish rule, through a resettlement policy called the Reducción, smaller scattered barangays were consolidated to form compact towns. Each barangay was headed by the cabeza de barangay, who formed part of the Principalía - the elite ruling class of the municipalities of the Spanish Philippines and this position was inherited from the first datus, and came to be known as such during the Spanish regime. The Spanish Monarch ruled each barangay through the Cabeza, who collected taxes from the residents for the Spanish Crown. When the Americans arrived, slight changes in the structure of government was effected. Later, Rural Councils with four councilors were created to assist, now renamed Barrio Lieutenant, it was later renamed Barrio Council, the Spanish term barrio was used for much of the 20th century until 1974, when President Ferdinand Marcos ordered their renaming to barangays
22.
House of Representatives of the Philippines
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The House of Representatives of the Philippines, is the lower house of the Congress of the Philippines. It is often informally called Congress, Members of the House are officially styled as Representative and sometimes informally called Congressmen/Congresswomen and are elected to a three-year term. They can be re-elected, but cannot serve more than three consecutive terms, around eighty percent of congressmen are district representatives, representing a particular geographical area. There are 234 legislative districts in the country, each composed of about 250,000 people, there are also party-list representatives elected through the party-list system who constitute not more than twenty percent of the total number of representatives. The House of Representatives is headed by the Speaker, currently Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte, the official headquarters of the House of Representatives is at the Batasang Pambansa located in the Batasan Hills in Quezon City in Metro Manila. The building is simply called Batasan and the word has also become a metonym to refer to the House of Representatives. At the beginning of American colonial rule, from March 16,1900, william Howard Taft was chosen to be the first American civilian Governor-General and the first leader of this Philippine Commission, which subsequently became known as the Taft Commission. This bicameral legislature was inaugurated in October 1907, under the leadership of Speaker Sergio Osmeña and Floor Leader Manuel L. Quezon, the Rules of the 59th United States Congress was substantially adopted as the Rules of the Philippine Legislature. It is this body, founded as the Philippine Assembly, that would continue in one form or another, in 1916, the Jones Act, officially the Philippine Autonomy Act, changed the legislative system. The Philippine Commission was abolished and a new fully elected, bicameral Philippine Legislature consisting of a House of Representatives, the legislative system was changed again in 1935. The 1935 Constitution established a unicameral National Assembly, but in 1940, through an amendment to the 1935 Constitution, a bicameral Congress of the Philippines consisting of a House of Representatives and a Senate was adopted. The Liberal bloc of the Nacionalistas permanently split from their ranks and these two will contest all of the elections in what appeared to be a two-party system. This set up continued until President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, the 1987 Constitution restored the presidential system of government together with a bicameral Congress of the Philippines. Corazon Aquino who nominally had no party, supported the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino, with the victory of Fidel V. This also meant the restoration of Lakas-NUCD as the top party in the chamber, the same would happen when Benigno Aquino won in 2010, which returned the Liberals into power. The presiding officer is the Speaker, the members of the House of Representatives who are also its officers are also ex officio members of all of the committees and has a vote. The Speaker is the head of the House of Representatives, the speaker is elected by majority of all the members of the house, including vacant seats. The speaker is elected at the convening of each Congress
23.
Philippine Standard Time
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Philippine Standard Time, also known as Philippine Time and informally Juan Time, is the official name for the time in the Philippines. The country only uses one time zone, and for a short period, geographically, the Philippines lies within 116°40′ and 126°34′ east of the Prime Meridian, and is physically located within the UTC+08,00 time zone. Philippine Standard Time is maintained by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, the Philippines shares the same time zone with Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, most parts of China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, central Indonesia, and Western Australia. Philippine Standard Time was instituted through Batas Pambansa Blg,8, approved on 2 December 1978 and implemented on 1 January 1983. The Philippines is one of the few countries to officially and almost exclusively use the 12-hour clock in non-military situations. From 1521 to 1844, the Philippines had the date as Mexico. Monday,30 December 1844 was immediately followed by Wednesday,1 January 1845 and this meant that International Date Line moved from going west of the Philippines to go on the east side of the country. At the time, local time was used to set clocks, meaning that every place used its own local time based on its longitude. Television and radio stations in the Philippines display the time, in September 2011, the Department of Science and Technology proposed to synchronise time nationwide in an effort to discourage tardiness. On May 15,2013, President Benigno Aquino III signed Republic Act No,10535, better known as the The Philippine Standard Time Act of 2013 as a last step to finally implement the Juan Time. Effective June 1,2013, all government offices and media networks will be required to use Philippine Standard Time as a basis to set their timepieces, in addition, the first week of January will be regularly observed as the National Time Consciousness Week. The IANA time zone database contains one zone for the Philippines in the file zone. tab, hapon starts at 1,00 PM and ends 5,59 PM. Gabí starts at 6,00 PM and ends 12,00 AM which is Hatinggabi, madalíng Araw starts at 12,01 AM and ends 4,59 AM. Except in very formal situations, Filipinos rarely use the numbers in telling time. - Alas otso kwarenta y uno ng gabí or Apatnapút-isá makalipas ng ikawaló ng gabí5,30 A. M, - Alas singko y medya ng umaga or Tatlumpûng minuto makalipas ng ikalimá ng umaga or ikalimá at kalaháti ng umaga 3,00 P. M. - Alas tres ng hapon o Ikatló ng hapon 12,00 P. M, - Alas dose ng tanghalì o Ikalabíndalawá ng tanghalì12,00 A. M. - Alas dose ng hatinggabi o Ikalabíndalawá ng hatinggabí2,00 A. M
24.
