1.
NASA
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President Dwight D. Eisenhower established NASA in 1958 with a distinctly civilian orientation encouraging peaceful applications in space science. The National Aeronautics and Space Act was passed on July 29,1958, disestablishing NASAs predecessor, the new agency became operational on October 1,1958. Since that time, most US space exploration efforts have led by NASA, including the Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station. Currently, NASA is supporting the International Space Station and is overseeing the development of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for unmanned NASA launches. NASA shares data with various national and international such as from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite. Since 2011, NASA has been criticized for low cost efficiency, from 1946, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics had been experimenting with rocket planes such as the supersonic Bell X-1. In the early 1950s, there was challenge to launch a satellite for the International Geophysical Year. An effort for this was the American Project Vanguard, after the Soviet launch of the worlds first artificial satellite on October 4,1957, the attention of the United States turned toward its own fledgling space efforts. This led to an agreement that a new federal agency based on NACA was needed to conduct all non-military activity in space. The Advanced Research Projects Agency was created in February 1958 to develop technology for military application. On July 29,1958, Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, a NASA seal was approved by President Eisenhower in 1959. Elements of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and the United States Naval Research Laboratory were incorporated into NASA, earlier research efforts within the US Air Force and many of ARPAs early space programs were also transferred to NASA. In December 1958, NASA gained control of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA has conducted many manned and unmanned spaceflight programs throughout its history. Some missions include both manned and unmanned aspects, such as the Galileo probe, which was deployed by astronauts in Earth orbit before being sent unmanned to Jupiter, the experimental rocket-powered aircraft programs started by NACA were extended by NASA as support for manned spaceflight. This was followed by a space capsule program, and in turn by a two-man capsule program. This goal was met in 1969 by the Apollo program, however, reduction of the perceived threat and changing political priorities almost immediately caused the termination of most of these plans. NASA turned its attention to an Apollo-derived temporary space laboratory, to date, NASA has launched a total of 166 manned space missions on rockets, and thirteen X-15 rocket flights above the USAF definition of spaceflight altitude,260,000 feet. The X-15 was an NACA experimental rocket-powered hypersonic research aircraft, developed in conjunction with the US Air Force, the design featured a slender fuselage with fairings along the side containing fuel and early computerized control systems
2.
Borneo
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Borneo is the third-largest island in the world and the largest island in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, the island is politically divided among three countries, Malaysia and Brunei in the north, and Indonesia to the south. Approximately 73% of the island is Indonesian territory, in the north, the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak make up about 26% of the island. Additionally, the Malaysian federal territory of Labuan is situated on an island just off the coast of Borneo. The sovereign state of Brunei, located on the north coast, antipodal to an area of Amazon rainforest, Borneo is itself home to one of the oldest rainforests in the world, and to Bornean orangutans. The island is known by names, internationally it is known as Borneo, after Brunei. The name Brunei possibly was derived from the Sanskrit word váruṇa, meaning either ocean or the mythological Varuna. Indonesian natives called it Kalimantan, which was derived from the Sanskrit word Kalamanthana, prior to that the island was also known by other names. In 977 Chinese records began to use the term Po-ni to refer to Borneo or Brunei, in 1225 it was also mentioned by the Chinese official Chau Ju-Kua. The Javanese manuscript Nagarakretagama, written by Majapahit court poet Mpu Prapanca in 1365, mentioned the island as Nusa Tanjungnagara, to the west of Borneo are the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. To the south and east are islands of Indonesia, Java and Sulawesi, to the northeast are the Philippine Islands. With an area of 743,330 square kilometres, it is the third-largest island in the world and its highest point is Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, with an elevation of 4,095 m. The largest river system is the Kapuas in West Kalimantan, with a length of 1,143 km, other major rivers include the Mahakam in East Kalimantan, the Barito in South Kalimantan, and Rajang in Sarawak. Clearwater Cave, for example, has one of the worlds longest underground rivers, deer Cave is home to over three million bats, with guano accumulated to over 100 metres deep. The South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand now submerge the former low-lying areas of the peninsula, the Borneo rainforest is 140 million years old, making it one of the oldest rainforests in the world. There are about 15,000 species of flowering plants with 3,000 species of trees,221 species of mammals and 420 species of resident birds in Borneo. There are about 440 freshwater fish species in Borneo and it is the centre of the evolution and distribution of many endemic species of plants and animals. The Borneo rainforest is one of the few remaining habitats for the endangered Bornean orangutan
3.
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
4.
Body of water
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A body of water or waterbody is any significant accumulation of water, generally on a planets surface. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, a body of water does not have to be still or contained, Rivers, streams, canals, and other geographical features where water moves from one place to another are also considered bodies of water. Most are naturally occurring geographical features, but some are artificial, there are types that can be either. For example, most reservoirs are created by engineering dams, similarly, most harbors are naturally occurring bays, but some harbors have been created through construction. Bodies of water that are navigable are known as waterways, some bodies of water collect and move water, such as rivers and streams, and others primarily hold water, such as lakes and oceans. The term body of water can also refer to a reservoir of water held by a plant, note that there are some geographical features involving water that are not bodies of water, for example waterfalls, geysers and rapids. Arm of the sea - also sea arm, used to describe a sea loch, arroyo - a usually dry creek bed or gulch that temporarily fills with water after a heavy rain, or seasonally. Artificial lake or artificial pond - see reservoir or impoundment, barachois - a lagoon separated from the ocean by a sand bar. Bay - an area of water bordered by land on three sides, similar to, but smaller than a gulf, bayou - a slow-moving stream or a marshy lake. Bight - a large and often only slightly receding bay, or a bend in any geographical feature, billabong - see Oxbow lake, a pond or still body of water created when a river changes course and some water becomes trapped. Boil - see Seep Brook - a small stream, canal - an artificial waterway, usually connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans. Channel - the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean consisting of a bed. See also stream bed and strait, earth scientists generally use the term to describe a circular or round inlet with a narrow entrance, though colloquially the term is sometimes used to describe any sheltered bay. Basin - a region of land where water from rain or snowmelt drains downhill into another body of water, such as a river, lake, creek - an inlet of the sea, narrower than a cove. Delta - the location where a river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, distributary or distributary channel - a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Draw - a usually dry creek bed or gulch that temporarily fills with water after a heavy rain, fjord - a submergent landform which has occurred due to glacial activity. Glacier - a large collection of ice or a river that moves slowly down a mountain. Glacial Pothole - see Kettle Gulf - a part of a lake or ocean that extends so that it is surrounded by land on three sides, similar to, but larger than a bay, headland - an area of water bordered by land on three sides
5.
Sea
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A sea is a large body of salt water that is surrounded in whole or in part by land. More broadly, the sea is the system of Earths salty. The sea moderates Earths climate and has important roles in the cycle, carbon cycle. Although the sea has been traveled and explored since prehistory, the scientific study of the sea—oceanography—dates broadly to the British Challenger expedition of the 1870s. Owing to the present state of continental drift, the Northern Hemisphere is now equally divided between land and sea but the South is overwhelmingly oceanic. Salinity in the ocean is generally in a narrow band around 3. 5% by mass, although this can vary in more landlocked waters, near the mouths of large rivers. About 85% of the solids in the sea are sodium chloride. Deep-sea currents are produced by differences in salinity and temperature, surface currents are formed by the friction of waves produced by the wind and by tides, the changes in local sea level produced by the gravity of the Moon and Sun. The direction of all of these is governed by surface and submarine land masses, former changes in sea levels have left continental shelves, shallow areas in the sea close to land. The most diverse areas surround great tropical coral reefs, whaling in the deep sea was once common but whales dwindling numbers prompted international conservation efforts and finally a moratorium on most commercial hunting. Life may have started there and aquatic microbial mats are generally credited with the oxygenation of Earths atmosphere, the sea is an essential aspect of human trade, travel, mineral extraction, and power generation. It is the scene of activities including swimming, diving, surfing. However, population growth, industrialization, and intensive farming have all contributed to marine pollution. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is being absorbed in increasing amounts, lowering its pH in a known as ocean acidification. The shared nature of the sea has made overfishing an increasing problem, both senses of sea date to Old English, the larger sense has required a definite article since Early Middle English. Seas are generally larger than lakes and contain salt water, while the defining elements of size and being bounded are generally used, there is no formally accepted technical definition of sea among oceanographers. In international law, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea states that all the ocean is the sea. Earth is the known planet with seas of liquid water on its surface, although Mars possesses ice caps
6.
