1.
Samar (province)
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Samar, formerly known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the region of Eastern Visayas. The province covers the section of Samar Island and several islands in the Samar Sea situated west of the mainland. It is bordered on the north by Northern Samar, east by Eastern Samar, south by Leyte and the Leyte Gulf, Samar is connected to the island of Leyte via the San Juanico Bridge, which spans the San Juanico Strait, the narrowest strait in the world. Samar, along with Leyte province, was created after the province of the same name was split into two independent provinces in 1768. Samar province occupied the island of Samar and its adjacent islands until 1965. Fishing and agriculture are the economic activities in the province. On 8 November 2013, the province was significantly damaged by Super Typhoon Yolanda, particularly at the towns of Basey and Marabut. Samar is said to be derived from Samad, the Visayan word for wound or cut, describing the physical features of the land which is rugged. — Diggings in Sohoton Caves in Basey, Samar showed stone tools dated 8550 B. C.1300 — Other diggings along the Basey River revealed other stone flakes used until the 13th century. 1543 — The explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, first came to the island,1596 — Many names were given to Samar Island prior to the coming of the Spaniards in 1596. The name Samar was derived from the local language samad, meaning wound or cut, aptly describing the physical features of the island, rugged. During the early days of Spanish occupation, Samar was under the jurisdiction of Cebu, arrival of the First Missionaries Jesuits — On October 15,1596, the first Jesuit Mission arrived in Tinago in Tarangnan. Francisco de Otazo, Bartolome Martes, and Domingo Alonzo began teaching Catechism healing the sick and spread the Christianity faith into the interior settlements. Like fire, the revolt quickly spread the neighboring town in the Northern and Western coast of Samar and to the provinces of Bicol, Surigao, Cebu, Camiguin. It was suppressed in 1650 by the forces of the Spaniards, Lutaos. 1735 — Samar and Leyte were united into one province with Carigara, in Leyte,1747 — Samar and Leyte were separated for administrative effectiveness. 1762 — Complaints from the Jesuits that the division was not working well,1768 — Jesuits were expelled in all Spanish dominions. The Franciscans arrived on September 25,1768 and succeeded the administration of 14 parishes which was under by the care of the Jesuits for almost 172 years
2.
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
3.
Visayas
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The Visayas /vᵻˈsaɪəz/ və-SY-əz or the Visayan Islands, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. It consists of islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea. Its inhabitants are predominantly the Visayan people, the major islands of the Visayas are Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte and Samar. There are four regions in the Visayas, Western Visayas, Negros Island Region, Central Visayas. The term Visayas was derived from the name of the 7th-century thalassocratic Srivijaya Empire in Sumatra, in Sanskrit, sri means fortunate, prosperous, or happy and vijaya means victorious or excellence. Sulu Archipelago and the Visayas Islands were once Buddhist and Hindu and were subject states or tributaries of the empire. The early people in the Visayas region were the Austronesians and Negritos who migrated to the islands about 6,000 to 30,000 years ago and these early settlers were animist tribal groups. In the 12th century, settlers from the collapsing Hindu-Buddhist Srivijaya Empire led by Datu Putih and his retinue, settled in the island of Panay and it was also during the 12th century that Visayans are said to have made a series of raids along the coast of China. They were said to have a reputation, and the mention of their name would cause many to flee in terror. By the 14th century, Arab traders and their followers, venturing into Maritime Southeast Asia and these tribes practiced a mixture of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Animism beliefs. There is evidence of trade among other Asian people, the Visayas is subsequently home to several Prehispanic kingdoms like the Rajahnate of Cebu, the Kedatuan of Bohol and the Kedatuan of Madja-as. Among the archaeological proofs of the existence of this Hiligaynon nation are the found in pre-Hispanic tombs from many parts of the island. There are also recent discoveries of artifacts of eight-foot inhabitants of Isla de Gigantes, including extra-large Lungon. After the Magellan expedition, King Philip II of Spain sent Miguel López de Legazpi in 1543 and 1565, the Visayas region and many tribes began converting to Christianity and adopting western culture. By the 18th and 19th centuries, the effects of colonization on various ethnic groups soon turned sour, various personalities who fought against Spanish Colonial Government arose from the islands. Negros briefly had a state in the Visayas in the form of the Cantonal Republic of Negros before it was dissolved because of the American invasion of the Philippines, in 2005, Palawan Island was transferred to Region VI by Executive Order 429. However this planned reorganization was held in abeyance, hence, Palawan currently remains part of Region IV-B. The chiefs and followers were said to be the ancestors of the Visayan people, the documents were accepted by Filipino historians and found their way into the history of the Philippines
4.
Leyte Gulf
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Leyte Gulf is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, on the south of the bay is Mindanao Island, separated from Leyte by the Surigao Strait. Dinagat Island partly encloses the gulf to the southeast, and the small Homonhon Island and Suluan Island and it is approximately 130 km north-south, and 60 km east-west. Several municipalities are situated on the coast of the gulf, Balangiga, Giporlos, Guiuan, Lawaan, Mercedes, Quinapondan, there are also eleven marine reserves in the gulf region. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan stirred up a surge in Leyte Gulf, resulting to massive loss of lives, agricultural land. Leyte Gulf is identified by the Leyte State University as one of the important fishing grounds of Leyte, like other rich fishing grounds such as Maqueda Bay and Carigara Bay, the gulf is known for abundant catches of anchioves, herring, shrimp and crabs. It was also one of the richest sources of mud crabs in 1985. Fish harvest has been in decline in the due to the use of dynamite fishing. Typhoon Haiyan has damaged the hard coral cover within the gulfs area, further reducing the fish harvest
5.
Philippine Sea
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The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea east and northeast of the Philippines occupying an estimated surface area of 5 million km². of the western part of the North Pacific Ocean. The sea has a complex and diverse undersea relief, the floor is formed into a structural basin by a series of geologic faults and fracture zones. Island arcs, which are actually extended ridges protruding above the surface due to plate tectonic activity in the area, enclose the Philippine Sea to the north, east. The Philippine archipelago, Ryukyu Islands, and the Marianas are examples, another prominent feature of the Philippine Sea is the presence of deep sea trenches, among them the Philippine Trench and the Mariana Trench, containing the deepest point on the planet. The Philippine Sea is by the Philippines and Taiwan to the west, Japan to the north, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the Philippine Sea as that area of the North Pacific Ocean off the Eastern coasts of the Philippine Islands, bounded as follows, On the West. By the Eastern limits of the East Indian Archipelago, South China Sea, by the Southeast coast of Kyushu, the Southern and Eastern limits of the Inland Sea and the South coast of Honshu Island. By the ridge joining Japan to the Bonin, Volcano and Ladrone Islands, by a line joining Guam, Yap, Pelew and Halmahera Islands. The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the Philippine Sea and it subducts under the Philippine Mobile Belt which carries most of the Philippine archipelago and eastern Taiwan. Between the two plates is the Philippine Trench, the Philippine Sea hosts an exotic marine ecosystem. About five hundred species of hard and soft corals occur in the waters and 20 per cent of the worldwide known shellfish species are found in Philippine waters. Sea turtles, sharks, moray eels, octopuses and sea snakes along with species of fish such as tuna can commonly be observed. Additionally, the Philippine Sea serves as spawning ground for Japanese eel, tuna, later it was discovered by other Spanish explorers from 1522 to 1565 and the site of the famous galleon trade route. Between June 19 and 20,1944, the Battle of the Philippine Sea took place in the eastern Philippine Sea, the aircraft carriers Taihō, Shōkaku, Junyō, Hiyō and Ryuho were bombed, torpedoed and sunk by American carrier-based planes and assaulted from other naval vessels. The aerial part of the Battle of the Philippine Sea was nicknamed the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot” due to losses of Japanese aircraft. The battle facilitated the Allied conquests of Saipan, Guam and Tinian in the Marianas, Palau in the Southwest, following an escalation of the Spratly Islands dispute in 2011, various Philippine government agencies started using the neologism West Philippine Sea to refer to the South China Sea. However, a PAGASA spokesperson said that the sea to the east of the Philippines will continue to be called the Philippine Sea, Philippine Trench Philippine Sea Plate Benham Rise Devils Sea
6.