Telephone numbers in the Philippines
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Telephone numbers in the Philippines follow an open telephone numbering plan and an open dial plan. Both plans are regulated by the National Telecommunications Commission, an agency under the Department of Information. The Philippines is assigned an international dialling code of 63 by ITU-T, telephone numbers are fixed at seven digits, with area codes fixed at one, two, or three digits. Mobile phone numbers are always 10 digits, when making long-distance calls in the Philippines, the prefix 0 for domestic calls and 00 for international calls are used. Some smaller carriers concentrated within a geographic area may issue four- or five-digit area codes. Occasionally, an area may change area codes. For example, the City of Bacoor in Cavite has been included in the coverage area of area code 2 per the National Telecommunications Commissions Memorandum Order No. 08-09-2011, although almost all fixed-lines in the city use the old 46 area code due to the poor compliance of PLDT. Sometimes area codes are shared by a number of government entities to maximise their use. In extreme cases, area codes are shared across an island like in Leyte and Samar, or even entire regions, in order to identify the calls point of origin, the three-digit telephone exchange prefix is checked. Since the Philippines employs an open plan, telephone numbers dialled within a given area code do not require the area code. When dialling other area codes, the long distance access prefix 0 is added, but when dialling from overseas. However, the code indicates the service provider and not necessarily a geographic region. Unlike fixed-line telephones, the telephone dialling format is always observed when using a mobile phone. Therefore, mobile phone numbers always have the format +63 xxx-xxxx for international callers and 0 xxx-xxxx for domestic callers. Some of the first area codes to be assigned for mobile phones were 912 for Mobiline/Piltel,915 for Islacom,917 for Globe Telecom,918 for Smart Communications, and 973 for Express Telecom. As service began growing rapidly since the 1990s, new codes have been added to meet demand as existing codes have since been exhausted, newer codes often come immediately after the last code exhausted, but this might not be the case if the next code is already in use. 955/956 are the latest codes and are used for Globe & TM, areas codes are grouped by provider with no single contiguous block of codes for a single provider
25.
Tagalog language
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Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a quarter of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by the majority. Its standardized form, officially named Filipino, is officially the national language, the word Tagalog is derived from the endonym taga-log, composed of tagá- and ilog. Linguists such as Dr. David Zorc and Dr. Robert Blust speculate that the Tagalogs, the first written record of Tagalog is the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, which dates to 900 CE and exhibits fragments of the language along with Sanskrit, Old Malay, Javanese and Old Tagalog. The first known book to be written in Tagalog is the Doctrina Christiana. Tagalog differs from its Central Philippine counterparts with its treatment of the Proto-Philippine schwa vowel *ə, in Bikol and Visayan, this sound merged with /u/ and. In Tagalog, it has merged with /i/, for example, Proto-Philippine *dəkət is Tagalog dikít and Visayan & Bikol dukot. Proto-Philippine *r, *j, and *z merged with /d/ but is /l/ between vowels, Proto-Philippine *ŋajan and *hajək became Tagalog ngalan and halík. Proto-Philippine *R merged with /ɡ/. *tubiR and *zuRuʔ became Tagalog tubig, the first substantial dictionary of the Tagalog language was written by the Czech Jesuit missionary Pablo Clain in the beginning of the 18th century. Clain spoke Tagalog and used it actively in several of his books and he wrote the first dictionary, which he later passed over to Francisco Jansens and José Hernandez. Tagalog was declared the language by the first constitution in the Philippines. In 1939, President Quezon renamed the proposed Tagalog-based national language as wikang pambansâ, in 1959, the language was further renamed as Pilipino. The 1987 constitution designated Filipino as the national language mandating that as it evolves, it shall be developed and enriched on the basis of existing Philippine. The regional languages are the official languages in the regions. In secondary school, Filipino and English become the primary languages of instruction and it is the first language by a quarter of the population of the Philippines and a second language by the majority. Tagalog is a Central Philippine language within the Austronesian language family, being Malayo-Polynesian, it is related to other Austronesian languages, such as Malagasy, Javanese, Malay, Tetum, and Yami. It is closely related to the languages spoken in the Bicol Region and the Visayas islands, such as the Bikol group and the Visayan group, including Hiligaynon and Cebuano. At present, no comprehensive dialectology has been done in the Tagalog-speaking regions, though there have been descriptions in the form of dictionaries and grammars of various Tagalog dialects. Some example of differences are, Many Tagalog dialects, particularly those in the south, preserve the glottal stop found after consonants
26.
