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Trivia
The exotic jeepney
is a post-war creation inspired by the GI jeeps that the American
soldiers brought to the country in the 1940s. Enterprising Filipinos
salvaged the surplus engines and came out unique vehicles of art.
Short distance
and feeder trips could not be more exciting than via Philippine quick
transports – the tricycle, a motorcycle with a sidecar, and
the pedicab, a bicycle with a sidecar.
The world’s
longest underground river system accessible to man can be found at
the St. Paul National Park in the province of Palawan.
The largest
Philippine wild animal, the tamaraw, is a species of the buffalo that
is similar to the carabao. It is found only in the island of Mindoro.
The highest
mountain in the Philippines is Mt. Apo, a dormant volcano found in
Mindanao, at 2,954 meters (9,689 feet). Mt. Pulog in Luzon is the
second highest at 2,928 meters (9604 feet).
Filipino bowler
Rafael "Paeng" Nepomuceno was the first bowler to be elevated
to the International Bowling Hall of Fame based in St. Louis, Missouri,
USA. The Philippine Congress has named him “Greatest Filipino
Athlete of All Time.”
Philippine National
Hero and writer Jose Rizal could read and write at age 2. He grew
up to speak more than 20 languages, including Latin, Greek, German,
French, and Chinese. What were his last words? "Consummatum est!"
("It is done!")
The largest
city in the Philippines is Davao City. With an area of 2,211 sq. km.,
it is about three times the size of the national capital, Metro Manila.
Cebu is the
oldest Philippine city.
Negros Occidental
has the most cities among Philippine provinces.
Filipinos celebrate
the world’s longest religious holiday. The Christmas season
begins on September 1st, as chillier winds and Christmas carols start
filling the air, and ends on the first week of January, during the
Feast of the Three Kings.
Paskuhan Village
in the province of Pampanga is Asia’s only Christmas theme park
and the third of its kind in the world.
The great Christmans
lanterns of San Fernando, Pampanga can reach as big as 40 feet in
diameter, using as many as 16,000 glowing bulbs.
The exotic jeepney
is the Filipino version of the jitney, the taxi/minibus that travels
along a fixed route, found in many countries.
The popular
toy, the yoyo, was invented by 16th century hunters in the Philippines.
The word "boondocks,"
which is now a part of the English language, dictionary, and vocabulary,
comes from the Tagalog word "bundok," meaning "mountain."
The Philippines
became the first Asian country to win FIVE major international beauty
pageant crowns — two for Miss Universe, in 1969 and 1973, and
three for Miss International, in 1965, 1970, and 1979.
Diving paradise
Anilao, in the province of Batangas, is the theme of a picture book
that bagged the International Prize for Underwater Images at the 27th
World Festival of Underwater Images in France in November 2000. “Anilao"
book creators and Filipino scuba divers Scott Tuason and Eduardo Cu
Unjieng defeated big names in underwater photography such as Jacques
Mayol, Pascal Kobeh, Monique Walker, and Alessandro Tommasi.
The biggest
game preserve and wildlife sanctuary in the Philippines is located
on Calauit Island in Palawan, which has the largest land area among
the Philippine provinces.
The antibiotic
erythromycin — used to treat a wide variety of bacterial infections,
such as respiratory tract infections, middle ear infections, and skin
infections — was created by Filipino scientist Abelardo Aguilar,
and has earned American drug giant Eli Lilly billions of dollars.
Neither Aguilar nor the Philippine government received royalties.
Fernando Amorsolo
was officially the first National Artist of the Philippines. He was
given the distinction of National Artist for Painting in 1972.
Philippines
Herald war journalist Carlos P. Romulo was the first Asian to win
a Pulitzer Prize in Journalism in 1942. He was also aide-de-camp to
General Douglas MacArthur in World War II; Philippine resident commissioner
in the U.S. Congress from 1944-46; and the first Asian to become UN
President in 1949.