Samar Sea
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The Samar Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, situated between the Bicol Region of Luzon and the Eastern Visayas. It is bordered by the islands of Samar to the east, Leyte to the south, Masbate to the west and it contains Biliran Island, the islands of Almagro, Maripipi, Sto. The Samar Sea has experienced a significant degradation of marine resources, before 1981, there were 50 commercial fish species, but within 10 years, it was reduced to only 10 due to overfishing and destructive fishing methods. Average daily catch has reduced from 30 kg/day in the 1960s, to 8 kg/day in 1981, having depleted the large predatory fish, fishermen turned to smaller species, allowing jellyfish populations to explode. Deforestation of surrounding lands has led to increased silt from denuded mountains that choke coral reefs, only some 5% of reefs are considered to be in a healthy condition. Another result of the increased silt are red tides, causing paralytic shellfish poisonings, the first red tide in the Philippines occurred in the Samar Sea in 1983 and thereafter continued to occur at irregular intervals
7.
San Juanico Strait
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San Juanico Strait is a narrow strait in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. It separates the islands of Samar and Leyte, and connects the Carigara Bay with the San Pedro Bay and it is about 38 kilometres long, and at its narrowest point, the strait is only 2 kilometers wide. It is crossed by the San Juanico Bridge, the HVDC Leyte–Luzon powerline crosses San Juanico Strait as overhead line at 11°23′36″N 124°59′04″E, with a tower on an uninhabited island in the strait. The Port of Tacloban City, the port of the Eastern Visayas, is on Cancabato Bay at the southern entrance of the strait. Media related to San Juanico Strait at Wikimedia Commons
8.
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
9.
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
10.
Eastern Samar
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Eastern Samar is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Borongan, Eastern Samar occupies the eastern portion of the island of Samar. Bordering the province to the north is the province of Northern Samar, to the east lies the Philippine Sea, part of the vast Pacific Ocean, while to the south lies the Leyte Gulf. During his circumnavigation of the globe, Ferdinand Magellan had set foot on the island of Homonhon in the southern part of the province. On March 16,1521, the area of what is now Eastern Samar is said to be the first Philippine landmass spotted by Magellan and his crew. On September 28,1901 during the Philippine-American War, Filipino guerrillas in Balangiga ambushed American troops, the incident triggered the infamous American retaliation against the Samar populace and guerrillas. During the Second World War in 1944, Americans involved in the liberation of the Philippines from Japan built in the town of Guiuan the largest military base in the Pacific. Eastern Samar, as a province, was created from Samar province through Republic Act No.4221 on June 19,1965. Congressmen Eladio T. Balite, Fernando R. Veloso, and Felipe J. Abrigo, the law, ratified in a plebiscite on June 19,1965, divided Samar into three, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar and Samar. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded, made its first landfall in the town of Guiuan on November 2013. Eastern Samar covers a area of 4,660.47 square kilometres occupying the eastern section of Samar island in the Eastern Visayas region. The province is bordered to the north by Northern Samar and to the west by Samar, to the east lies the Philippine Sea, part of the vast Pacific Ocean, while to the south lies the Leyte Gulf. Because it faces the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, Eastern Samar suffers heavily from powerful typhoons, Eastern Samar comprises 22 municipalities and one city, all encompassed by a single legislative district. The population of Eastern Samar in the 2015 census was 467,160 people, Cebuano is also spoken to an extent. In the 2000 Census, Warays comprised 97. 78% of the provincial population of 375,124 at that time. Kapampangan came second at 0. 55%, Bisaya/Binisaya 0. 43%, Cebuano at 0. 18%, the people of the province are devoted Christians where a majority adhere to Roman Catholicism. The dominant Catholic faith influences the events of the education, politics. The province has one airport, Borongan Airport located in the capital city
11.
Northern Samar
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Northern Samar is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catarman and is located at the portion of the island of Samar. Bordering the province to the south are the provinces of Samar, to the northwest, across the San Bernardino Strait is Sorsogon, to the east is the Philippine Sea and to the west is Samar Sea. In 1614, the Jesuits established a residence in Palapag among the Ibabao populace. These missionaries stayed until the late 17th century when they were expelled from the Philippines and were replaced by the Franciscans. In the early year of the 16th century, shipbuilders were drafted from Palapag to the Cavite shipyards for the construction of galleons and it was also at this time that these recruits ignited the Sumoroy insurrection, which signaled a general uprising against Spain in the Visayas and Mindanao. The insurrection simultaneously flared northward to Albay and southward to the coasts of Mindanao. It took over a year before the Spaniards were able to subdue the rebellion, although defeated, they, however, continued to harass the Americans through guerrilla warfare. During World War II, the people of Northern Samar organized a platoon of volunteers supported by voluntary contributions, the contingent became a part of the Philippine National Guard in Manila. Congressmen Eladio T. Balite, Fernando R. Veloso, and Felipe J. Abrigo, the law, ratified in a plebiscite on June 19,1965, divided Samar into three, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar and Samar. The first provincial officials of Northern Samar were elected on November 14,1967 and on January 1,1968, Northern Samar covers a total area of 3,692.93 square kilometres occupying the northern section of Samar Island in the Eastern Visayas region. The province is bounded by north by the San Bernardino Strait, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the west by the Samar Sea, on the southwest by Samar and on the southeast by Eastern Samar. It ranks thirty-seventh in size among the 80 provinces of the Philippines, about 52 percent of the total land area is covered by forest and 42 percent is classified as alienable and disposable. The province is composed largely of low and extremely rugged hills and it also has small and discontinuous areas along the coasts and its rivers are usually accompanied by alluvial plains and valleys. The province is endowed with rich and fertile soil that most crops can grow on it. Northern Samar has a rugged terrain with restricted pocket plains. River valleys are low-lying and are interrupted by hills, while the remaining portion is rolling, hilly. The interior of the consists of highly dissected hills and mountain peaks
12.
Calbayog
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Calbayog, officially the City of Calbayog and often referred to as Calbayog City, is a 1st class city in the province of Samar, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 183,851 people and it lies along the coastal region of the province stretching about 60 miles from the northern tip of the island and 180 miles from southern boundaries. It is the third largest city in terms of land and water areas in the Philippines, the first crowned city of Samar and the nineteenth city of the Philippines. Calbayog is one of the trade centers in Eastern Visayas. Calbayog is subdivided into three districts, Calbayog, Tinambacan and Oquendo. Calbayogs early history has been associated with the introduction and spread of Catholicism in the country, Calbayog started as one of the small settlements in the Island of Samar, an area assigned to the Jesuit missionaries. Jesuit chroniclers, as early as the 17th century, notably Fr, ignacio Alcina, wrote many accounts about it and its people. Jesuit records and reports referred to the settlement initially as Ibatan, in the annual report of 1739 the name Calbayog appeared for the first time. Fr. de Huerta, a 19th-century Franciscan writer, noted in his work Estado Geografico that in earlier times, then it was transferred due to a flood to the shore of the Hibatang River, whose name it took. Then again the settlers transferred to the place that they permanently occupied, Hibatang had already been a small settlement at the beginning of the 17th century. It slowly occupied a prominent place among the small settlements. It became a visita of Capul under the jurisdiction of the Parish priest of that town, the church of Calbayog were built from a scree formation near Malajog, shortest distance is now the Malabungto bridge. After the expulsion of the Jesuit missionaries from the Philippines in the 18th century, Calbayog as a town and parish during the Spanish period was composed of several villages, the most populated of which are called visitas. Calbayog grew from visita size and became a pueblo and it was created a separate parish in 1785. Separated from the jurisdiction of the parish priest of Capul, it was later given its own minister. Its parish priests cared for the needs of the people living in what are now Calbayog City. By the late 19th century a number of visitas became the poblaciones when new towns were created from Calbayog, in 1878, Calbayog was hit by a cholera epidemic, killing almost one half of the total population. Sebastian Cordova was forced to leave to save himself from the disease, in Manila, Biktoy was a working student, serving the convent without sacrificing his studies
13.