Waray language
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It is the third most spoken language among the Visayan languages after Cebuano and Hiligaynon. The language name comes from the often heard by non-speakers, waray, similarly, Cebuanos are known in Leyte as mga Kana. Linguist Jason Lobel considers there are 25 dialects and subdialects of Waray-Waray, dialects in neighboring towns have also borrowed extensively from Southern Sorsoganon. Waray-Waray is characterized by a sound change in which Proto-Bisayan *s becomes /h/ in a small number of common grammatical morphemes. However, this change is an areal feature rather than a strictly genetic one. Most Waray dialects in northeastern and eastern Samar have the close central unrounded vowel /ɨ/ as a reflex of Proto-Austronesian *e, Waray is one of the 19 officially recognized regional languages in the Philippines and used in local government. It is widely used in media particularly in television and radio broadcasts, however, print media in this language are rare because most regional newspapers are published in English. Waray is also used in the Eucharistic celebrations or Holy Masses in the Roman Catholic Church, bibles published in Waray are also available. The language of Waray has borrowed extensively from other languages. These words are being adopted to fill lexical gaps of the recipient language, Spanish colonialization introduced new systems to the Philippine society
27.
Filipino language
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Filipino /ˌfɪlɪˈpiːnoʊ/, in this usage, refers to the national language of the Philippines. Filipino is also designated, along with English, as a language of the country. It is the register of the Tagalog language, an Austronesian. As of 2007, Tagalog is the first language of 28 million people, or about one-third of the Philippine population, Filipino is among the 185 languages of the Philippines identified in the Ethnologue. Filipino is ideally a pluricentric language, in reality, however, Filipino has been variously described as simply Tagalog in syntax and grammar, with no grammatical element or lexicon coming from. Other major Philippine languages, and as essentially a version of Tagalog. In most contexts, Filipino is understood to be a name for Tagalog. There was no language in the Philippine archipelago when the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. The four major trade languages were Visayan, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, as the Philippine languages are all closely related and therefore easy for Filipinos to learn, most speakers of smaller languages spoke two or more of such regional languages. The first dictionary of Tagalog was written by the Franciscan Pedro de San Buenaventura, a latter book of the same name was written by Czech Jesuit missionary Paul Klein at the beginning of the 18th century. Klein spoke Tagalog and used it actively in several of his books and he wrote the first dictionary, which he later passed over to Francisco Jansens and José Hernandez. On November 13,1936, Commonwealth act No, on November 12,1937, the First National Assembly of the Philippine Commonwealth approved the law for the establishment of the Surián ng Wikang Pambansâ. This institute would be responsible for surveying and researching existing native languages in order to determine among them the basis for a national language of the Philippines. Then-president Manuel L. Quezon later appointed representatives for each major regional language to form NLI, sales Rodriguez, Hadji Butu, and Cecilio Lopez. On December 13,1937, Presisis of the new national language, Spanish was the language of the 1896 Revolution and the Katipunan, but the revolution was led by people who also spoke Tagalog. In 1959, the became known as Pilipino in an effort to dissociate it from the Tagalog ethnic group. However, neither the nor the amended version specified either Tagalog or Pilipino as the basis for Filipino. Instead they tasked the National Assembly to, take steps toward the development and this move has drawn much criticism from the nations other ethnic groups
28.