Drainage basin
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A drainage basin or catchment area is any area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet, such as into a river, bay, or other body of water. Drainage basins connect into other drainage basins at elevations in a hierarchical pattern, with smaller sub-drainage basins. Other terms used to describe drainage basins are catchment, catchment basin, drainage area, river basin and water basin. In closed drainage basins the water converges to a point inside the basin, known as a sink, which may be a permanent lake. The drainage basin acts as a funnel by collecting all the water within the covered by the basin. Each drainage basin is separated topographically from adjacent basins by a perimeter, drainage basins are similar but not identical to hydrologic units, which are drainage areas delineated so as to nest into a multi-level hierarchical drainage system. Hydrologic units are defined to allow multiple inlets, outlets, or sinks, in a strict sense, all drainage basins are hydrologic units but not all hydrologic units are drainage basins. Drainage basins of the oceans and seas of the world. Grey areas are endorheic basins that do not drain to the oceans, the following is a list of the major ocean basins, About 48. 7% of the worlds land drains to the Atlantic Ocean. The two major mediterranean seas of the world also flow to the Atlantic, The Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico basin includes most of the U. S. The Mediterranean Sea basin includes much of North Africa, east-central Africa, Southern, Central, and Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the areas of Israel, Lebanon. Just over 13% of the land in the world drains to the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Oceans drainage basin also comprises about 13% of Earths land. It drains the eastern coast of Africa, the coasts of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, Burma, antarctica comprises approximately eight percent of the Earths land. The five largest river basins, from largest to smallest, are the basins of the Amazon, the Río de la Plata, the Congo, the Nile, and the Mississippi. The three rivers that drain the most water, from most to least, are the Amazon, Ganga, endorheic drainage basins are inland basins that do not drain to an ocean. Around 18% of all land drains to endorheic lakes or seas or sinks, the largest of these consists of much of the interior of Asia, which drains into the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea, and numerous smaller lakes. Some of these, such as the Great Basin, are not single drainage basins but collections of separate, in endorheic bodies of standing water where evaporation is the primary means of water loss, the water is typically more saline than the oceans. An extreme example of this is the Dead Sea, drainage basins have been historically important for determining territorial boundaries, particularly in regions where trade by water has been important
7.
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
8.
Malaysia
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Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy located in Southeast Asia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government, with a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia, located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries on earth, with large numbers of endemic species. Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, the first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946, Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963 to become Malaysia, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, which plays a role in politics. About half the population is ethnically Malay, with minorities of Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indians. The constitution declares Islam the state religion while allowing freedom of religion for non-Muslims, the government system is closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system and the legal system is based on common law. The head of state is the king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and he is an elected monarch chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine Malay states every five years. The head of government is the prime minister, since its independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with its GDP growing at an average of 6. 5% per annum for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce. Today, Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, ranked third largest in Southeast Asia, the name Malaysia is a combination of the word Malay and the Latin-Greek suffix -sia/-σία. The word melayu in Malay may derive from the Tamil words malai and ur meaning mountain and city, land, malayadvipa was the word used by ancient Indian traders when referring to the Malay Peninsula. Whether or not it originated from these roots, the word melayu or mlayu may have used in early Malay/Javanese to mean to steadily accelerate or run. This term was applied to describe the current of the river Melayu in Sumatra. The name was adopted by the Melayu Kingdom that existed in the seventh century on Sumatra
9.
Palawan
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Palawan, officially the Province of Palawan, is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the Mimaropa region. It is the largest province in the country in terms of area of jurisdiction. Its capital is the City of Puerto Princesa, but it is governed independently from the province as an urbanized city. The islands of Palawan stretch between Mindoro in the northeast and Borneo in the southwest and it lies between the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea. The province is named after its largest island, Palawan Island, measuring 450 kilometres long, the province is composed of the long and narrow Palawan Island, plus a number of other smaller islands surrounding it, totalling roughly 1,780 islands and islets. The Calamianes Group of Islands to the northeast consists of Busuanga, Coron, Culion, Balabac Island is located off the southern tip, separated from Borneo by the Balabac Strait. In addition, Palawan covers the Cuyo Islands in the Sulu Sea, the disputed Spratly Islands, located a few hundred kilometres to the west, are considered part of Palawan by the Philippines, and is locally called the Kalayaan Group of Islands. Palawans almost 2,000 kilometres of coastline is lined with rocky coves. It also harbors a vast stretch of forests that carpet its chain of mountain ranges. The mountain heights average 3,500 feet in altitude, with the highest peak rising to 6,843 feet at Mount Mantalingahan, the vast mountain areas are the source of valuable timber. The terrain is a mix of coastal plain, craggy foothills, valley deltas, the province has a total land area of 14,649.73 square kilometres. When Puerto Princesa City is included for geographical purposes, its area is 17,030.75 square kilometres. The land area is distributed to its mainland municipalities, comprising 12,239 square kilometres, and the island municipalities, the province has two types of climate. The first, which occurs in the northern and southern extremities, the other, which prevails in the eastern coast, has a short dry season of one to three months and no pronounced rainy period during the rest of the year. The southern part of the province is virtually free from tropical depressions but northern Palawan experiences torrential rains during the months of July, summer months serve as peak season for Palawan. Sea voyages are most favorable from March to early June when the seas are calm, the average maximum temperature is 31 °C with little variation all year. Palawan comprises 433 barangays in 23 municipalities and the capital City of Puerto Princesa, as an archipelago, Palawan has 13 mainland municipalities and 10 island towns. The remaining island municipalities are, Busuanga, Coron, Linapacan and Culion, Cuyo, Agutaya and Magsaysay, Araceli, Cagayancillo, Balabac and Kalayaan
10.
Tubbataha Reef
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The Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is a protected area of the Philippines located in the middle of the Sulu Sea. The marine and bird sanctuary consists of two atolls and the smaller Jessie Beazley Reef covering a total area of 97,030 hectares. It is located 150 kilometres southeast of Puerto Princesa City, the capital of Palawan province, the uninhabited islands and reefs are part of the island municipality of Cagayancillo, Palawan, located roughly 130 kilometres to the northeast of the reef. The site is an excellent example of a coral reef with a spectacular 100-m perpendicular wall, extensive lagoons. In 1999, Ramsar listed Tubbataha as one of the Wetlands of International Importance, in 2008, the reef was nominated at the New 7 Wonders of Nature. The area is under a threat due to overfishing and destructive fishing practices. The reefs also serve as a ground for Hawksbill and Green sea turtles. The natural park is located near the middle of Sulu Sea,150 kilometres southeast of Puerto Princesa City, the smaller Jessie Beazley Reef is located about 20 kilometres north of the two atolls. The Tubbataha Reef is situated on the Cagayan Ridge, composing of extinct underwater volcanoes, being a true atoll structure, it is believed that the atolls of Tubbataha were formed thousands of years ago as fringing reefs and volcanic islands. This is based on Charles Darwins theory that atolls are formed when a volcano erupts, when the volcanoes became extinct and the islands subsided over a long time, only the corals remain, growing towards the sunlight. The very big corals seen today surrounding the lagoons are originally the fringing reefs, the word tubbataha is a combination of two Sama-Bajau words, tubba and taha, which together means a long reef exposed at low tide. Historically, Sama-Bajau peoples, who have a lifestyle, visit the reef from time to time. Although people from the islands of Cagayancillo are frequent visitors of the reef and they used the native vessel banka to sail and fish on Gusong, their local name for the Tubbataha. Tubbatahas isolation, located in the middle of the Sulu Sea far from inhabitants of the nearest populated islands, had preserved its marine resources from over-exploitation over the years, the two islets in Tubbataha have no source of freshwater thus preventing habitation. In the 1980s, fishermen reaching Tubbataha increased in numbers with the advent in motorized bangkas, fish had declined in other fishing grounds because of overfishing and soon Tubbataha became a fishing destination because of its abundant marine life. Many fishermen used destructive fishing techniques like cyanide and dynamite fishing to maximize their catch, scuba divers and environmentalists campaigned to make the reefs a national marine park. This was the first time that the Philippines have declared an area as a national park. In the early years of law enforcement by the Presidential Task Force, in 1996 a wooden structure was built but shifting sand soon rendered its foundations unstable
11.