Island
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An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, an island in a river or a lake island may be called an eyot or ait, and a small island off the coast may be called a holm. A grouping of geographically or geologically related islands is called an archipelago, an island may be described as such, despite the presence of an artificial land bridge. Example, Singapore and its causeway, or the various Dutch delta islands, there are two main types of islands in the sea, continental and oceanic. The word island derives from Middle English iland, from Old English igland, Old English ieg is actually a cognate of Swedish ö and German Aue, and related to Latin aqua. There is a difference between islands and continents in terms of geology, continents sit on continental lithosphere which is part of tectonic plates floating high on Earths mantle. Oceanic crust is also part of tectonic plates, but it is denser than continental lithosphere, Islands are either extensions of the oceanic crust or geologically they are part of some continent sitting on continental lithosphere. This holds true for Australia, which sits on its own continental lithosphere, continental islands are bodies of land that lie on the continental shelf of a continent. A special type of island is the microcontinental island, which is created when a continent is rifted. Examples are Madagascar and Socotra off Africa, the Kerguelen Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, another subtype is an island or bar formed by deposition of tiny rocks where water current loses some of its carrying capacity. While some are transitory and may disappear if the volume or speed of the current changes, others are stable, oceanic islands are islands that do not sit on continental shelves. The vast majority are volcanic in origin, such as Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, the few oceanic islands that are not volcanic are tectonic in origin and arise where plate movements have lifted up the ocean floor above the surface. Examples are Saint Peter and Paul Rocks in the Atlantic Ocean, one type of volcanic oceanic island is found in a volcanic island arc. These islands arise from volcanoes where the subduction of one plate under another is occurring, examples are the Aleutian Islands, the Mariana Islands, and most of Tonga in the Pacific Ocean. The only examples in the Atlantic Ocean are some of the Lesser Antilles, another type of volcanic oceanic island occurs where an oceanic rift reaches the surface. There are two examples, Iceland, which is the second largest volcanic island, and Jan Mayen. A third type of oceanic island is formed over volcanic hotspots. A hotspot is more or less stationary relative to the tectonic plate above it
14.
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
15.
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
16.
Biliran
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Biliran is an island province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Biliran is one of the countrys smallest and newest provinces, formerly a sub-province of Leyte, it became an independent province in 1992. Biliran lies less than a north of the island of Leyte. A bridge-causeway fixed link over Poro Island connects the province to Leyte and its capital is the municipality of Naval on the western coast of the island. During the early Spanish era, what is now called Biliran Island was known as Isla de Panamao. ”The dictionary also gives biliran as a spelling for bilir. This theory is supported by the fact that Biliran was site of the first large-scale shipyard, galleons were built to support the Galleon trade between Manila and Acapulco in Mexico. The first town, named Biliran, was founded in 1712 after petitioning for a municipality, during this time, the island was a part of Cebu Province. Biliran, together with the islands of Samar and Leyte, were constituted into a province in 1735. Later when Samar and Leyte were split into two provinces in 1768, Biliran became part of Leyte Province as its sub-province, the first parish priest was assigned in 1765, but its parish status was apparently withdrawn because of Padre Gaspar’s apostasy. The parish was re-established on February 22,1782, in May 1735, representative inhabitants of Leyte petitioned Governor General Fernando Valdes y Tamon to allow them to resettle Biliran Island. They claimed it had abandoned for the past 50 years and was presently inhabited by bagamundos due to the frequent Moro raids. On May 26,1754, the Moros destroyed Biliran and the town of Catbalogan in Samar, Panamao was reportedly razed to the ground and only the gobernadorcillo of Biliran town escaped capture by the raiders. The settlements of Biliran, Caybiran, Mapuyo and Maripipi were also destroyed by the Moros, the Moros staged their attack by marching inland along a river named Anas for a distance of 1. 5-2 leguas. Having covered part of the interior around a mountain, they managed to capture the inhabitants, the houses and property of the natives were burned or destroyed. The church building suffered the fate and its valuables were taken away by the raiders. When the Moro raiders were neutralized in the early 19th century, shortly after this even the Gorgons made a move for control of the coasts and were easily overtaken by the Cylons. In 1828, Caibiran on the east became an independent municipality and parish, Naval became the third town, carved out of the territory of Biliran town. It first became a parish in 1860
17.
San Juanico Bridge
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San Juanico Bridge is part of the Pan-Philippine Highway and stretches from Samar to Leyte across the San Juanico Strait in the Philippines. Its longest length is a steel girder viaduct built on reinforced concrete piers, with a total length of 2.16 kilometers, it is the longest bridge in the Philippines spanning a body of seawater. The bridge was dedicated to Ferdinand Marcos wife, Imelda Marcos, the bridge was slightly damaged by Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013 but was quickly repaired. The Philippine governments project of the $21, construction commenced in 1969 over San Juanico Strait from Cabalawan, Tacloban City to the municipality of Santa Rita, Samar, and was completed in 1973. It is approximately 10 minutes from downtown Tacloban City and is accessible by passenger jeepney, bus, the bridge has 43 spans and medium-size boats can pass beneath its large main arch, the top of which rises 41 meters above the sea
18.
Battle of Leyte Gulf
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The Battle of Leyte Gulf is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history. It was fought in waters near the Philippine islands of Leyte, Samar and Luzon, from 23–26 October 1944, between combined American and Australian forces and the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Imperial Japanese Navy mobilized nearly all of its major naval vessels in an attempt to defeat the Allied invasion but was repulsed by the U. S. Navys 3rd. The IJN failed to achieve its objective, suffered heavy losses. The majority of its surviving ships, deprived of fuel, remained in their bases for the rest of the Pacific War. It was the first battle in which Japanese aircraft carried out organized kamikaze attacks, by the time of the battle, Japan had fewer aircraft than the Allied forces had sea vessels, demonstrating the difference in power of the two sides at this point of the war. S. 5th Fleets Fast Carrier Task Force captured most of the Mariana Islands and this offensive breached Japans strategic inner defense ring and gave the Americans a base from which long-range Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers could attack the Japanese home islands. The Japanese counterattacked in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the U. S. Navy destroyed three Japanese aircraft carriers and approximately 600 Japanese aircraft, leaving the IJN with virtually no carrier-borne air power or any experienced pilots. For subsequent operations, Admiral Ernest J. U. S. Army General Douglas MacArthur championed an invasion of the Philippines, which also lay across the supply lines to Japan. Leaving the Philippines in Japanese hands would be a blow to American prestige and an affront to MacArthur. However, Nimitz and MacArthur initially had opposing plans, with Nimitzs plan centered on an invasion of Formosa, Formosa could also serve as a base for an invasion of mainland China, which MacArthur felt was unnecessary. Nimitz eventually changed his mind and agreed to MacArthurs plan and it was also estimated that an invasion of Formosa would require about 12 divisions of U. S. Army soldiers and Marines. It was eventually decided that MacArthurs forces would invade the island of Leyte in the central Philippines, amphibious forces and close naval support would be provided by the 7th Fleet, commanded by Vice Admiral Thomas C. The 7th Fleet at this time contained units of the U. S. Navy, the U. S. 3rd Fleet—commanded by Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. with Task Force 38 as its main component—would provide more distant cover and support for the invasion. A fundamental defect in this plan was there would be no single American naval admiral in overall command, Kinkaid and his 7th Fleet fell under MacArthur as Supreme Allied Commander Southwest Pacific, whereas Halseys 3rd Fleet reported to Nimitz as C-in-C Pacific Ocean Areas. This lack of unity of command, along with failures in communication, was to produce a crisis, by coincidence, the Japanese plan, using three separate fleets, also lacked an overall commander. The American options were apparent to the IJN, the plans were for complex offensive operations committing nearly all available forces to a decisive battle, despite this substantially depleting Japans slender reserves of fuel oil. The Japanese command therefore put Shō-Gō2 into action, launching waves of air attacks against 3rd Fleets carriers, following the American invasion of the Philippines, the Japanese Navy made the transition to Shō-Gō1
19.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
20.
Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean, the oceans current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means peaceful sea, important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan, trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality, from 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and he named it Mar del Sur because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Castilian expedition of world circumnavigation starting in 1519, Magellan called the ocean Pacífico because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century, sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands, the Aru Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan, in 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history, Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In the 16th and 17th century Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a Mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers, as the only known entrance from the Atlantic the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western end of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines, Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest, one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, Japan, in Oceania, France got a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations
21.
Ferdinand Magellan
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Commanding a fleet of five vessels, he headed south through the Atlantic Ocean to Patagonia, passing through the Strait of Magellan into a body of water he named the peaceful sea. Despite a series of storms and mutinies, the reached the Spice Islands in 1521. Magellan did not complete the voyage, as he was killed during the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines in 1521. Magellan had already reached the Malay Archipelago in Southeast Asia on previous voyages traveling east, by visiting this area again but now travelling west, Magellan achieved a nearly complete personal circumnavigation of the globe for the first time in history. The Magellanic penguin is named after him, as he was the first European to note it. Magellan was born in northern Portugal in around 1480, either at Vila Nova de Gaia, near Porto, in Douro Litoral Province, or at Sabrosa, near Vila Real, in Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro Province. He was the son of Rodrigo de Magalhães, Alcaide-Mor of Aveiro and wife Alda de Mesquita and brother of Leonor or Genebra de Magalhães, in March 1505 at the age of 25, Magellan enlisted in the fleet of 22 ships sent to host D. Francisco de Almeida as the first viceroy of Portuguese India, although his name does not appear in the chronicles, it is known that he remained there eight years, in Goa, Cochin and Quilon. He participated in battles, including the battle of Cannanore in 1506. In 1509 he fought in the battle of Diu and he later sailed under Diogo Lopes de Sequeira in the first Portuguese embassy to Malacca, with Francisco Serrão, his friend and possibly cousin. In September, after arriving at Malacca, the expedition fell victim to an ending in retreat. Magellan had a role, warning Sequeira and saving Francisco Serrão. In 1511, under the new governor Afonso de Albuquerque, Magellan, after the conquest their ways parted, Magellan was promoted, with a rich plunder and, in the company of a Malay he had indentured and baptized Enrique of Malacca, he returned to Portugal in 1512. Serrão departed in the first expedition sent to find the Spice Islands in the Moluccas and he married a woman from Amboina and became a military advisor to the Sultan of Ternate, Bayan Sirrullah. His letters to Magellan would prove decisive, giving information about the spice-producing territories, after taking a leave without permission, Magellan fell out of favour. Serving in Morocco, he was wounded, resulting in a permanent limp and he was accused of trading illegally with the Moors. The accusations were proved false, but he received no offers of employment after 15 May 1514. Later on in 1515, he got an employment offer as a member on a Portuguese ship
22.
Mariana Islands
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They lie south-southeast of Japan, west-southwest of Hawaii, north of New Guinea and east of the Philippines, demarcating the Philippine Seas eastern limit. The islands were named after the Spanish queen Mariana of Austria, spaniards, who in the early 16th century were the first Europeans to arrive, eventually annexed and colonized the archipelago. The indigenous inhabitants are the Chamoru and they further reported findings which suggested that Tinian is likely to have been the first island in Oceania to have been settled by humans. The Mariana Islands are the part of a submerged mountain range that extends 1,565 miles from Guam to near Japan. Geographically, the Marianas are the northernmost islands of an island group called Micronesia. The Mariana Islands have a land area of 1,005 km2. They are composed of two units, Guam, a US territory the Northern Mariana Islands, which make up a Commonwealth of the United States. In the northern volcanic group a maximum elevation of about 2,700 feet is reached, there are craters showing signs of activity, coral reefs fringe the coasts of the southern isles, which are of slight elevation. The lowest point on the Earths crust, the Mariana Trench, is near the islands and is named after them. The islands are part of a structure known as the Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc system. This subduction region, just east of the chain, forms the noted Mariana Trench. Owing to the moistness of the soil cryptogams are numerous, as are also most kinds of grasses, on most of the islands there is a plentiful supply of water. The fauna of the Marianas, though inferior in number and variety, is similar in character to that of the Carolines and certain species are indigenous to both island groups. The climate though damp is healthy, while the heat, being tempered by the winds, is milder than that of the Philippines. The majority of islands in the Marianas which still retain their indigenous names end in the letters -an, e. g. Guahan, Agrigan, Agrihan, Aguihan/Aguigan, Pagan, Sarigan, etc. The islands are part of a structure known as the Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc system. This water is heated and boiled as the plate is carried farther downward, archeological studies of human activity on the islands has revealed potteries with red-slipped, circle- and punctate-stamped designs found in the Mariana Islands dating between 1500 and 1400 BC. These artifacts show similar aesthetic with the found in Northern and Central Philippines, the Nagsabaran pottery
23.
Archipelago
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An archipelago, sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster or collection of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi-, in Italian, possibly following a tradition of antiquity, the Archipelago was the proper name for the Aegean Sea and, later, usage shifted to refer to the Aegean Islands. It is now used to refer to any group or, sometimes. Archipelagos may be isolated in large amounts of water or neighbouring a large land mass. For example, Scotland has more than 700 islands surrounding its mainland which form an archipelago, archipelagos are often volcanic, forming along island arcs generated by subduction zones or hotspots, but may also be the result of erosion, deposition, and land elevation. Depending on their origin, islands forming archipelagos can be referred to as oceanic islands, continental fragments. Oceanic islands are mainly of volcanic origin, continental fragments correspond to land masses that have separated from a continental mass due to tectonic displacement. Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, New Zealand, Maldives, the Bahamas, Greece, Hawaii, the largest archipelagic state in the world by area and population is Indonesia. Island arc List of landforms List of archipelagos by number of islands List of archipelagos List of islands Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Archipelago
24.