The largest
fish in the world, the Whale Shark, locally known as Butanding, regularly
swims to the Philippine waters.
The world’s
shortest and lightest freshwater fish is the dwarf pygmy goby (Pandaka
Pygmaea), a colorless and nearly transparent species found in the
streams and lakes of Luzon. Males have an average length of 8.7 mm.
and weigh 4-5 mg.
On January 18,
1995, Pope John Paul II offered mass to an estimated 4 to 5 million
people at Luneta Park, Manila, Philippines, making it to the Guiness
Book of World Records for the Biggest Papal Crowd.
The Philippine
Madrigal Singers bagged the 1997 European Choral Grand Prix, the choral
olympics of the world’s best choirs. The group, being the only
Asian choir, bested five regional champions from all over Europe,
earning them the title as the "world’s best choir."
There are 12,000
or so species of seashells in the Philippines. The Conus Gloriamaris
or "Glory of the Sea" is the rarest and most expensive in
the world.
Of the 500 known
coral species in the world, 488 are found in the Philippines.
Of the eight
species of marine turtles worldwide, five are reported to be found
in the Philippines: the Green Turtle, Hawkbill, Leatherback, Olive
Ridley, and Loggerhead.
Of the eight
known species of giant clams in the world, seven are found in the
Philippines.
The Basilica
of San Sebastian is the only steel church in Asia and was the second
building to be made out of steel, next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The largest
bell in Asia hangs at the belfry of the 221-year old Panay Church.
It is 7 feet in diameter and 7 feet in height, and weighs 10.4 tons.
Its tolling can be heard as far as 8 km. away. It was casted from
70 sacks of coins donated by the townspeople as a manifestation of
faith and thanksgiving.
The World Cup,
which was instituted in 1965, is contested annually by the national
champions of the Federation Internationale des Quilleurs (FIQ). The
highest number of wins is 4, by Filipino bowler Rafael “Paeng”
Nepomuceno: 1976, 1980, 1992, and 1996.
Filipino Eriberto
N. Gonzales Jr. consumed 350 chilis in 3 minutes at the annual Magayon
Festival chili-eating contest held at Penaranda Park, Legazpi, Albay
on May 27, 1999, making it to the Guiness Book of World Records for
the most chilis eaten.
The longest
possible eclipse of the Sun is 7 min. 31 sec. The longest eclipse
in recent times took place west of the Philippines on June 20, 1995,
lasting for 7 min. 8 sec.
Camiguin province
holds the distinction of having the most number of volcanoes per square
kilometer than any other island on earth. It is also the only place
in the Philippines which has more volcanoes (7) than towns (5).
The 900 sq m
Relief Map of Mindanao in Dapitan City was personally done by Dr.
Jose Rizal. It was used as a device for teaching history and geography
to townsfolk.
The Zamboanga
Golf Course and Beach Park was founded in 1910 by Gov. John Pershing.
It is one of the oldest golf courses in the Philippines.
Isabela City
is the youngest city in the region. It was only on March 5, 2001 that
the Municipality of Isabela, Province of Basilan was converted into
a component city Through RA 9023. On April 25, 2001, Isabeleños
ratified the new status of Isabela.
The Kinabayo
is an exotic and colorful pageant re-enacting the Spanish-Moorish
Wars, particularly the Battle of Covadonga where the Spanish forces
under General Pelagio took their last stand against the Saracens.
They were able to reverse the tide of war with the miraculous apparition
of St. James, the Apostle. A Kinabayo Festival is celebrated every
July in Dapitan City, attracting thousands of tourists to the city.
The altar at
the Holy Rosary Cathedral in Dipolog City was designed by Dr. Jose
Rizal. The Cathedral was erected by the Spanish friars sometime in
1895, before Dipolog City became a municipality.
The Rizal Shrine
in Dapitan City is the original estate of Dr. Jose Rizal which he
acquired by purchase during his exile in Dapitan from 1892 to 1896.