Filipino language
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Filipino /ˌfɪlɪˈpiːnoʊ/, in this usage, refers to the national language of the Philippines. Filipino is also designated, along with English, as a language of the country. It is the register of the Tagalog language, an Austronesian. As of 2007, Tagalog is the first language of 28 million people, or about one-third of the Philippine population, Filipino is among the 185 languages of the Philippines identified in the Ethnologue. Filipino is ideally a pluricentric language, in reality, however, Filipino has been variously described as simply Tagalog in syntax and grammar, with no grammatical element or lexicon coming from. Other major Philippine languages, and as essentially a version of Tagalog. In most contexts, Filipino is understood to be a name for Tagalog. There was no language in the Philippine archipelago when the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. The four major trade languages were Visayan, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, as the Philippine languages are all closely related and therefore easy for Filipinos to learn, most speakers of smaller languages spoke two or more of such regional languages. The first dictionary of Tagalog was written by the Franciscan Pedro de San Buenaventura, a latter book of the same name was written by Czech Jesuit missionary Paul Klein at the beginning of the 18th century. Klein spoke Tagalog and used it actively in several of his books and he wrote the first dictionary, which he later passed over to Francisco Jansens and José Hernandez. On November 13,1936, Commonwealth act No, on November 12,1937, the First National Assembly of the Philippine Commonwealth approved the law for the establishment of the Surián ng Wikang Pambansâ. This institute would be responsible for surveying and researching existing native languages in order to determine among them the basis for a national language of the Philippines. Then-president Manuel L. Quezon later appointed representatives for each major regional language to form NLI, sales Rodriguez, Hadji Butu, and Cecilio Lopez. On December 13,1937, Presisis of the new national language, Spanish was the language of the 1896 Revolution and the Katipunan, but the revolution was led by people who also spoke Tagalog. In 1959, the became known as Pilipino in an effort to dissociate it from the Tagalog ethnic group. However, neither the nor the amended version specified either Tagalog or Pilipino as the basis for Filipino. Instead they tasked the National Assembly to, take steps toward the development and this move has drawn much criticism from the nations other ethnic groups
12.
Malay language
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Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It has a status in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia. As the Bahasa Kebangsaan or Bahasa Nasional of several states, Standard Malay has various official names, in Singapore and Brunei it is called Bahasa Melayu, in Malaysia, Bahasa Malaysia, and in Indonesia, Bahasa Indonesia and is designated the Bahasa Persatuan/Pemersatu. However, in areas of central to southern Sumatra where the language is indigenous, Indonesians refer to it as Bahasa Melayu and consider it one of their regional languages. There are also several Malay trade and creole languages which are based on a lingua franca derived from Classical Malay, as well as Macassar Malay, Malay historical linguists agree on the likelihood of the Malay homeland being in western Borneo stretching to the Bruneian coast. A form known as Proto-Malay language was spoken in Borneo at least by 1000 BCE and was, it has been argued, the ancestral language of all subsequent Malayan languages. The history of the Malay language can be divided into five periods, Old Malay, the Transitional Period, the Malacca Period, Late Modern Malay and it is not clear that Old Malay was actually the ancestor of Classical Malay, but this is thought to be quite possible. Old Malay was influenced by Sanskrit literary language of Classical India, Sanskrit loanwords can be found in Old Malay vocabulary. Batenburg on November 29,1920 at Kedukan Bukit, South Sumatra, on the banks of the Tatang and it is a small stone of 45 by 80 centimetres. The earliest surviving manuscript in Malay is the Tanjong Tanah Law in post-Pallava letters and this 14th-century pre-Islamic legal text produced in the Adityawarman era of Dharmasraya, a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom that arose after the end of Srivijayan rule in Sumatra. The laws were for the Minangkabau people, who still live in the highlands of Sumatra. The Malay language came into use as the lingua franca of the Malacca Sultanate. During this period, the Malay language developed rapidly under the influence of Islamic literature, the development changed the nature of the language with massive infusion of Arabic, Malayalam and Sanskrit vocabularies, called Classical Malay. Under the Sultanate of Malacca the language evolved into a form recognisable to speakers of modern Malay, however, there is no connection between Malaccan Malay as used on Riau and the Riau vernacular. One of the oldest surviving letters written in Malay is a letter from Sultan Abu Hayat of Ternate, Maluku Islands in present-day Indonesia, the letter is addressed to the king of Portugal, following contact with Portuguese explorer Francisco Serrão. The letters show sign of non-native usage, the Ternateans used the unrelated Ternate language, Malay was used solely as a lingua franca for inter-ethnic communications. Malay is a member of the Austronesian family of languages, which includes languages from Southeast Asia, malagasy, a geographic outlier spoken in Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, is also a member of this language family. Although each language of the family is mutually unintelligible, their similarities are rather striking, many roots have come virtually unchanged from their common ancestor, Proto-Austronesian language
13.
Spanish language
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Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania
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South China Sea
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The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Karimata and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 square kilometres. The areas importance largely results from one-third of the worlds shipping sailing through its waters, the sea and its mostly uninhabited islands are subject to competing claims of sovereignty by several countries. These claims are reflected in the variety of names used for the islands. South China Sea is the dominant term used in English for the sea, and this name is a result of early European interest in the sea as a route from Europe and South Asia to the trading opportunities of China. In the sixteenth century Portuguese sailors called it the China Sea, the International Hydrographic Organization refers to the sea as South China Sea. The Classic of Poetry, Zuo Zhuan, and Guoyu classics of the Spring and Autumn period also referred to the sea, Nan Hai, the South Sea, was one of the Four Seas of Chinese literature. There are three other seas, one for each of the four cardinal directions, during the Eastern Han dynasty, Chinas rulers called the Sea Zhang Hai. Fei Hai became popular during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period, usage of the current Chinese name, Nan Hai, became gradually widespread during the Qing Dynasty. In Southeast Asia it was called the Champa Sea or Sea of Cham. The majority of the sea came under Japanese naval control during World War II following the acquisition of many surrounding South East Asian territories in 1941. Japan calls the sea Minami Shina Kai South China Sea and this was written 南支那海 until 2004, when the Japanese Foreign Ministry and other departments switched the spelling 南シナ海, which has become the standard usage in Japan. In China, it is called the South Sea, 南海 Nánhǎi, in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, it was long called the South China Sea, with the part within Philippine territorial waters often called the Luzon Sea, Dagat Luzon, by the Philippines. However, following an escalation of the Spratly Islands dispute in 2011, a PAGASA spokesperson said that the sea to the east of the Philippines will continue to be called the Philippine Sea. In September 2012, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III signed Administrative Order No, states and territories with borders on the sea include, the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam. Major rivers that flow into the South China Sea include the Pearl, Min, Jiulong, Red, Mekong, Rajang, Pahang, Pampanga, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the South China Sea as follows, On the South. From Fuki Kaku the North point of Formosa to Kiushan Tao on to the South point of Haitan Tao, the Mainland, the Southern limit of the Gulf of Thailand and the East coast of the Malay Peninsula. The sea lies above a drowned continental shelf, during recent ice ages global sea level was hundreds of metres lower, the South China Sea opened around 45 million years ago when the Dangerous Ground rifted away from southern China. Extension culminated in seafloor spreading around 30 million years ago, a process that propagated to the SW resulting in the V-shaped basin we see today, extension ceased around 17 million years ago
15.