Lazarus of Bethany
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The Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions offer varying accounts of the later events of his life. For this reason it is given a prominent place in the gospel, a figure named Lazarus is also mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. The two Biblical characters named Lazarus have sometimes been conflated historically, but are understood to be two separate people. There are also numerous uses of the term. The biblical narrative of the Raising of Lazarus is found in chapter 11 of the Gospel of John, Lazarus is introduced as a follower of Jesus, who lives in the town of Bethany near Jerusalem. He is identified as the brother of the sisters Mary and Martha, the sisters send word to Jesus that Lazarus, he whom thou lovest, is ill. Instead of immediately traveling to Bethany, according to the narrator, when Jesus arrives in Bethany, he finds that Lazarus is dead and has already been in his tomb for four days. He meets first with Martha and Mary in turn, later the narrator here gives the famous simple phrase, Jesus wept. In the presence of a crowd of Jewish mourners, Jesus comes to the tomb, over the objections of Martha, Jesus has them roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb and says a prayer. He then calls Lazarus to come out and Lazarus does so, Jesus then calls for someone to remove the grave-cloths, and let him go. The narrative ends with the statement that many of the witnesses to this event believed in him, others are said to report the events to the religious authorities in Jerusalem. The Gospel of John mentions Lazarus again in chapter 12, six days before the Passover on which Jesus is crucified, Jesus returns to Bethany and Lazarus attends a supper that Martha, his sister, serves. The miracle of the raising of Lazarus, the longest coherent narrative in John aside from the Passion, is the climax of Johns signs and it explains the crowds seeking Jesus on Palm Sunday, and leads directly to the decision of Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin to kill Jesus. It is notable that at John 11,11, Jesus indicates to his disciples that Lazarus has fallen asleep, the disciples thought Jesus meant Lazurus was actually sleeping in verse 12. Then, in verse 14, Jesus speaks plainly and tells them that Lazurus has died and this is just one account where death is likened to sleep and a state of unconsciousness. A resurrection story that is similar is also found in the controversial Secret Gospel of Mark. Some scholars believe that the Secret Mark version represents a form of the canonical story found in John. The Raising of Lazarus is a subject in religious art
25.
Lazarus Saturday
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Lazarus Saturday in the Eastern Orthodox Church is the day before Palm Sunday to which it is liturgically linked. It celebrates the raising of Lazarus of Bethany, the narrative of which is found in the Gospel of John. Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday together hold a position in the church year, as days of joy. During the preceding week the propers in the Lenten Triodion track the sickness and then the death of Lazarus and this week is referred to as the Week of Palms or the Flowery Week. The scripture readings and hymns for this day focus on the raising of Lazarus as a foreshadowing of the Resurrection of Christ, the Gospel narrative is interpreted in the hymns as illustrating the two natures of Christ, his humanity in asking, Where have ye laid him. And his divinity by commanding Lazarus to come forth from the dead, a number of the hymns, written in the first or second person, relate Lazarus death, entombment and burial bonds symbolically to the individuals sinful state. Many of the hymns of the normal Sunday service are sung while prayers for the departed, prescribed on Sundays, are permitted. Lazarus Saturday is the day when, traditionally, hermits would leave their retreats in the wilderness to return to the monastery for the Holy Week services. In many places in the Russian Church, the vestments and church hangings on this day and on Palm Sunday are green, in the Greek Church, it is customary on Lazarus Saturday to plait elaborate crosses out of palm leaves which will be used on Palm Sunday. In the Greek Orthodox Church, spice breads called Lazarakia are made, the antiquity of this commemoration is demonstrated by the homilies of St. John Chrysostom, St Augustine of Hippo Regia, and others. In the 7th and 8th centuries, special hymns and canons for the feast were written by St. Andrew of Crete, St. Cosmas of Maium and St. John Damascene, which are still sung to this day. The Raising of Lazarus is also commemorated on this same Saturday according to the Church Calendar of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the feast of Vrbica or Lazareva Subota, Bulgarian, Lazarovden is commemorated by Serbian Orthodox and Bulgarian Orthodox tradition. Due to a lack of palm trees, pussy willow branches are blessed. Small bells are tied to the branches
26.
International Standard Serial Number
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An International Standard Serial Number is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title, ISSN are used in ordering, cataloging, interlibrary loans, and other practices in connection with serial literature. The ISSN system was first drafted as an International Organization for Standardization international standard in 1971, ISO subcommittee TC 46/SC9 is responsible for maintaining the standard. When a serial with the content is published in more than one media type. For example, many serials are published both in print and electronic media, the ISSN system refers to these types as print ISSN and electronic ISSN, respectively. The format of the ISSN is an eight digit code, divided by a hyphen into two four-digit numbers, as an integer number, it can be represented by the first seven digits. The last code digit, which may be 0-9 or an X, is a check digit. Formally, the form of the ISSN code can be expressed as follows, NNNN-NNNC where N is in the set, a digit character. The ISSN of the journal Hearing Research, for example, is 0378-5955, where the final 5 is the check digit, for calculations, an upper case X in the check digit position indicates a check digit of 10. To confirm the check digit, calculate the sum of all eight digits of the ISSN multiplied by its position in the number, the modulus 11 of the sum must be 0. There is an online ISSN checker that can validate an ISSN, ISSN codes are assigned by a network of ISSN National Centres, usually located at national libraries and coordinated by the ISSN International Centre based in Paris. The International Centre is an organization created in 1974 through an agreement between UNESCO and the French government. The International Centre maintains a database of all ISSNs assigned worldwide, at the end of 2016, the ISSN Register contained records for 1,943,572 items. ISSN and ISBN codes are similar in concept, where ISBNs are assigned to individual books, an ISBN might be assigned for particular issues of a serial, in addition to the ISSN code for the serial as a whole. An ISSN, unlike the ISBN code, is an identifier associated with a serial title. For this reason a new ISSN is assigned to a serial each time it undergoes a major title change, separate ISSNs are needed for serials in different media. Thus, the print and electronic versions of a serial need separate ISSNs. Also, a CD-ROM version and a web version of a serial require different ISSNs since two different media are involved, however, the same ISSN can be used for different file formats of the same online serial
27.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
28.
Alabat Island
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Alabat Island is an island of the Philippine archipelago, in the Quezon Province of the CALABARZON region, situated just off the east coast of Southern Luzon. The island has an area of 192 square kilometres and a population of 41,822, Alabat Island comprises 3 municipalities, Perez in the northern tip, Alabat town proper in the center and Quezon in the south. The island is located in the Lamon Bay and has an extensive mangrove fringe along its southwest shore, large portions of the original mangrove forest have been degraded or completely destroyed for the construction of fish and shrimp ponds. Alabat enjoys a tropical climate with no dry season, but a very pronounced period of maximum rainfall from November to January. Geographic data related to Alabat Island at OpenStreetMap
29.
Balabac Island
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Balabac Island is the southern-most island of the Palawan province in the Philippines, only about 50 kilometres north from Sabah, Malaysia, across the Balabac Strait. Administratively, the forms the main part of Balabac Municipality and is divided into 14 barangays. It is the home of birds like the imperial pigeon, Philippine cockatoo, blue-headed racket-tail. The Philippine mouse-deer, a subspecies of the greater mouse-deer can only be found in this island, the Molbogs, a Muslim ethnolinguistic group, is concentrated in this island. Their livelihood includes farming, fishing and barter trading with the nearby Mapun, Balabac Island The Molbog Balabac Island at OpenStreetMap
30.