Leyte (province)
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Leyte is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region, occupying the northern three-quarters of Leyte Island. Its capital is the city of Tacloban, Leyte is situated west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran. To the west of Leyte across the Camotes Sea is the province of Cebu, Leyte is also known as the site of the largest naval battle in modern history, the Battle of Leyte Gulf, which took place during the Second World War. The island of Leyte was once the location of Mairete, meaning land of Ete, before being colonized by Spain, the island was once home to indigenous animist Warays to the East and other indigenous animist Visayan groups to the west. The Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, first came to the island in 1543, when the Spanish government established government in Cebu, Leyte and Samar became part of the province of Cebu. In 1595, the religious Jesuits established mission in Carigara which preceded the mission established in Palo in 1596 and Ormoc, in 1735, Leyte and Samar were separated from Cebu to be established as a single provincial government with Carigara as the first provincial capital. In 1768, Leyte and Samar were split into two separate provinces, on March 27,1923, Act No.3117 was proposed to divide Leyte into Occidental Leyte and Oriental Leyte but was not proclaimed by the Governor-General of the Philippines. On May 22,1959, Republic Act No.2227 was passed into law that separated the third Congressional District of Leyte into a province of Southern Leyte. The Battle of Leyte Gulf took place in the seas surrounding this island from 23 October to 26 October 1944, the First Battle of Leyte occurred on 20 October 1944. A successful Allied invasion of the island was the element to the eventual Filipino. Leyte covers a area of 6,313.33 square kilometres occupying the northern. The province is situated west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte, south of Biliran, Leyte comprises 40 municipalities and three cities, all clustered into 5 congressional districts. Ormoc City is an independent component city, while the capital Tacloban was declared a highly urbanized city in 2008, both cities govern themselves independently of the province and their residents do not vote for elective provincial officials. Baybay attained cityhood in 2007 but reverted to its status when the Supreme Court declared its city charter unconstitutional in 2008. It regained its city status following the reversal of the Supreme Court decision dated December 22,2009, in August 2010, however, a resolution had been passed reverting 16 cities, one of which was Baybay, to municipal status. It was on February 15,2011 that the Supreme Court reversed its decision once again, allowing Baybay, along with the other 16 cities, to retain their cityhood status. The population of Leyte in the 2015 census was 1,724,679 people, when Tacloban City is included for geographical purposes, the population is 1,966,768 people, with a density of 302/km2. The people of Leyte are divided into two groups, primarily by language
29.
Leyte
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Leyte /ˈleɪtɛ/ is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines. Politically, the island is divided into two provinces, Leyte and Southern Leyte, territorially, Southern Leyte includes the island of Panaon to its south. To the north of Leyte is the province of Biliran. The major cities of Leyte are Tacloban, on the shore at the northwest corner of Leyte Gulf. The island was once the location of Mairete, a community which was ruled by Datu Ete. Before being colonized by Spain, the island was home to indigenous animist Warays to the east. Leyte today is notable for the electric power plants near Ormoc. However, Leyte is most famous for its role in the reconquest of the Philippines in World War II. On 20 October 1944, General Douglas MacArthur waded ashore on Leyte, saying, I have returned, the convergence of naval forces resulted in the four-day Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history. The island measures about 180 kilometres north-south and about 65 kilometres at its widest point, in the north it nearly joins the island of Samar, separated by the San Juanico Strait, which becomes as narrow as 2 kilometres in some places. The island province of Biliran is also to the north of Leyte and is joined to Leyte island by a bridge across the narrow Biliran Strait, to the south, Leyte is separated from Mindanao by the Surigao Strait. To the east, Leyte is somewhat set back from the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, Samar to the northeast, to the west is the Camotes Sea. Leyte is mostly forested and mountainous, but the Leyte Valley in the northeast has much agriculture. The Leyte Provincial capital is the seat of the government where there is a historic mural depicting the First Mass of Limasawa in the Orient. The MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park in Red Beach, Palo and it also has a lagoon where a life-size statue of Gen. MacArthur stands. MacArthurs true landing took place at Dulag, Leyte, lake Danao is a violin-shaped lake hemmed by cloud-capped mountain ranges. Kalanggaman Island in Palompon, Leyte is an island with pure white sand. The ecological atmosphere of the island had been preserved by the municipality, nino Shrine and Heritage Museum boasts the painting of the fourteen stations of the cross done by Filipino artists and a bas-relief of the legend of the first Filipino man and woman
30.