Celebes Sea
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It extends 420 miles north-south by 520 mi east-west and has a total surface area of 110,000 square miles, to a maximum depth of 20,300 feet. The sea opens southwest through the Makassar Strait into the Java Sea, the Celebes Sea is a piece of an ancient ocean basin that formed 42 million years ago in a locale removed from any landmass. By 20 million years ago, earth crust movement had moved the basin close enough to the Indonesian and Philippine volcanoes to receive emitted debris. By 10 million years ago the Celebes Sea was inundated with continental debris, including coal, which was shed from a young mountain on Borneo. The border between the Celebes and the Sulu Sea is at the Sibutu-Basilan Ridge, strong ocean currents, deep sea trenches and seamounts, combined with active volcanic islands, result in complex oceanographic features. It has been agreed that north of the line will be under the jurisdiction of the Philippines. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the Celebes Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago, the IHO defines its limits as follows, On the North. The Southern limit of Sulu Sea and the Southwest coast of Mindanao, a line from Tinaca Point, the Southern point of Mindanao, to the North point of pulau Sangihe Besar thence through the pulau-pulau Sangihe to Tanjung Puisan, the Northeast extreme of Celebes. The North coast of Celebes between tanjung Puisan and tanjung Binar and thence a line to Tanjung Mangkalihat in Borneo, the Northern limit of Makassar Strait, the East coast of Borneo between Tanjung Mangkalihat and Tanjong Labian, the Southern limit of the Sulu Sea. The Celebes Sea is home to a variety of fish. Tuna and yellowfin tuna are also abundant, in addition to high abundance of fish caught in the Celebes sea, this sea also yields other aquatic products like sea tang. The Celebes Sea is an important sea route for regional trade, the sea is also popular for scuba diving and luxury ocean cruising. The Celebes Sea is underlain by a plate with a mid oceanic spreading in the center part. This place is subducted to the south and north, a number of seismic surveys and research drillings were done in this area to gather geological information. The geology of Sulawesi Sea has been described in the Geology of Indonesia Wikibook, exploring the Inner Space of the Celebes Sea 2007 - A rich collection of images, video and audio podcast
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Sulu Archipelago
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The Sulu Archipelago is a chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean, in the southwestern Philippines. The archipelago forms the limit of the Celebes Sea and southern limit of the Sulu Sea. The Sulu Archipelago islands are within the Mindanao island group, consisting of the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, the archipelago is not, as is often supposed, the remains of a land bridge between Borneo and the Philippines. Tawi-Tawi, the southernmost island of the group, has a serpentine basement-complex core with a limestone covering and this island chain is an important migration route for birds. The largest municipalities in the area are on Maimbung and Jolo, the archipelago is the home of the indigenous Tausug people, various group of Samal people including the semi-nomadic Badjaw, the land-based Sama, the related Yakan people, and the Jama Mapun people. The Tausug language is widely in the Sulu Archipelago as both first and second languages throughout these islands. The Yakan language is mainly in Basilan Island. Numerous dialects of Sinama are spoken throughout the archipelago, from the Tawi-Tawi Island group, to the Mapun island group, to the coast of Mindanao, the archipelago is geographically subdivided into several groups, most significantly those around the main islands Basilan, Jolo and Tawi-Tawi. After that, it part of the Bruneian Empire before gaining its own independence on 1578. The region then part of the independent Sultanate of Sulu. The arrival of Western powers later became a conflict when the Spanish start to impose the rule of Spanish East Indies over the Sulu Archipelago, Spanish military expeditions against the sultanate were launched over the centuries of the colonial Philippines period. The Moro Rebellion independence movement continued the Islamic Moro conflict, against the United States occupation in areas of the Moro people in the archipelago, the Sulu Archipelago was part of the Islamic Sultanate of Sulu, founded in 1405 by Shari’ful Hashem Syed Abu Bak’r. The sultanate also included portions of Borneo, Mindanao, Palawan, from the first Spanish encounters with Jolo island, the Spanish–Moro conflict met firm and organised resistance from the Sultanate of Sulu. Miguel López de Legazpi had established a colony in Cebu in May 1565, the following year, Figueroa was awarded the sole right to colonise Mindanao. In 1587, during a campaign against Borneo launched by Sande, the Spaniards left Jolo after a few days. The Joloanos resolved to resist Spanish intrusions, in response to attacks, Joloanos raided Spanish settlements and reducciones. In November 1593, the Spanish Empire sent Juan Ronquillo to Tampakan to thwart the slave raiders, the following year, the Spanish Army troops relocated to Caldera Bay, Mindanao. In 1598, another expedition was launched against Jolo, but was repelled by the Joloanos, in late 1600, Captain Juan Gallinato with a group of about 200 Spanish soldiers attacked Jolo but were unsuccessful
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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
18.
Cagayan Sulu
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Mapun is a fourth class partially urban municipality in the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 26,597 people. Mapun is an municipality in the Sulu Sea on the south-western extreme of the Philippines, located very close to Sabah. The people inhabiting the island are known as Jama Mapun or people of Mapun and their dialect is Pullun Mapun, which means Mapun dialect. Mapun is politically subdivided into 15 barangays, elementary Secondary Notre Dame of Cagayan - a private school located in the border of Barangay Lupa Pula and Barangay Mahalu. Majority of those who graduate high school pursue their studies in other places, most notably Zamboanga City, Palawan. Mapun Foundation Day is celebrated by the Jama Mapun every September 5 and this week-long celebration starts on September 1, with a parade and then a short program held in Lupa Pula Central School. Various competitions are held during Mapun Day, which includes singing competitions, dance showdowns, Azaan competition, Tarasul iban Daman, each Barangay has their own representatives in the various events. However, the most popular is the Budjang Mapun, which is a beauty contest, each barangay has its own contestant in this event. The winner of the search for Budjang Mapun is usually sent to Bongao as Mapuns representative in Budjang Tawi-Tawi, every municipality in Tawi-Tawi has its own contestant. According to local legend the Berbalang is indigenous to a village in the interior of the Island. List of renamed cities and municipalities in the Philippines Philippine Standard Geographic Code Philippine Census Information
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Mapun
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Mapun is a fourth class partially urban municipality in the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 26,597 people. Mapun is an municipality in the Sulu Sea on the south-western extreme of the Philippines, located very close to Sabah. The people inhabiting the island are known as Jama Mapun or people of Mapun and their dialect is Pullun Mapun, which means Mapun dialect. Mapun is politically subdivided into 15 barangays, elementary Secondary Notre Dame of Cagayan - a private school located in the border of Barangay Lupa Pula and Barangay Mahalu. Majority of those who graduate high school pursue their studies in other places, most notably Zamboanga City, Palawan. Mapun Foundation Day is celebrated by the Jama Mapun every September 5 and this week-long celebration starts on September 1, with a parade and then a short program held in Lupa Pula Central School. Various competitions are held during Mapun Day, which includes singing competitions, dance showdowns, Azaan competition, Tarasul iban Daman, each Barangay has their own representatives in the various events. However, the most popular is the Budjang Mapun, which is a beauty contest, each barangay has its own contestant in this event. The winner of the search for Budjang Mapun is usually sent to Bongao as Mapuns representative in Budjang Tawi-Tawi, every municipality in Tawi-Tawi has its own contestant. According to local legend the Berbalang is indigenous to a village in the interior of the Island. List of renamed cities and municipalities in the Philippines Philippine Standard Geographic Code Philippine Census Information
20.
Turtle Islands, Tawi-Tawi
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Turtle Islands, sometimes called the Philippine Turtle Islands, is a fifth class municipality composed of a remote group of seven islands in the province of Tawi-Tawi in the Southern Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 4,727 people, under the Treaty of Paris of 1898 Spain ceded to the United States the archipelago known as the Philippine Islands. The terms of treaty were supplemented by the Treaty of Washington of 1900. On the basis of this cession, the United States claimed sovereignty over the Philippine Turtle Islands, responding to the claim, the United Kingdom government said there was no intention. to question the title of the United States to the islands. By a further international treaty concluded in 1930 between the United States and the United Kingdom the two agreed the international boundaries between those respective territories. S. The U. S. never gave such a notice, on 4 July 1946 the Republic of the Philippines was born. It became the successor to the U. S. under the treaties of 1930. On 15 July 1946 the United Kingdom annexed the State North Borneo and, in the view of the United Kingdom, on 19 September 1946 the Republic of the Philippines notified the United Kingdom that it wished to take over the administration of the Turtle Islands and the Mangesse Islands. The British agreed to the Philippine request to establish a joint committee to examine the administration of the islands. The joint committee made an inspection of the islands but ultimately on 24 September 1947 the Philippnies made known its decision to press ahead with taking over the administration of the islands, pursuant to a supplemental international agreement, the transfer of administration became effective on 16 October 1947. The largest of the islands, Taganak, is near the entrance to Sandakan Bay, the lighthouse on the island, which was of practical importance to nearby North Borneo, became the subject of an international dispute known as the Taganak Lighthouse Dispute. The 1930 international treaty dealing with the transfer of administration of the Turtle Islands including Taganak contained the following provision, In the event of of the Island of Taganak. Manila asserted that the lighthouse had been damaged in the war, that it had not been in operation since its destruction. The government was willing to lease the site for the lighthouse to North Borneo for one peso per annum, the United Kingdom view was that the Philippines was required under the terms of the 1930 treaty concerning the Turtle Islands to maintain the ligthhouse in the future. On 23 July 1949 the Philippines responded in the terms as it had at the time of the transfer. They concluded that the Philippine Government is justified in refusing to pay. today, the abandoned lighthouse tower remains at the summit of the island. The Turtle Islands were constituted as a municipal district under the jurisdiction of the Province of Sulu under Executive Order 95 signed by President Manuel Roxas on 13 October 1947. The same executive order proclaimed the assumption of jurisdiction and administration by the Republic of the Philippines over the Turtle, under the executive order, a district officer was put in charge of administering the new special municipality
21.