Basilan
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Basilan is an island province of the Philippines within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Basilan Island is the largest and northernmost of the islands of the Sulu Archipelago. It is located just off the southern coast of the geographic Zamboanga Peninsula and its capital, Isabela City, is a component city of Basilan, but is administered as part of the Zamboanga Peninsula Region. Basilan is home to three ethnic groups, the indigenous Yakans, and the later-arriving Tausugs and Zamboangueño. The Yakans and Tausugs are predominantly Muslim, while the Zamboangueño are mainly Christian, there are also a number of smaller groups. Although the official language is English, the language is Yakan and lingua franca is Chavacano. Basilan, although classified as a 3rd-class province in terms of gross income, has one of the lowest incidence of poverty in the Philippines. The gap between Basilans rich and poor residents are among the narrowest in the country, pointing to one of the most equitable distributions of wealth anywhere in the country, Basilan is located between latitudes 6°15 and 7°00, and longitudes 121°15 and 122°30. The island is bordered by the Basilan Strait to the north, the Sulu Sea to the northwest and west, the Moro Gulf to the northeast, and the Celebes Sea to the south, southeast and east. Basilan is the largest and northernmost island of the Sulu Archipelago between the Philippine islands of Mindanao and Borneo which includes about 400 islands, Basilan Strait, about 17 nautical miles at its narrowest point, separates Basilan Island from the mainland of Mindanao and the port city of Zamboanga. The terrain of the island is simple, with several undulating slopes concentrated around Isabela City along the coastal areas, urban areas are usually 2.5 metres above sea level and gently sloping to 300 metres toward the hinterlands. The stand of timber and forest vegetation is more or less evenly distributed throughout, the province encompasses Basilan Island, and all nearby offshore islands, together with the Pilas Island group west of the island, and the Bubuan and Tapiantana Island group in the south. These are listed among the Philippine islands with a risk of getting hit by tsunamis. The province has an area of 132,723 hectares under its jurisdiction. Basilan Island itself has an area of 1,265.5 square kilometres, Basilan National Park is located at the eastern portion of the remaining public forest between the city of Isabela and the municipalities of Lamitan, Tipo-Tipo and Sumisip. The park has an elevation of 971 metres above sea level, the climate is similar to other areas in the Zamboanga Peninsula. The annual average rainfall is 1,100 millimetres and the annual temperature is 26.6 °C. The source of the rainfall is the southwest monsoon and the location in the Intertropical Convergence Zone
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Bohol
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Bohol is a 1st provincial income class island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. With a land area of 4,821 km2 and a coastline 261 km long, to the west of Bohol is Cebu, to the northeast is the island of Leyte and to the south, across the Bohol Sea, is Mindanao. The province of Bohol is a first-class province divided into 3 congressional districts, the province is a popular tourist destination with its beaches and resorts. The Chocolate Hills, numerous mounds of limestone formations, are the most popular attraction, the formations can be seen by land or by air via ultralight air tours. Panglao Island, located just southwest of Tagbilaran, is famous for its diving locations and is listed as one of the top ten diving locations in the world. Numerous tourist resorts and dive centers dot the southern beaches, the Philippine tarsier, amongst the worlds smallest primates, is indigenous to the island. A narrow strait separates the island of Cebu and Bohol, Bohols climate is generally dry, with maximum rainfall between the months of June and October. The interior is cooler than the coast and it was the home province of Carlos P. Garcia, the eighth president of the Republic of the Philippines who was born in Talibon, Bohol. On 15 October 2013, Bohol was devastated by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake whose epicenter was 6 km south of Sagbayan town, the earthquake, which also hit southern Cebu, claimed 156 lives altogether and injured 374 people. It also destroyed or damaged a number of Bohols heritage churches, Bohol was first settled by Australoid people, like the rest of the Philippines. They still inhabit the island today and are known as the Eskaya tribe and their population also was absorbed into the Austronesian or Malayo-Polynesian peoples who later settled the islands and form the majority of the population. The Austronesian people living on Bohol traded with other islands in the Philippines and as far as China, the people of Bohol are said to be the descendants of a group of inhabitants who settled in the Philippines called pintados or tattooed ones. Boholanos already had a culture of their own as evidenced by artifacts unearthed at Mansasa, Tagbilaran, Bohols first indigenous people settled in the Anda peninsula. These people came from northeast Mindanao and these people were responsible for the Anda petrographs which are one of the most important indigenous rock writing in the country. Around the 12th century, a group of people from Northern Mindanao settled in the strait between mainland Bohol and the island of Panglao and those people came from a nation in northern Mindanao called Lutao. They occupied both shores and the island of Panglao. The kedatuan was first built with hardwood on the soft seabed and it engaged it trade with nearby areas and some Chinese merchants. Alcina tales about a nation he called the Venice of the Visayas
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Bugsuk
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Bugsuk is an island barangay in the Balabac municipality of Palawan province in the Philippines. Its area is 119 square kilometres, eight crew members of the USS Flier reached Bugsuk Island after their submarine struck a mine on August 13,1944, while on surface patrol during World War II. The survivors, who had been on deck and in the tower when the explosion occurred. Over the next three days, they swam to two other islands before landing on Bugsuk and being helped by Filipino guerrillas, seventy-eight men died on the Flier, including seven who escaped the sub but didnt survive the swim
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Busuanga Island
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Busuanga is the largest island in the Calamian Group in the province of Palawan in the Philippines. Busuanga Island is the second largest island in the province after Palawan island itself, the island is located halfway between the islands of Mindoro and Palawan with the South China Sea located to the west and the Sulu Sea to the southeast. South of the island are the two major islands of the Calamian Group, Culion Island and Coron Island. The western third of the island is under the municipality of Busuanga, geographic data related to Busuanga Island at OpenStreetMap Images from a dive trip to Coron, Busuanga in April 2006 Landscapes of Busuanga 2012
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Calayan Island
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Calayan is a municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 16,702 people and it is located in the Luzon Strait north of Luzon Island. The town is composed of four of the five islands of the Babuyan Islands namely, Calayan, Camiguin, Dalupiri. Calayan Island is the largest of the Babuyan Islands, Fuga Island, the fifth island within the Babuyan Islands, is part of Aparri municipality. Calayan is home to the Calayan rail, a flightless bird identified as a species in 2004. A mission headquarters was established on Calayan Island in 1722, during the Spanish colonial administration regime, the administrators were Don Licerio Duerme in 1896, Don Pedro Abad in 1897, and Don Angel Escalante during 1898–1902. Administratively, the Calayan island was part of the Batanes group of islands, from 1902, Calayan was brought under Cagayan Province. However, this change of control resulted in isolation of the islanders as transport communications were lacking. In 1916, Fray Andres Sanchez and Fray Geronimo Morer, Dominican Fathers, visited this island and it was only in 1954 that the Governor of Cagayan, Jose P. Carag, came to Calayan. A repeat of this occurred in 1982. In 1940, during World War II, American Forces, who came by the USS Princeton and this was welcomed by the people of Calayan as it ushered prosperity to the island as well as provision of medicine, clothing and other items of utility. Schools were established by the American forces and they functioned as teachers with English as the medium of instruction. They also introduced adult education programmes, in return, the Calayanos offered gifts to the soldiers such as ancient jars, sea shells and handicrafts. On 8 December 1941, the Calayan group of islands became occupied by Japanese Imperial Forces, during the early liberation period in 1944, the American Forces seized the Japanese garrison, and moved the Japanese prisoners to concentration camps in Luzon. The ship ran aground on 21 September 1981, Calayan Island is located about 24 miles west-south-west of Babuyan Island off the north coast of the Philippines and belongs to the Babuyan Islands group in the China Sea. The island is hemmed between Aparri and Batanes islands and it is larger than the Fuga Island, which is 25 miles away and it is the second district in the province of Cagayan and its 29th municipality. The land area of the island is 494.53 square kilometres and it has a rough rectangular shape with rolling hills, spread over a length of 23 kilometres. The island consists mainly of mountainous and uneven land, with the highest land in the centre, the hill ridge runs through the middle of the island and is heavily forested