Bridge
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A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles without closing the way underneath such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle. There are many different designs that each serve a particular purpose, the Oxford English Dictionary traces the origin of the word bridge to an Old English word brycg, of the same meaning. The word can be traced back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰrēw-. The word for the game of the same name has a different origin. The first bridges made by humans were probably spans of cut wooden logs or planks and eventually stones, using a simple support, some early Americans used trees or bamboo poles to cross small caverns or wells to get from one place to another. Dating to the Greek Bronze Age, it is one of the oldest arch bridges still in existence, several intact arched stone bridges from the Hellenistic era can be found in the Peloponnese. The greatest bridge builders of antiquity were the ancient Romans, the Romans built arch bridges and aqueducts that could stand in conditions that would damage or destroy earlier designs. An example is the Alcántara Bridge, built over the river Tagus, the Romans also used cement, which reduced the variation of strength found in natural stone. One type of cement, called pozzolana, consisted of water, lime, sand, brick and mortar bridges were built after the Roman era, as the technology for cement was lost. In India, the Arthashastra treatise by Kautilya mentions the construction of dams, a Mauryan bridge near Girnar was surveyed by James Princep. The bridge was swept away during a flood, and later repaired by Puspagupta, the use of stronger bridges using plaited bamboo and iron chain was visible in India by about the 4th century. A number of bridges, both for military and commercial purposes, were constructed by the Mughal administration in India and this bridge is also historically significant as it is the worlds oldest open-spandrel stone segmental arch bridge. European segmental arch bridges date back to at least the Alconétar Bridge, rope bridges, a simple type of suspension bridge, were used by the Inca civilization in the Andes mountains of South America, just prior to European colonization in the 16th century. During the 18th century there were innovations in the design of timber bridges by Hans Ulrich Grubenmann, Johannes Grubenmann. The first book on bridge engineering was written by Hubert Gautier in 1716, a major breakthrough in bridge technology came with the erection of the Iron Bridge in Shropshire, England in 1779. It used cast iron for the first time as arches to cross the river Severn, with the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, truss systems of wrought iron were developed for larger bridges, but iron does not have the tensile strength to support large loads. With the advent of steel, which has a tensile strength, much larger bridges were built. In 1927 welding pioneer Stefan Bryła designed the first welded bridge in the world
31.
Causeway
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In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway on top an embankment usually across a broad body of water or wetland. When first used, the word appeared in a such as causey way making clear its derivation from the earlier form causey. This word seems to have come from the source by two different routes. It derives ultimately, from the Latin for heel, calx, anciently, the construction was trodden down, one layer at a time, often by slaves or flocks of sheep. Today, this work is done by machines, the same technique would have been used for road embankments, raised river banks, sea banks and fortification earthworks. The second derivation route is simply the hard, trodden surface of a path, the name by this route came to be applied to a firmly-surfaced road. It is now little-used except in dialect and in the names of roads which were notable for their solidly-made surface. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica states causey, a mound or dam, which is derived, through the Norman-French caucie, from the late Latin via calciata, a road stamped firm with the feet. The word is comparable in both meanings with the French chaussée, from a form of which it reached English by way of Norman French. The French adjective, chaussée, carries the meaning of having given a hardened surface. As a noun chaussée is used on the one hand for a metalled carriageway, other languages have a noun with similar dual meaning. The Welsh is relevant here, as it also has a verb, sarnu, a transport corridor that is carried instead on a series of arches, perhaps approaching a bridge, is a viaduct. In the U. S. a short stretch of viaduct is called an overpass, some low causeways across shore waters become inaccessible when covered at high tide. The modern embankment may be constructed within a cofferdam, two parallel steel sheet pile or concrete retaining walls, anchored to each other with steel cables or rods. This construction may also serve as a dyke that keeps two bodies of water apart, such as bodies with a different water level on each side, or with water on one side. This may also be the purpose of a structure, the road providing a hardened crest for the dike. It also provides access for maintenance as well perhaps, as a public service, notable causeways include those that connect Singapore and Malaysia, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and Venice to the mainland, all of which carry roadways and railways. In the Netherlands there are a number of prominent dykes which also double as causeways, including the Afsluitdijk, Brouwersdam, in Louisiana, two very long bridges, called the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, stretch across Lake Pontchartrain for almost 38 km, making them the worlds longest bridges
32.