Tawi-Tawi
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Tawi-Tawi is an island province in the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The capital of Tawi-Tawi is Bongao, per Batas Pambansa Blg.24 enacted on April 4,1979. It is the southernmost province of the country, sharing sea borders with the Malaysian state of Sabah, to the northeast lies the province of Sulu. Tawi-Tawi also covers some islands in the Sulu Sea to the northwest, the Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi Island, Province was named after its main island. Tawi-Tawi is the Sinama form of jawi-jawi, Malay for banyan tree, early Spanish accounts give the name of the island as Tauitaui, Tavi-Tavi or Tavitavi. Sibutu remained under Spanish rule until 1900, the Tawi-Tawi anchorage was a major base for the Imperial Japanese Navys Southwest Area Fleet during the Second World War. Tawi-Tawi was previously part of the province of Sulu, on September 11,1973, pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 302, the new province of Tawi-Tawi was officially created, separate from Sulu, the seat of the provincial government was initially designated as Bato-Bato in the municipality of Balimbing, but was moved to Bongao on April 4,1979 by virtue of Batas Pambansa Blg. The province lies at the tip of the country, situated between the Sulu Sea in the north and the Celebes Sea in the south. The province is part of the Sulu Archipelago, and consists of Tawitawi Island and 106 surrounding islands, Tawitawi Island itself has an area of 580.5 square kilometres. The province has two seasons, dry and wet, the wettest months are from August to November. The other months of the year are dry with occasional rain showers. The main island of Tawi-Tawi supports many species and subspecies of vertebrates, invertebrates and plants unique to this island. These include the Tawitawi brown dove, the Sulu hornbill and the Sulu bleeding-heart, Tawi-Tawi comprises 11 municipalities, all encompassed by a single legislative district and further subdivided into 203 barangays. However, in the EDSA Revolution, the word balimbing acquired a meaning associated with turncoatism due to the fruits many sides. It is the capital of the province. Two of them, Mapun, and Turtle Islands lie within the Sulu Sea, the population of Tawi-Tawi in the 2015 census was 390,715 people, with a density of 360 inhabitants per square kilometre or 930 inhabitants per square mile. Most of the people in Tawi-Tawi belong to the Sama cultural group, within this group are subgroups and named based on the location of the speaker
22.
World Heritage Site
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A World Heritage Site is a landmark which has been officially recognized by the United Nations, specifically by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Sites are selected on the basis of having cultural, historical, scientific or some form of significance. UNESCO regards these sites as being important to the interests of humanity. The programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common culture, under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The program was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the Worlds Cultural and Natural Heritage, since then,192 state parties have ratified the convention, making it one of the most adhered to international instruments. As of July 2016,1052 sites are listed,814 cultural,203 natural, in 1959, the governments of Egypt and Sudan requested UNESCO to assist their countries to protect and rescue the endangered monuments and sites. In 1960, the Director-General of UNESCO launched an appeal to the Member States for an International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, the campaign, which ended in 1980, was considered a success. The project cost $80 million, about $40 million of which was collected from 50 countries, the projects success led to other safeguarding campaigns, saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, and the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia. UNESCO then initiated, with the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the United States initiated the idea of cultural conservation with nature conservation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in 1968, the Convention came into force on 17 December 1975. As of June 2016, it has been ratified by 192 states, including 188 UN member states plus the Cook Islands, the Holy See, Niue, a country must first list its significant cultural and natural sites, the result is called the Tentative List. A country may not nominate sites that have not been first included on the Tentative List, next, it can place sites selected from that list into a Nomination File. The Nomination File is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and these bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. There are ten selection criteria – a site must meet at least one of them to be included on the list, up to 2004, there were six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. In 2005, this was modified so there is now only one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of outstanding value and meet at least one of the ten criteria. Thus, the Geneva Convention treaty promulgates, Article 53, PROTECTION OF CULTURAL OBJECTS AND OF PLACES OF WORSHIP. There are 1,052 World Heritage Sites located in 165 States Party, of these,814 are cultural,203 are natural and 35 are mixed properties
23.
Iloilo Strait
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The Iloilo Strait is a strait in the Philippines that separates the islands of Panay and Guimaras in the Visayas, and connects the Panay Gulf with the Guimaras Strait. It is the location of the Port of Iloilo, the third busiest of the ports in the Philippines in number of ships. Iloilo City on Panay is the city located on the strait with Buenavista and Jordan. The Iloilo River empties into the strait, pumpboat ferries cross every few minutes from Iloilo City to Guimaras and vice versa. Ships doing business with the Port of Iloilo often moor in the strait, the Port of Iloilo was opened for international trade in 1855 and the coming of British Vice-consul Nicholas Loney, a year later, led to the fast development of the sugar industry in the region. 2GO Travels ferry St. Gregory The Great nearly capsized on 15 June 2013, list of East Asian ports Media related to Iloilo Strait at Wikimedia Commons Philippine Ports Authority
24.
Guimaras Strait
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Guimaras Strait is a body of water in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, connecting the Visayan Sea with the Panay Gulf and Sulu Sea beyond. To the north and west are Panay and Guimaras Islands, while Negros Island is to the south, bacolod City is a major seaport on the strait, which also provides access to the Port of Iloilo City via the Iloilo Strait. The Guimaras Strait is an important fishing ground in the Philippines, the northern part is particularly known for blue crab, a top export commodity. The Guimaras oil spill, that occurred in the Panay Gulf on August 11,2006, has affected the fishing industry. During this spill, considered Philippines worst, the oil tanker M/T Solar 1 sank during a violent storm and this spill followed another one in December 2005, when a passenger ship ran aground in the strait. It spilled 360,000 litres of oil, polluting some 40 kilometres of coastline and 230 hectares of virgin mangrove forests. Besides these oil spills, the ecosystems of the Guimaras Strait also suffer from coastal development. Increased urban populations and transportation are causing anthropogenic pressures, while gillnet fishing has exceeded the maximum sustainable yield since 1999
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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
26.
International Hydrographic Organization
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The International Hydrographic Organization is the inter-governmental organisation representing hydrography. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the seas, oceans. It does this through the setting of standards, the co-ordination of the endeavours of the worlds national hydrographic offices. The IHO enjoys observer status at the United Nations where it is the competent authority on hydrographic surveying. When referring to hydrography and nautical charting in Conventions and similar Instruments, it is the IHO standards, the IHO was established in 1921 as the International Hydrographic Bureau. The present name was adopted in 1970 as part of a new international Convention on the IHO adopted by the member nations. The former name International Hydrographic Bureau was retained to describe the IHO secretariat until 8 November 2016, there were substantial differences in hydrographic procedures charts, and publications. In 1889, an International Maritime Conference was held at Washington, D. C. similar proposals were made at the sessions of the International Congress of Navigation held at Saint Petersburg in 1908 and the International Maritime Conference held at Saint Petersburg in 1912. In 1919 the hydrographers of Great Britain and France cooperated in taking the steps to convene an international conference of hydrographers. London was selected as the most suitable place for this conference, and on 24 July 1919 and this is still the major purpose of the IHO. As a result of the conference, a permanent organization was formed, the IHB, now the IHO, began its activities in 1921 with 18 nations as members. The Principality of Monaco was selected as the seat of the organization as a result of the offer of Albert I, the IHO develops hydrographic and nautical charting standards. These standards are adopted and used by its 86 member countries and others in their surveys, nautical charts. Much has been done in the field of standardisation since the Bureau was founded, the IHO has encouraged the formation of Regional Hydrographic Commissions. Each RHC coordinates the national surveying and charting activities of countries within each region, the 15 RHCs plus the IHO Hydrographic Commission on Antarctica effectively cover the world. The IHO, in partnership with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, directs the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans programme, in 2010 the IHO introduced a new, contemporary hydrographic geospatial standard for modelling marine data and information, known as S-100. S-100 and any dependent product specifications are underpinned by an on-line registry accessible via the IHO website, S-100 is aligned with the ISO19100 series of geographic standards, thereby making it fully compatible with contemporary geospatial data standards. Because S-100 is based on ISO19100, it can be used by other providers for their maritime-related data
27.