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Camiguin
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Camiguin, is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about 10 kilometres off the northern coast of Mindanao. It is politically part of the Northern Mindanao Region of the country, Camiguin is the second-smallest province in the country in both population and land area after Batanes. The provincial capital is Mambajao, which is also the provinces largest municipality in area and population. Kinamigin, the language of Camiguin, is closely related to the Manobo language. An earlier Spanish geography book writes the island as Camiguing, there is reason to suppose the Spaniards dropped the final g. Today it is rendered as Camiguín, Old Spanish documents indicate that the renowned explorers Ferdinand Magellan and Miguel Lopez de Legaspi landed in Camiguin in 1521 and 1565, respectively. The first Spanish settlement was established in 1598 in what is now Guinsiliban, the first major Spanish settlement established in 1679 was called Katagman or Katadman. The settlement grew and prospered but was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vulcan in 1871, the former location is what is now Barangay Bonbon of Catarman. Sagay, located south of Catarman, was established as a town in 1848. The word Sagay is derived from the name of poisonous fruit tree that grow in the area, Mambajao became a town in 1855. The name was coined from the Visayan terms mamahaw, meaning to usher breakfast, and bajao, in the early 1900s, Mambajao prospered to become the busiest port in Northern Mindanao. Mahinog was established as a municipality in 1860, the name Mahinog comes from a Visayan word meaning to ripen or to become ripe. Although Guinsiliban was the oldest settlement in the island, it was only in 1950 when it became a municipality, Mahinog was formerly governed by Mambajao while Guinsiliban was formally governed from Sagay. In 1901, in the middle of the Philippine-American War, American soldiers landed in Camiguin to assume control over the island. A group of Camiguinons, armed with bolos and spears, led by Valero Camaro, Valero Camaro was killed by a bullet on the forehead and became one of the Camiguin patriots of the early independence movement. In 1903, the first public school in Camiguin was built in Mambajao, on June 18,1942, the Japanese Imperial Army landed in Camiguin and set up a government in Mambajao. They gutted central Mambajao in reprisal to guerrilla activities in the area, the remains of some of these buildings still exist today. On July 4,1946, the Philippines gained independence from the US, Camiguin was then part of Misamis Oriental
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Cebu
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Cebu is a 1st provincial income class island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consisting of the main island itself and 167 surrounding islands and islets. Its capital is Cebu City, the oldest city and first capital of the Philippines, Cebu City forms part of the Cebu Metropolitan Area together with four neighboring cities and eight other local government units. Mactan-Cebu International Airport, located in Mactan Island, is the second busiest airport in the Philippines, Cebu is one of the most developed provinces in the Philippines, with Cebu City as the main center of commerce, trade, education and industry in the Visayas. In a decade it has transformed into a hub for shipping, furniture-making, tourism, business processing services. The name Cebu came from the old Cebuano word sibu or sibo and it was originally applied to the harbors of the town of Sugbu, the ancient name for Cebu City. Alternate renditions of the name by traders between the 13th to 16th centuries include Sebu, Sibuy, Zubu, or Zebu, among others, Sugbu, in turn, was derived from the Old Cebuano term for scorched earth or great fire. The Rajahnate of Cebu was a native kingdom which existed in Cebu prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. It was founded by Sri Lumay otherwise known as Rajamuda Lumaya and he was sent by the Maharajah to establish a base for expeditionary forces to subdue the local kingdoms, but he rebelled and established his own independent Rajahnate instead. The arrival of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 established a period of Spanish exploration and colonization, losing favor for his plan of reaching the Spice Islands from king Manuel I of Portugal, by sailing west from Europe, Magellan offered his services to king Charles I of Spain. On 20 September 1519, Magellan led five ships with a crew of 250 people from the Spanish fort of Sanlúcar de Barrameda en route to southeast Asia via the Americas and they reached the Philippines on 16 March 1521. Rajah Kolambu the king of Mazaua told them to sail for Cebu, arriving in Cebu City, Magellan, with Enrique of Malacca as translator, befriended Rajah Humabon the Rajah or King of Cebu and persuaded the natives of allegiance to Charles I of Spain. Humabon and his wife were given Christian names and baptized as Carlos, the Santo Niño was presented to the native queen of Cebu, as a symbol of peace and friendship between the Spaniards and the Cebuanos. On 14 April Magellan erected a wooden cross on the shores of Cebu. Afterwards, about 700 islanders were baptized, Magellan soon heard of datu Lapu-Lapu, a native king in nearby Mactan Island, a rival of the Rajahs of Cebu. It was thought that Humabon and Lapu–Lapu had been fighting for control of the trade in the area. On 27 April the Battle of Mactan occurred where the Spaniards were defeated, according to Italian historian and chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta, Magellans body was never recovered despite efforts to trade for it with spice and jewels. Magellans second-in-command, Juan Sebastián Elcano took his place as captain of the expedition and sailed their fleet back to Spain, survivors of the Magellan expedition brought tales of a savage island in the East Indies with them when they returned to Spain. Consequently, several Spanish expeditions were sent to the islands but all ended in failure, in 1564, Spanish explorers led by Miguel López de Legazpi, sailing from Mexico, arrived in 1565, and established a colony
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Catanduanes
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Catanduanes is an island province located in the Bicol Region of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the 12th-largest Island in the Philippines and its capital is Virac and the province lies to the east of Camarines Sur across Maqueda Channel. It had a population of 260,964 people as registered in the 2015 census, the province comprises Catanduanes Island, the Panay, Palumbanes group of islands and a few other minor surrounding islets and rocks. Catanduanes was a former sub-province of Ambos Camarines in the early 1900s and it gained provincial autonomy when Congressman Francisco Perfecto filled House Bill No.301 which separated the province from Albay. It was approved on September 26,1945 and subsequently signed into law by President Sergio Osmeña on October 24,1945, remigio Socito, the last Lieutenant Governor, was appointed as the first Provincial Governor. When elections were held in 1947, Alfonso V. Usero became the first elected Governor, isla de Cobos was Catanduanes first name, given by Spanish conquistadores during the early part of 1573 when came upon several tribes living in the thatched huts called cobos. Catanduanes, is a term derived from the word tandu, a native beetle and the samdong tree. Common reference to katanduan or kasamdongan, meaning a place where the tandu or the samdong tree thrives in abundance, bornean datus settled on the island of Panay. Their descendants then migrated throughout the archipelago and became the first settlers in Catanduanes, the island was not spared from raids of the Moros coming from the island of Mindanao. Because of these raids, many records of the past were destroyed. 1573 when Juan de Salcedo arrived in Catanduanes hunting for pirates, three years later, a galleon expedition from Acapulco was shipwrecked near the island and the survivors were either killed or made servants. The Batalay Church in Bato, just several kilometers from the town of Virac. The evangelization of the island started twenty years later when the soldiers of Spain, after subjugating the Bicol mainland, the missionaries armed with the cross and backed by the sword of the conquistadors evangelized the entire population without much resistance, after initially converting the southern tribes. From 1600 to 1857, the colonizers were able to put up nine centers of local governments through the establishment of parishes, Caramoran, Pandan, Viga, Panganiban, Virac, Bato, during the early 1950s, Baras was created. Bagamanoc, a municipality during the Spanish period was reduced to a mere barrio of Viga and later of Panganiban. It formally became a municipality in 1950 followed by Gigmoto in 1951 and it was during this period that the island saw its own development growth. Interlinking roads built and trading centers created, during the American Regime, the some locals refused to recognize the sovereignty of the United States, and most of them fled to the mountains. The American occupation did not last long, in 1934, the Americans had ceased control of the island