Visayans
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The Visayans is an umbrella term for the Philippine ethnolinguistic groups native to the whole Visayas, to the southernmost islands of Luzon and to most parts of Mindanao. They are speakers of one or more Visayan languages, the most widely spoken being Cebuano and Hiligaynon, many have, at some point in their lives, migrated to Metro Manila out of economic necessity brought about by centralization around it. They comprise the largest grouping in the division of the country. Filipino author and artist John Kingsley Pangan categorized the Visayans into two groups called the Madja-as Visayans and the Sugbu Visayans. Madja-as Visayans are the group from the islands of Panay, Guimaras, Romblon and Negros Occidental. The term comes from the confederacy of the islands called Kedatuan of Madja-as. They originated also from the Austronesian aborigines and the Srivijayan empire, the colonizers also described these Visayans also as white people, who have among them some blacks—the ancient inhabitants of the island and not described as tattooed. They originated from both the Austronesian aborigines and the Tamils through the Chola dynasty, who in turn first settled in Sugbu. ”Kabisay-an refers both to the Visayan people collectively and the lands they have inhabited since prehistory. The Anglicized term Visayas is commonly used to refer to the latter and these should not, however, be confused as dialects, given the lack of mutual intelligibility. Grabiel Ribera, captain of the Spanish royal infantry in the Philippine Islands, the earliest settlements in the Visayan islands were from valley-dwelling Austronesians and highland-dwelling Negrito dated around 30,000 BC. These early settlers were mostly Animist tribes, in the 12th century, Hindu-Buddhist descendants from the late Śrīvijayan maṇḍala, Majapahit and Brunei, settled the islands. By the 14th century, Arab traders and their followers who ventured into Maritime Southeast Asia, Visayans practiced a mixture of Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist beliefs although there were also groups that were varied, some groups exclusively practiced Islam or Hinduism or Buddhism. There is also evidence of trade and immigration between other Asian peoples in the area as early as the 9th century, One of this Westerners account says that the adventures of this ancient hero of Panay was recalled during weddings and in songs. It was said that they originated from an area within the Śrīvijayan maṇḍala during the early 13th century. In an attempt to escape the rule of a Rajah Makatunaw and the subsequent dissolution of the maṇḍala. The island at time was ruled by an Ati chief Marikudo who was later given a golden sadok. It was said that the name for the inhabitants, Bisaya, was derived from their polity of origin, the Visayans first encountered Western Civilization when Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan reached the island of Cebu in 1521. The Visayas became part of the Spanish colony of the Philippines, the 16th century marks the beginning of the Christianization of the Visayan people, with the baptism of Rajah Humabon and about 800 native Cebuanos
33.
Galleon
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Another possible origin is the Old French word galie meaning galley, also from Byzantine Greek galea. The galea was a warship of the Byzantine navy, and its name may be related to the Greek word galeos, the term was originally given to certain types of war galleys in the Middle Ages. The Annali Genovesi mentions galleons of 80,64 and 60 oars, used for battle and on missions of exploration and it is very likely that the galleons and galliots mentioned in the accounts of the crusades were the same vessels. In the early 16th century, the Venetian galleoni was a new class of galley used to hunt down pirates in the Mediterranean. In Portugal at least, Portuguese carracks were very large ships for their time, while galleons were mostly under 500 tons. One of the largest and most famous of Portuguese galleons was the São João Baptista, there are disputes about its origins and development but each Atlantic sea power built types suited to its needs, while constantly learning from their rivals. It was the captains of the Spanish navy, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and Álvaro de Bazán, the galleon was powered entirely by wind, using sails carried on three or four masts, with a lateen sail continuing to be used on the last masts. They were used in military and trade applications, most famously in the Spanish treasure fleet, and the Manila Galleons. While carracks played the role in early global explorations, galleons also played a part in the 16th and 17th centuries. In fact, galleons were so versatile that a vessel may have been refitted for wartime and peacetime roles several times during its lifespan. The galleon was the prototype of all square-rigged ships with three or more masts for over two and a half centuries, including the later full-rigged ship, Galleons were constructed from oak, pine and various hardwoods for hull and decking. The expenses involved in construction were enormous. Hundreds of expert tradesmen worked day and night for months before a galleon was seaworthy, to cover the expense, galleons were often funded by groups of wealthy businessmen who pooled resources for a new ship. Therefore, most galleons were originally consigned for trade, although those captured by rival states were usually put into military service, the most common gun used aboard a galleon was the demi-culverin, although gun sizes up to demi-cannon were possible. Galleons were a class of blue water sailing ship that combined the easy-to-maneuver fore-and-aft rig of smaller shipping with the rig of late middle ages cargo vessels. On average with three masts, in larger galleons, a fourth mast was added, usually another lateen-rigged mizzen, the oldest known scale drawings in England are in a manuscript called Fragments of Ancient Shipwrightry made in about 1586 by Mathew Baker, a master-shipwright. This manuscript, held at the Pepysian Library, Magdalene College, Cambridge, provides a reference for the size. Based on these plans, the Science Museum, London has built a 1,48 scale model ship that is an exemplar of galleons of this era
34.