Mindoro
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Mindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon and northeast of Palawan, the southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea. In past times, it has been called Ma-i or Mait by Han Chinese traders and by Spaniards, according to the late historian William Henry Scott, an entry in the official history of the Sung Dynasty for the year 972 mentions Ma-i as a trading partner of China. Other Chinese records referring to Ma-i or Mindoro appear in the years that follow, the island was briefly ruled by the Sultanate of Brunei and housed Moro settlements before the Spanish invaded and Christianized the population. From 1920 to 1950, the island was a province with Calapan City as the provincial capital. In 1950, it was partitioned into its two present-day provinces, Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro, following a referendum that was pushed through by then acting governor Romeo Venturanza, the island was the location of the Battle of Mindoro in World War II. The economy of Mindoro is largely based on agriculture, products consist of a wide variety of fruits, such as citrus, bananas, lanzones, rambutan and coconuts, grainss, sugarcane, peanuts, fish, livestock and poultry. Logging and the mining of marble and copper also thrive, tourism is a lucrative business as well, with locations such as Apo Reef National Park, Lubang Island, Puerto Galera, Sabang Beach and Mount Halcon. Puerto Galeras beaches are the islands most known tourist attraction and are widely visited, the principal language in Mindoro is Tagalog, although in some parts it has been greatly influenced by the native Mangyan and Visayan languages. Mainstream Standard Filipino and Taglish are, indeed, present in and around such areas as Calapan City, Pinamalayan, Puerto Galera and San Jose. Visayan and Mangyan languages, too, are spoken on the island, as are Ilocano, Bicolano, and some foreign languages — e. g. English, Hokkien, the following indigenous languages are spoken in Mindoro. The religion of the indigenous Mangyan population is animism, Mindoro is also home to the tamaraw or Mindoro dwarf buffalo, which is endemic to the island. The tamaraw is a related to the water buffalo and is an endangered species. Washington DC Media related to Mindoro at Wikimedia Commons Geographic data related to Mindoro at OpenStreetMap Map of Mindoro showing towns and major mountain tops
28.
Panay
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Panay Island, is the sixth largest and fourth most populous island in the Philippines. With a total area of 12,011 Sq. km. Iloilo City, is the largest city on the island, with a population of 447,992. It is an island, located in the western part of the Visayas. It is about 160 kilometres across, it is divided into four provinces, Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Iloilo and it is located southeast of the island of Mindoro and northwest of Negros, separated by the Guimaras Strait. Between Panay and Negros lie the island-province of Guimaras, to the north and northeast is the Sibuyan Sea and the islands of Romblon, to the west and southwest is the Sulu Sea and to the south is Panay Gulf. Panay River, is the longest river in the island, Mount Madja-as in Antique, is the second highest peak on the island with an elevation of 2,117 m above sea level. Mount Nangtud, is the highest mountain in Panay, standing at 7,234 ft. above sea level, Located on the border of Barbaza, Antique and Jamindan, before 1212, Panay was called Simsiman. The community is located at the shores of the Ulian river and was linked by a creek, the creek provided salt to the Ati people as well as animals which lick the salt out of the salty water. Coming from the root word simsim, simsimin means to something to eat or to drink. During the time of Datu Pulpulan, father of the Ati chief Marikudo, the island was called Aninipay from words ani to harvest and nipay, the hair of this grass though short is very sharp and easily prick the skin as barbs and is very difficult to remove. Once the barbs stick to the skin it can cause a skin irritation. For this reason, Datu Pulpulan enacted a law that whoever among the Atis will use the grass to endanger others will face death as punishment. The picturesque mountain which stood majestically in the area was thought to be the place of Bululakaw. The island was so named by the Malay settlers due to the splendid beauty, a Spaniard named Gonzalo Ronquillo reached the island and also gave the name Pan hay which means theres a bread in the island. The place was then called Pan-hay which eventually became Panay, Madja-as was established by nine rebel datus or high officials connected with the court of Brunei, who were forced to leave that are on account of enmity of the Rajah at that time ruling the land. The datus, together with their wives and children, as well as few faithful servants and followers were escorted out of the country by the Rajahs Chief Minister. The local folklore says that the name of the Bornean Rajah was Makatunao and their ultimate origins may be traced to the sacking of the kingdom of Pannai at North Sumatra by the Chola dynasty who had placed puppet Rajahs on the throne after their invasion
29.
Negros Island
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Negros is an island in the Philippines, which is the fourth largest in the country with a total land area of 13,309.60 km2. Negros is one of the islands comprise the Visayas, which forms the central division of the nation. It was created by virtue of Executive Order No.183 issued by President Benigno Aquino III on May 29,2015, the predominant inhabitants of the island region are mainly called Negrenses. As of 2015, Negros Island Regions total population is 4,414,131. Negros was originally called Buglas, an old Hiligaynon word thought to mean cut off, among its earliest inhabitants were the dark-skinned Ati people, one of several aboriginal Negrito ethnic groups dispersed throughout Southeast Asia that possesses a unique culture. The westernmost portions of the island fell under the nominal rule of the Kedatuan of Madja-as from the neighbouring islands of Panay. Upon arriving on the island in April 1565, the Spanish colonisers called the land Negros after the natives they observed. After appointing encomenderos for the island, Miguel López de Legazpi placed Negros under the jurisdiction of the governor of Oton on Panay, in 1734, however, the island became a military district with Ilog as its first capital. The seat of government was transferred to Himamaylan until Bacolod became the capital in 1849. In 1865, Negros and its outlying minor islands along with Siquijor was converted into a politico-military province, in 1890, the island was partitioned into the present-day provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental. The Spanish Governor, D. Isidro Castro y Cinceros, surrendered to the Philippine Revolutionaries, led by Aniceto Lacson and Juan Araneta, general Miller appointed Aniceto, Governor of the Island in March 1899. On 9 April 1901, the Second Philippine Commission under the chairmanship of William H. Taft arrived in Dumaguete, from 3 to 6 November 1898, the Negrense peoples rose in revolt against the local Spanish colonial government headed by politico-military governor Colonel Isidro de Castro. The Spaniards decided to surrender upon seeing armed troops marching in a movement towards Bacolod. By the afternoon of 6 November, Col. de Castro signed the Act of Capitulation, in memory of this event, every November 5 is observed as a special non-working holiday in the province through Republic Act №6709, signed by President Corazon Aquino on 10 February 1989. On 27 November 1898, the Cantonal Republic of Negros unilaterally proclaimed independence, the state was renamed the Republic of Negros on 22 July 1899, and eventually dissolved by the United States and annexed by the U. S. Military Government of the Philippine Islands on 30 April 1901,1 as part of the Integrated Reorganization Plan of President Ferdinand Marcos. Negros Occidental was assigned to Western Visayas while Negros Oriental became part of Central Visayas, the movement for a single-island region started in the 1980s when officials of both provinces proposed a one-island, one-region unit. This led to the filing of House Bill No.1477 titled An Act Merging the Province of Negros Occidental and Oriental into One-Island Region
30.