RA 8973 signed
by then President Joseph E. Estrada in February 2001 created the province
of Zamboanga Sibugay. A total of sixteen municipalities compose this
newest province in the Zamboanga Peninsula.
Magat Dam is
Asia’s biggest dam project at the time of its construction.
It serves the primary function of power generation and irrigation.
The Cagayan
River or Rio Grande de Cagayan is the Philippines’ mightiest
watercourse – the longest and widest river in the country. Small
streams originating form Balete Pass, Cordillera, Caraballo and Sierra
Madre Mountains meet other streams and rivers and flow to the Cagayan
River.
Magapit Suspension
Bridge is the first of its kind in Asia. It spans the Cagayan River
at Lallo and is 0.76 kilometers long. The hanging bridge links the
first and second districts of Cagayan going towards the Ilocos Region
via the scenic Patapat Road on the Ilocos Norte-Cagayan Inter-Provincial
national highway.
Angono Petroglyphs
– This cultural heritage site dates back to circa 3000 B.C.
and is the most ancient Filipino, or more aptly, prehistoric Filipino
work of art. Besides being the country’s oldest “work
of art” it also offers us an evocative glimpse into the life
of our ancestors. The site has been included in the World Inventory
of Rock Art under the auspices of UNESCO, ICCROM and ICOMOS and nominated
as one of the “100 Most Endangered Sites of the World.
PANCIT HABHAB
(Lucban)-Made from rice flour, these local noodles acquired its name
and developed its unique attraction by the way it is eaten. Otherwise
known as Pancit Lucban, these noodles are hawked in the streets and
served on a piece of banana leaf, sans fork or any other utensils.
Thus, it is eaten straight from the leaf, licking permitted... "habhab"-style.
Tagala - the
Philippines first Filipino-Spanish dictionary which was printed in
1613, 25 years older than the first book printed in the United States.
Mayon is the
most beautiful mountain I have ever seen, the world-renowned Fujiyama
(Mt. Fuji) of Japan sinking into perfect insignificance by comparison.
British traveler-writer A. Henry Savage Landor
Ilo-Ilo golf
and country club is the oldest golf club in the Philippines. It was
built at 1908 by Irish Engineers.
Limasawa Island
– where Ferdinand Magellan first landed in the Philippines which
give way to the discovery of the Philippines and where the first mass
was celebrated.
San Juanico
Strait - said to be the narrowest yet the most navigable strait in
the world
Calbiga Cave
– The Philippines’ biggest karst formations and one of
the largest in Asia, the 2,968-hectare cave system is composed of
12 caves with wide underground spaces, unique rock formations and
sub-terranean watercourse.
At the Immaculate
Conception Cathedral can be found the only existing pipe organ in
Mindanao. The 2nd largest pipe organ in the Phiippines. The huge instrument
took 2 years to built and was brought over by sea from Germany in
23 crates.
Cagayan de Oro
City - “The City of Golden Friendship,” known for its
warm people and old-fashioned hospitality
Mt. Apo, the
Philippines highest mountain at 10,311 feet above sea level, and considered
as the “Grand-father of all Philippine Mountains”
Lake Lanao is
the second largest lake in the Philippines, probably the deepest in
the country and is considered one of the major tropical lakes in Southeastern
Asia. The lake is home of endemic cryprinids, the species found only
in the lake and nowhere else in the world.
Halo-Halo! Halo-halo
literally means, "mix-mix". And its is just that: a mixture
of sweetened fruits and beans, lavished with pinipig (crisp flattened
rice flakes), sugar and milk, topped by crushed ice and ice cream.
You know its summertime when halo-halo stand start sprouting by the
roadside and by the beach, all whipping up their heavenly concoctions
of such a refreshingly divine dessert. You can make your own by selecting
and mixing your ingredients to make a perfect Halo-Halo. Halo-Halo
is uniquely, unforgettably Filipino!