Manila galleon
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The name of the galleon changed to reflect the city that the ship sailed from. The term Manila Galleons is also used to refer to the route between Acapulco and Manila, which lasted from 1565 to 1815. The Manila Galleons were also known in New Spain as La Nao de la China because it carried largely Chinese goods, the Manila Galleon trade route was inaugurated in 1565 after Augustinian friar and navigator Andrés de Urdaneta discovered the tornaviaje or return route from the Philippines to Mexico. The first successful round trips were made by Urdaneta and by Alonso de Arellano that year, the route lasted until 1815 when the Mexican War of Independence ended Spanish control of Mexican ports. The Manila galleons sailed the Pacific for 250 years, bringing to Spain their cargoes of goods, economic benefits. In 1521, a Spanish expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan sailed west across the Pacific using the trade winds. The expedition discovered the Mariana Islands and the Philippines and claimed them for Spain, although Magellan died there, one of his ships made it back to Spain by continuing westward. In order to settle and trade with these islands from the Americas, the first ship to try this a few years later failed. In 1529, Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón also tried sailing east from the Philippines, in 1543, Bernardo de la Torre also failed. In 1542, however, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo helped pave the way by sailing north from Mexico to explore the Pacific coast, reaching as far north as the Russian River, just north of the 38th parallel. The Manila-Acapulco galleon trade finally began when Spanish navigators Alonso de Arellano, sailing as part of the expedition commanded by Miguel López de Legazpi to conquer the Philippines in 1565, Arellano and Urdaneta were given the task of finding a return route. Most of his crew died on the initial voyage, for which they had not sufficiently provisioned. Arellano, who had taken a more southerly route, had already arrived, the English privateer Francis Drake also reached the California coast, in 1579. After capturing a Spanish ship heading for Manila, Drake turned north and he failed in that regard, but staked an English claim somewhere on the northern California coast. Although the ships log and other records were lost, the location is now called Drakes Bay. The first motivation for land exploration of present-day California was to scout out possible way-stations for the seaworn Manila galleons on the last leg of their journey. Early proposals came to little, but in 1769, the Portola expedition established Alta California ports at San Diego and Monterey, providing safe harbors for returning Manila galleons. In Manila, the safety of ocean crossings was commended to the virgin Nuestra Señora de la Soledad de Porta Vaga in masses held by the Archbishop of Manila
35.
Manila
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Manila, officially City of Manila, is the capital of the Philippines. Founded on June 24,1571, by Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi and it is situated on the eastern shore of Manila Bay and is home to many landmarks, some of which date back to the 16th century. In 2012, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network listed Manila as a global city, the city proper is home to 1,780,148 people in 2015, forming the historic core of Metro Manila, the capital region of the Philippines. The metropolitan area, which includes the much larger Quezon City, Manila is also the most densely populated city proper in the world, with 41,515 people per square kilometer. The term Manila is commonly used to refer to either the whole area or the city proper. Manila is located on the shore of the Manila Bay on one of the finest harbors in the country. The city has six districts for the lower house of the Philippine Congress. Manila was once ruled by the Kingdom of Tondo before it became a province of the Majapahit Empire. During the Bruneian invasion of the Philippines, Sultan Bolkiah of Brunei captured Seludong and renamed it Maynilà, Maynilà became a vassal state of the Sultanate of Brunei, established to overpower Tondo. In 1571, conquistadors arrived from Mexico, across the Pacific Ocean, Spanish missionaries soon Christianized the city, incorporated Tondo and built some of the oldest churches in the country, including San Agustin Church. The conquistadors renamed the area Nuevo Reino de Castilla, Manila became the center of Spanish activity in the Far East and one end of the Manila–Acapulco galleon trade route linking Spanish America with Asia, one of the earliest examples of globalization. Because of its location on Pacific trade routes, Manila received the moniker Pearl of the Orient. Spanish rule of the Philippine archipelago lasted for more than three centuries, until 1898, order was usually quickly restored and the city returned to the business of trade. In the 19th century, Manila was one of the most modern cities in Asia, before the Spanish–American War, it saw the rise of the Philippine Revolution. After the war, the United States took control, switched the official language from Spanish to English, near the end of World War II, during the Battle of Manila, most of the city was flattened by intensive aerial bombardment by the United States Air Force. As a result, relatively little remains of Manilas prewar and colonial architecture, although there are ongoing projects, especially within the old walled city. Maynilà, the Filipino name for the city, originated from the word nilà, referring to a mangrove tree that grew on the delta of the Pasig River. The flowers were made into garlands that, according to folklore, were offered to statues on religious altars or in churches
36.