Mindanao
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Mindanao is the second largest and southernmost major island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three groups in the country, consisting of the island of Mindanao and smaller outlying islands. As of the 2010 census, the population itself is 20,281,545 people, while the Mindanao island group has 21,968,174 inhabitants. Davao City is the most populous city in Mindanao hosting 1,632,991 people, followed by Zamboanga City, Cagayan de Oro City, the island has seen a communist insurgency as well as armed Moro separatist movements. Mindanao is considered the food basket of the Philippines, eight of the top 10 agri-commodities exported from the Philippines come from here. Mindanao is also dubbed with the monikers The Philippines Land of Promise, although many attempts made, it was never occupied by Spain for their 333 years of stay in Luzon and Visayas. Yet during Spains defeat and Treaty of Paris in 1898, they illegally included by coordinates Mindanao, evidence of human occupation dates back tens of thousands of years. In prehistoric times the Negrito people arrived, sometime around 1500 BC, Austronesian peoples spread throughout the Philippines and far beyond. Native people of the Maluku Islands refer the island as Maluku Besar, the evidence of old stone tools in Zamboanga del Norte may indicate a late Neolithic presence. Ceramic burial jars, both unglazed and glazed, as well as Chinese celadons, have found in caves, together with shell bracelets, beads. Many of the objects are from the Yuan and Ming periods. Evidently, there was a history of trade between the Subanon and the Chinese long before the latter’s contact with Islam. In the Classic epoch of Philippine history, the people of Mindanao were heavily exposed to Hindu and Buddhist influence and beliefs from Indonesia, artifacts found from this era include the Golden kinnara, Golden Tara, and the Ganesh pendant. These cultural traits passed through Mindanao into the Visayas and Luzon, in coastal areas, the Hindu-Buddhist cultural revolution was strongest, whereas in interior parts, influences were indigenized into local animist beliefs and customs and appeared more subtly. The Darangen epic of the Maranao people harkens back to this era as the most compete local version of the Ramayana. The Maguindanao at this also had strong Hindu beliefs, evidenced by the Ladya Lawana epic saga that survives to the modern day. The Rajahnate of Butuan, a kingdom mentioned in Chinese records as a tributary state in the 10th century AD, was concentrated along the northeastern coast of the island around Butuan. The coming of Islam happened in the 14th century, the first mosque in the Philippines was built in the mid-14th century in the town of Simunul
31.
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
32.
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
33.
Bongao, Tawi-Tawi
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Bongao is a second income class municipality and the capital of the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 100,527 people, the municipalitys territory includes Bongao Island, Sanga-Sanga Island, Pababag Island, as well as the western end of Tawitawi Island. With an area of around 350 square kilometers, its possible for Bongao to become a component city in the years to come, Bongao is politically subdivided into 35 barangays. Before the armed rebellion of the MNLF in the early 1970s, Bongao was merely a backwater village ruled by the prominent noble Halun family, the capital of the province was Batu-Batu in the mainland situated in a cove with deep waters suited for anchors of the Philippine Navy. At the height of the rebellion and fearing that the provincial capitol might be overrun. The transfer of the seat of government ushered the development of the island as the southernmost center of commerce. Suddenly, the population swelled as individuals who are in government service moved to the town, today, Bongao is a minuscule cosmopolitan site that is becoming a model of multicultural society. There is also a congregation of Jesus is Lord of one-time presidential aspirant Pastor Eddie Villanueva. The main thoroughfare is Datu Halun Street, where the Town Hall is situated, most of the businesses here are owned by local people. Due to its peace and order situation, recent migrant Chinese from Zamboanga have also open business. Banks operating in Bongao include Land Bank of the Philippines, Philippine National Bank, quedancor, a government owned investment company, has recently opened business. The Midway Plaza Mall, a new 2-storey retail center, is the first shopping mall in Tawi-tawi opened in April 2010, the first two are government owned state colleges, while the last three are privately owned. Philippine Standard Geographic Code Philippine Census Information
34.
Star Trek
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Star Trek is an American science fiction media franchise based on the television series created by Gene Roddenberry. The first television series, simply called Star Trek and now referred to as The Original Series, debuted in 1966 and it followed the interstellar adventures of Captain James T. Kirk and his crew aboard the starship USS Enterprise, an exploration vessel. The Star Trek canon of the franchise include The Original Series, a series, four spin-off television series, its film franchise. In creating Star Trek, Roddenberry was inspired by the Horatio Hornblower novels, the satirical book Gullivers Travels and these adventures continued in the short-lived Star Trek, The Animated Series and six feature films. The adventures of The Next Generation crew continued in four feature films. In 2009, the franchise underwent a reboot set in an alternate timeline, or Kelvin Timeline. This film featured a new cast portraying younger versions of the crew from the show, their adventures were continued in the sequel film. The thirteenth film feature and sequel, Star Trek Beyond, was released to coincide with the franchises 50th anniversary, a new Star Trek TV series, titled Star Trek, Discovery, will premiere in May 2017 on the digital platform CBS All Access. Star Trek has been a phenomenon for decades. Fans of the franchise are called Trekkies or Trekkers, the franchise spans a wide range of spin-offs including games, figurines, novels, toys, and comics. Star Trek had an attraction in Las Vegas that opened in 1998. At least two museum exhibits of props travel the world, the series has its own full-fledged constructed language, Klingon. Several parodies have been made of Star Trek, in addition, viewers have produced several fan productions. As of July 2016, the franchise had generated $10 billion in revenue, Star Trek is noted for its cultural influence beyond works of science fiction. The franchise is also noted for its civil rights stances. The Original Series included one of televisions first multiracial casts, Star Trek references can be found throughout popular culture from movies such as the submarine thriller Crimson Tide to the animated series South Park. As early as 1964, Gene Roddenberry drafted a proposal for the series that would become Star Trek
35.
Hikaru Sulu
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Hikaru Kato Sulu is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. Originally known simply as Sulu, he was portrayed by George Takei in the original Star Trek series. Sulu also appears in the animated Star Trek series, the first six Star Trek movies, one episode of Star Trek, Voyager, and in books, comics. Sulus first name, Hikaru, appeared in a 1981 novel well over a decade after the series had ended. John Cho assumed the role of the character in both the 2009 film Star Trek and its sequels, Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond. Takei recalled Gene Roddenberry wanted the character to represent all of Asia, Roddenberry did not want a nationally specific surname, so he looked at a map and saw the Sulu Sea. He thought, Ah, the waters of that sea touch all shores, the actor recalled, historically, Sulu was a Muslim sultanate founded in 1405 until March 1915 when the Sultan abdicated when it had become part of the United States. The island province of Sulu continued to be a US territory until 1946, in the book Inside Star Trek, The Real Story, the characters name is noted as a pun on the name of vice president of Desilu Studios, Herb Solow. Novelist Vonda McIntyre first presents Hikaru as the characters first name in the novel The Entropy Effect, McIntyre derived the characters first name from The Tale of Genji. In some Japanese dubs, Commander Sulus family name is changed to Kato and this is because there is no lu syllable in Japanese, so to Japanese speakers Sulu does not sound like a Japanese name. However, in recent movies, it is slightly changed. The name スールー, is used as opposed to スル, which would be a closer transliteration, suru with short vowels in Japanese is the verb to do, and as such might also come across as odd to Japanese audiences. The fictional character Hikaru Sulu was born in San Francisco, and is of Japanese heritage and he was shown as the USS Enterprises staff physicist in the pilot episode, Where No Man Has Gone Before. An early Paramount press release described this initial conception of his character as follows, Physicist Sulu is the trim, frequently it is his assessment of the conditions on unexplored planets that finally determines when and how they will be approached, or if they can be explored at all. However, throughout the rest of the series, he served as officer and senior helmsman. Throughout the series, Sulu is shown having many interests and hobbies, including gymnastics, botany, fencing, in the episode The Naked Time, Spock observes that Sulu is at heart a swashbuckler out of the 18th century. The character is promoted to lieutenant commander some time before Star Trek, The Motion Picture, during the first five Star Trek movies, he serves as helmsman aboard both the USS Enterprise and USS Enterprise-A. He is promoted to captain and given command of the USS Excelsior three years before the events of Star Trek VI, The Undiscovered Country, Star Trek Generations introduces Hikarus daughter, Demora Sulu, whose origins are also depicted in Peter Davids non-canon novel The Captains Daughter
36.
George Takei
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George Hosato Takei is an American actor, director, author, and activist of Japanese descent. Takei is best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise in the television series Star Trek and he also portrayed the character in six Star Trek feature films and one episode of Star Trek, Voyager. Takeis involvement in media has brought him fresh attention. As of February 2017, his Facebook page has over 10 million likes since he joined in 2011, Takei is a proponent of LGBT rights and is active in state and local politics. He has won awards and accolades in his work on human rights and Japan–United States relations. His father was an Anglophile, and named him George after King George VI of the United Kingdom, whose coronation took place in 1937, shortly after Takeis birth. In 1942, the Takei family was forced to live in the horse stables of Santa Anita Park before being sent to the Rohwer War Relocation Center for internment in Rohwer. The family was transferred to the Tule Lake War Relocation Center in California. George Takei had several relatives living in Japan during World War II, among them, he had an aunt and infant cousin who lived in Hiroshima who were both killed during the atomic bombing that destroyed the city. In Takeis own words, my aunt and baby cousin found burnt in a ditch in Hiroshima, at the end of World War II, Takei and his family returned to Los Angeles. He attended Mount Vernon Junior High School, where he served as student body president at Los Angeles High School and he was a member of Boy Scout Troop 379 of the Koyasan Buddhist Temple. Upon graduation from school, Takei enrolled in the University of California. Later he attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in theater in 1960 and he attended the Shakespeare Institute at Stratford-upon-Avon in England, and Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. In Hollywood, he studied acting at the Desilu Workshop, Takei began his career in Hollywood in the late 1950s, providing voiceover for characters in the English dub of the Japanese monster films Godzilla Raids Again a. k. a. Gigantis the Fire Monster, for the latter of which he recalled, here was one word that we had difficulty getting the meaning of. The Japanese word was bakayaro, which means stupid fool, the director, Takei said, had him use the phrase banana oil. He went on to appear in the television series Playhouse 90. He guest starred in the season fifth episode of Hawaiian Eye Thomas Jefferson Chu
37.