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Culion
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Culion is a third class municipality in the province of Palawan, Philippines, consisting primarily of Culion Island as well as 41 minor surrounding islands. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 19,543 people, Culion is part of the Calamian group of islands. It was a leprosarium under the American commonwealth of the Philippines. The municipality was created by virtue of Republic Act No.7193 on February 19,1992, Culion is an island situated at the northernmost part of Palawan. It is part of the Calamian Archipelago in northern Palawan that also includes the municipalities of Busuanga, Coron, during the Spanish Period, these were known as Las Islas de Calamianes, Provincia de España. The municipality has an area of 500 square kilometres which includes the 41 surrounding islands. Its largest island, Culion Island, has an area of 389 square kilometres and it is bounded on the north by Busuanga Island, on the east by the Coron Reef, on the south by Linapacan Island, and on the west by the South China Sea. The Culion sea is teeming with a total of 201 fish species including commercially important fish like Lapu-lapu, Kanuping, Maya-Maya, Tanguige, Dalagang Bukid, squid, cuttlefish, shrimps, crabs, shellfish and sea cucumber or trepang are plentiful. Three ecosystems sustain the marine life of Culion, mangroves, seagrass. 17 mangrove species cover the coastline of Culion,9 seagrass species and 47 coral genera representing 60% of the total genera found in the Philippines are found in Culion. In 1858, Calamianes was divided into 2 provinces, “Castilla”, castilla, which included northern Palawan, retained its capital of Taytay. In 1873, the capital of Palawan was changed from Taytay to Cuyo, the French anthropologist Alfred Marche traveled the Philippines and documented his research of many places. French Ambassador Pirre Revol in particular translated Marche’s account of the Calamianes, Marche, who makes a fairly accurate description of the geography of the island, refers to Culion as the principal village of the Calamianes. The fact that a boat from Manila “touches Culion once a month” attests to the economy of the place at that time. Marche’s description of the place and people he met in the 1880s are important indicators of the ethnography of Calamianes since more than a hundred years ago. The primacy of Culion as a settlement community of the Calamianes is further supported by the fact that a Justice of the peace resided. Claudio Sandoval y Rodriguez a Spanish mestizo from Jaro, Iloilo married Evarista Manlavi daughter of a landowner from Cuyo. Claudio Sandoval became Jezgado de Paz de Culion, Calamianes and held office sometime in the late 1880s, Culion’s “visitas” included the island of Busuanga and other areas in Calamianes
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Guimaras
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Guimaras is an island province in the Philippines located in the region of Western Visayas. Among the smallest provinces, its capital is Jordan, the province is situated in the Panay Gulf, between the islands of Panay and Negros. To the northwest is the province of Iloilo and to the southeast is Negros Occidental, the whole island is part of the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras, one of the twelve metropolitan areas of the Philippines. The province consists primarily of Guimaras Island, and also includes Inampulugan, Guiwanon, Panobolon, Natunga, Nadulao, geologists have concluded that the island once formed one landmass with Panay. Guimaras, formerly known as Himal-us, was a sub-province of Iloilo until it was made an independent province on May 22,1992. He and his subordinates organized the pueblicitos or villages of Nayup under the patronage of Saint Peter the Apostle, evangelization of Guimaras occurred around the same time the friars were making inroads in Panay. The Augustinians established the visitas of Nayup and Igang as subordinate to Oton, gómez Pérez Dasmariñas, the 7th Spanish Governor-General, noted in a 20 June 1591 report to King Philip II that the friars of Oton made regular visits to the island. The Jesuits, who had established a school in Iloilo and had missions in Molo and Arevalo, by 1755, it was organized into a regular parish. When the population increased considerably, the island was given its status with a seat of government at Tilad. Under American rule, the Guimarasnons were given the opportunity to elect their president in 1908. Douglas MacArthur, a graduate from West Point as a Second Lieutenant at the age of 23. They constructed roads and the Santo Rosario Wharf, presently named MacArthurs Wharf, in November 1903, while working on Guimaras, he was ambushed by a pair of Filipino brigands or guerrillas, he shot and killed both with his pistol. In 1942, Japanese Imperial forces landed on Guimaras Island as the Empire of Japan began its occupation of the country during the Second World War, Guimaras gained its status as a sub-province of Iloilo through Republic Act 4667, which was enacted by Congress on 18 June 1966. It was proclaimed as a regular and full-fledged province on 22 May 1992 after a plebiscite was conducted to ratify the approval of its conversion pursuant to Section 462 of R. A. Shortly after Guimaras acquired its status, President Fidel V. Ramos appointed Emily Relucio-López as its first Governor. The province of Guimaras was originally composed up of three municipalities, Buenavista, Jordan, and Nueva Valencia, in 1995, through Republic Act No.7896 and Republic Act No. 7897, the municipalities of Sibunag and San Lorenzo were created, the two new municipalities officially acquired their municipal status after the May 8,1995 plebiscite held simultaneously with the local election. Ernesto L. Gedalanga was the first appointed mayor of Sibunag, the temporary seat of government of the Municipality of Sibunag is at Barangay Dasal while the temporary seat of Government of the Municipality of San Lorenzo is at Barangay Cabano
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Jolo
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Jolo is a volcanic island in the southwest Philippines and is the primary island of the province of Sulu wherein its capital of the same name is situated. It is located in the Sulu Archipelago, between Borneo and Mindanao, and has a population of approximately 300,000 people, the island is the location of the Jolo Group of Volcanoes, and contains numerous volcanic cones and craters, including the active Bud Dajo cinder cone. The island is also the headquarters of Abu Sayyaf terrorists, after a series of less-than-successful attempts during the centuries of Spanish rule in the Philippines, Spanish forces captured the city of Jolo, the seat of the Sultan of Sulu, in 1876. On that year, the Spanish launched a campaign to occupy Jolo. On 21 February of that year, the Spaniards assembled the largest contingent against Jolo, consisting of 9,000 soldiers, in 11 transports,11 gunboats, troops, including a cavalry with its own lieutenant commander, were garrisoned within the protective confine of the walls. From Jolo, in 1880 Col. Rafael Gonzales de Rivera who was appointed the governor dispatched the 6th Regiment to Siasi, the Spaniards were not secure in their stronghold because it would be sporadically attacked. On 22 July 1883, it is reported that three unnamed juramentado succeeded in penetrating the Jolo town plaza and killed three Spaniards, the word Ajuramentado was coined by Spanish colonel Juan Arolas after witnessing several such acts while serving duty in Jolo garrison. The Spanish and the Sultan of Sulu signed the Spanish Treaty of Peace on July 22,1878, the Spanish-language version of the Treaty gave Spain complete sovereignty over the Sulu archipelago, this includes Basilan. The Americans arrived in 1899, and by the turn of the century, so as not to spread out their forces, the Americans employed the classic divide-and-rule tactic. Initially Sultan Kiram was disappointed by the hand-over of control to the Americans and had expected to regain sovereignty over the Sulu archipelago after the defeat of the Spanish. Batess main goal though, was to guarantee the Sultanates neutrality in the Philippine–American War, after some negotiations, the Bates Treaty was signed. Although the Bates Treaty granted more powers to the Americans than the original Spanish treaty, the peace created by the Bates Treaty did not last, however. This became evident when the Muslims repudiated the Moro province, a government in Mindanao lasting from 1903 to 1914. It is important to note that two months before the creation of the Moro province, the American colonial government declared and classified all unoccupied lands as public lands. Immediately after the declaration, American investments entered Mindanao and mass migration of Christians was encouraged, Jolo was occupied by the Japanese during World War II. On April 2,1945, the Second Battalion of the U. S. 163rd Regiment, 41st Division landed at Sanga Sanga and Bongao in the Sulu Archipelago, halfway between the island of Borneo and the Philippines. A week later, the two battalions of the regiment left Mindanao and landed at Jolo, where they began fighting their way up heavily defended Mount Daho. In three weeks of combat the 163rd suffered 37 dead and 191 wounded, approximately 2,600 Japanese troops were killed, and only 87 Japanese soldiers were captured or surrendered on Jolo
Media related to Samar (island) at Wikimedia Commons
Samar Island travel guide from Wikivoyage