Acapulco
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Acapulco de Juárez, commonly called Acapulco, is a city, municipality and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico,380 kilometres south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has been a port since the colonial period of Mexicos history. It is a port of call for shipping and cruise lines running between Panama and San Francisco, California, United States, the city of Acapulco is the largest in the state, far larger than the state capital Chilpancingo. Acapulco is also Mexicos largest beach and balneario resort city, the city is best known as one of Mexicos oldest and most well-known beach resorts, which came into prominence in the 1950s as a getaway for Hollywood stars and millionaires. Acapulco is still famous and still attracts tourists, although most are now from Mexico itself. The name Acapulco comes from Nahuatl language Aca-pōl-co, and means where the reeds were destroyed or washed away, the de Juárez was added to the official name in 1885 to honor Benito Juárez, former President of Mexico. The seal for the city shows broken reeds or cane, the island and municipality of Capul, in the Philippines, derives its name from Acapulco, Capul was the western end of the trans-Pacific sailing route from Acapulco to what was then a Spanish colony. At Acapulco Bay itself, there were two Olmec sites, one by Playa Larga and the other on a known as El Guitarrón. Olmec influence caused the small villages here to coalesce into larger entities. Later, Teotihuacan influence made its way here via Cuernavaca and Chilpancingo, then Mayan influence arrived from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and through what is now Oaxaca. This history is known through the archaeological artifacts that have found here, especially at Playa Hornos, Pie de la Cuesta. In the 11th century, new waves of migration of Nahuas and Coixas came through here and these people were the antecedents of the Aztecs. In the later 15th century, after four years of military struggle and it was annexed to a tributary province named Tepecuacuilco. However, this was only transitory, as the Aztecs could only establish a military post at the citys outskirts. The city was on territory under control of the Yopes, who continued defending it, there are two stories about how Acapulco bay was discovered by Europeans. The first states that two years after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Hernán Cortés sent explorers west to find gold, the explorers had subdued this area after 1523, and Captain Saavedra Cerón was authorized by Cortés to found a settlement here. The other states that the bay was discovered on December 13,1526 by a ship named the El Tepache Santiago captained by Santiago Guevara. The first encomendero was established in 1525 at Cacahuatepec, which is part of the modern Acapulco municipality, in 1531, a number of Spaniards, most notably Juan Rodriguez de Villafuerte, left the Oaxaca coast and founded the village of Villafuerte where the city of Acapulco now stands
37.
Mexico
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Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a federal republic in the southern half of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States, to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean, to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea, and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometers, Mexico is the sixth largest country in the Americas by total area, Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states and a federal district that is also its capital and most populous city. Other metropolises include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana, pre-Columbian Mexico was home to many advanced Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya and Aztec before first contact with Europeans. In 1521, the Spanish Empire conquered and colonized the territory from its base in Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Three centuries later, this territory became Mexico following recognition in 1821 after the colonys Mexican War of Independence. The tumultuous post-independence period was characterized by instability and many political changes. The Mexican–American War led to the cession of the extensive northern borderlands, one-third of its territory. The Pastry War, the Franco-Mexican War, a civil war, the dictatorship was overthrown in the Mexican Revolution of 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the countrys current political system. Mexico has the fifteenth largest nominal GDP and the eleventh largest by purchasing power parity, the Mexican economy is strongly linked to those of its North American Free Trade Agreement partners, especially the United States. Mexico was the first Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and it is classified as an upper-middle income country by the World Bank and a newly industrialized country by several analysts. By 2050, Mexico could become the fifth or seventh largest economy. The country is considered both a power and middle power, and is often identified as an emerging global power. Due to its culture and history, Mexico ranks first in the Americas. Mexico is a country, ranking fourth in the world by biodiversity. In 2015 it was the 9th most visited country in the world, Mexico is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G8+5, the G20, the Uniting for Consensus and the Pacific Alliance. Mēxihco is the Nahuatl term for the heartland of the Aztec Empire, namely, the Valley of Mexico, and its people, the Mexica and this became the future State of Mexico as a division of New Spain prior to independence. It is generally considered to be a toponym for the valley became the primary ethnonym for the Aztec Triple Alliance as a result. After New Spain won independence from Spain, representatives decided to name the new country after its capital and this was founded in 1524 on top of the ancient Mexica capital of Mexico-Tenochtitlan
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