Gene Roddenberry
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Eugene Wesley Gene Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for creating the original Star Trek television series, born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, where his father was a police officer. Roddenberry flew 89 combat missions in the Army Air Forces during World War II, later, he followed in his fathers footsteps and joined the Los Angeles Police Department, where he also began to write scripts for television. As a freelance writer, Roddenberry wrote scripts for Highway Patrol, Have Gun–Will Travel, in 1964, Roddenberry created Star Trek, which premiered in 1966 and ran for three seasons before being canceled. He then worked on projects, including a string of failed television pilots. The syndication of Star Trek led to its popularity, this, in turn, resulted in the Star Trek feature films, on which Roddenberry continued to produce. He continued to consult on the series until his death in 1991, years after his death, Roddenberry was one of the first humans to have his ashes carried into earth orbit. The popularity of the Star Trek universe and films has inspired films, books, comic books, video games, and fan films set in the Star Trek universe. Roddenberry was born on August 19,1921, in his parents rented home in El Paso, Texas, the family moved to Los Angeles in 1923 after Genes father passed the Civil Service test and was given a police commission there. During his childhood, Roddenberry was interested in reading, especially magazines, and was a fan of stories such as John Carter of Mars, Tarzan. Roddenberry majored in science at Los Angeles City College, where he began dating Eileen-Anita Rexroat. He obtained a license through the United States Army Air Corps-sponsored Civilian Pilot Training Program. He enlisted with the USAAC on December 18,1941, and he graduated from the USAAC on August 5,1942, when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He was posted to Bellows Field, Oahu, to join the 394th Bomb Squadron, 5th Bombardment Group, of the Thirteenth Air Force, which flew the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. On August 2,1943, while flying out of Espiritu Santo, the plane Roddenberry was piloting overshot the runway by 500 feet and impacted trees, crushing the nose, the official report absolved Roddenberry of any responsibility. Roddenberry spent the remainder of his career in the United States. He was involved in a plane crash, this time as a passenger. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal, in 1945, Roddenberry began flying for Pan American World Airways, including routes from New York to Johannesburg or Calcutta, the two longest Pan Am routes at the time
38.
Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy
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Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy was a radio adventure series which maintained its popularity from 1933 to 1951. The program originated at WBBM in Chicago on July 31,1933, gale later served as President of the Ad Council. Early popularity led to commissioning of a radio serial broadcast, only the adventures were a product of Gales imagination. There was a real Jack Armstrong, a member of Sam Gales college fraternity, the adventures which captivated listeners each week were entirely fictitious, and led to good-natured ribbing throughout Armstrongs life. Another creation of Sam Gales fertile mind was the iconic Betty Crocker, the radio serial maintained its popularity from 1933 to 1951. Frequently, Uncle Jim Fairfield would have to visit an exotic part of the world in connection with his business, and he would take Jack Armstrong, many of the adventures provided listeners with the equivalent of a travelogue, providing facts about the lands they were visiting. The show was created by writer Robert Hardy Andrews, throughout its broadcast span, the program offered radio premiums that usually related to the adventures in which Jack and his friends were involved. In the Jack Armstrong movie serial of 1947, ace science whiz Armstrong must free his friend from a fortress after he is kidnapped by a villain who wants his help in building a death ray. That same year the Parents Institute began publishing their Jack Armstrong comic book which had a 13-issue run, leslie N. Daniels, Jr. wrote the Big Little Book, Jack Armstrong and the Ivory Treasure. Daniels tale was based on a 1937 Talbot Mundy radio script which Mundy had first written as his novel The Ivory Trail, bob Schoenke also drew a newspaper comic strip based on the radio series between 1947 and 1949. A short Jack Armstrong animated TV pilot was developed by Hanna-Barbera for a television series. However, when negotiations for rights to the characters collapsed, the series was reworked into what became the animated adventure Jonny Quest. Some of the Jack Armstrong footage survived in the credits for Jonny Quest. Timothy Bottoms portrayed Jack Armstrong in the game, American Hero. Jack Armstrong entered the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1989
39.
Piracy in the Sulu Sea
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Piracy in the Sulu Sea occurred in the vicinity of Mindanao, where frequent acts of piracy were committed against the Spanish. Because of the wars between Spain and the Moro people, the areas in and around the Sulu Sea became a haven for piracy which was not suppressed until the beginning of the 20th century. The pirates should not be confused with the forces or privateers of the various Moro tribes. However, many of the pirates operated under government sanction during time of war, the pirate ships used by the Moros were known as proa, or garays, and they varied in design. The majority were wooden sailing galleys about ninety feet long with a beam of ten feet 27.4 by 6.1 m and they carried around fifty to 100 crewmen. Slave trading and raiding was also common, the pirates would assemble large fleets of proas. Hundreds of Christians were captured and imprisoned over the centuries, many were used as galley slaves aboard the pirate ships. Other than muskets and rifles, the Moro pirates, as well as the navy sailors, the wooden or ivory handle was often heavily ornamented with silver or gold. The type of wound inflicted by its blade makes it difficult to heal, the kris was used often used in boarding a vessel. Moros also used a Kampilan, another sword, a knife, or barong and a spear, made of bamboo and an iron spearhead. The Moros swivel guns were not like more modern guns used by the powers but were of a much older technology, making them largely inaccurate. Lantakas dated back to the 16th century and were up to six long, requiring several men to lift one. They fired up to a cannonball or grape shot. A lantaka was bored by hand and were sunk into a pit, the barrel was then bored by a company of men walking around in a circle to turn drill bits by hand. The Spanish engaged the Moro pirates frequently in the 1840s, the expedition to Balanguingui in 1848 was commanded by Brigadier José Ruiz with a fleet of nineteen small warships and hundreds of Spanish Army troops. They were opposed by at least 1,000 Moros holed up in four forts with 124 cannons, there were also dozens of proas at Balanguingui but the pirates abandoned their ships for the better defended fortifications. The Spanish stormed three of the positions by force and captured the one after the pirates had retreated. Over 500 prisoners were freed in the operation and over 500 Moros were killed or wounded, the Spanish lost twenty-two men killed and around 210 wounded
40.
Bohol Sea
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The Bohol Sea, also called the Mindanao Sea, is located between Visayas and Mindanao in the Philippines. It lies south of Bohol and Leyte and north of Mindanao, siquijor and Camiguin are its two major islands. The major cities on the sea are Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Butuan, Dumaguete, Ozamiz, the Bohol Sea is home to a large variety of premier scuba diving locations, dive charter boats, and hotels that cater to divers. Around the area of Tagbilaran and Balicasag Island there are numerous wall dives that range from 30 to 100 feet, water temperatures are very warm and most divers use a standard 3/2 shorty wetsuit to dive the location. Sea life is abundant and includes such attractions as clownfish, lionfish, barracuda, dolphins, huge coral formations, rorquals have been confirmed to return into Bohol Sea which is a rare trend in any Asian waters, and most notably Bohol regions host even blue whales. Media related to Bohol Sea at Wikimedia Commons
41.
Camotes Sea
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The Camotes Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, situated between the Eastern Visayan and the Central Visayan regions. It is bordered by the islands of Leyte to the north and east, Bohol to the south, the sea is connected to the Visayan Sea to the northwest, and to the Bohol Sea to the south by the Canigao Channel and Cebu Strait. It contains the Camotes Islands and Mactan Island, the major cities of the area are Ormoc and Baybay in Leyte province, and Cebu City, Cebu
42.
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
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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
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Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Mapun Island". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). 
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