KALESA - The
kalesa or karitela is a horse-driven carriage that was introduced
during the 18th century. It was used by Spanish officials and the
nobles as a means of transportation. The Ilustrados, the rich Filipinos
who had their own businesses, used the kalesa not only for traveling
but as a means a means of transporting their goods as well.
BAKYA-Made primarily
of lightwood (laniti and santol trees), it is sculpted with a slope
and shaved to a smooth finish, then painted with floral designs or
varnished to a high sheen. The upper portions, which are made of rubber
or transparent plastic, are fastened to the sides by thumb nails called
"clavitos". The bakya industry prospered during the 1930s
when the Filipinos began exporting these to the other countries.
SORBETES-This
sweet treat was concocted in the early 1920's, a time where a single
centavo could buy you almost anything. The process of this ice cream
making and selling it in carts with colorful designs is still the
same. Back in the old days, these ice cream dealers bred their own
cows and milked them with their own hands to ensure the freshness
and sanitation of the milk needed to make the "dirty ice cream".
Waling Waling Orchids - With some 800 to 1,000 species of orchids,
the Philippines has one of the richest orchid floras in the world.
Philippine orchids come in an amazing array of shapes, sizes and colors.
Most grow only in old-growth forest, often on branches of huge trees
dozens of meters above the forest floor.
Maria Teresa
Calderon – A Filipina World champion speed reader as listed
in the Guinness Book of World Records
In the Philippines,
Filipinos were introduced to the English language in 1762 by British
invaders, not Americans. Philippines is the world's 3rd largest English-speaking
nation, next to the USA and the UK.
The Philippine
Basketball Association is Asia's premier and the world's second oldest
professional league.
Philippine Airlines
took to the skies on March 15, 1941, using a Beech Model 18 aircraft
amid the specter of a global war. It became Asia's first airline.
The world's
largest pearl was discovered by a Filipino diver in a giant Tridacna
(mollusk) under the Palawan Sea in 1934. Known as the "Pearl
of Lao-Tzu", the gem weighs 14 pounds and measures 9 1/2 inches
long and 5 1/2 inches in diameter. As of May 1984, it was valued at
US$42 million. It is believed to be 600 years old.
Alto Broadcasting
System (ABS) Channel 3, the first television station in the country,
went on the air in 1953.
The world's
second deepest spot underwater is in the Philippines. This spot, about
34,440 feet (10,497 meters) below the sea level, is known as the Philippine
Deep or the Mindanao Trench. The Philippine Deep is in the floor of
the Philippine Sea. The German ship Emden first plumbed the trench
in 1927.
The symbolic
name for the Philippines, Juan dela Cruz, is not a Filipino invention?
It was coined by R. McCulloch-Dick, a Scottish-born journalist working
for the Manila Times in the early 1900s, after discovering it was
the most common name in blotters.
Lipa City in
Batangas is dubbed as the “Rome of the Philippines” because
of the number of seminaries, convents, monasteries, retreat houses,
and a famous cathedral located in it.
Compostela Valley
is known to be laden with gold, thus earning the monicker “Golden
Valley of Mindanao”
Basilica of
St. Martin de Tours in Taal, Batangas built by Augustinian Missionaries
in 1572, is reputed to be the biggest catholic church in East Asia.
It is so huge that it can house another big church
Kibungan is
known as the “Switzerland of Bengued” because of the frost
during the cold months
The Delmonte
Pineapple Plantation in Bukidnon is considered to be the biggest in
the far east
Both Tridacna
gigas, one of the world's largest shells, and Pisidum, the world's
tiniest shell, can be found under Philippine waters. Tridacna gigas
grows as large as one meter in length and weighs 600 pounds while
Pisidum is less than 1 millimeter long. A shell called glory of the
sea (Connus gloriamaris) is also found in the Philippines and considered
as one of the most expensive shells in the world.
Seahorses are
small saltwater fish belonging to the Syngnathidae family (order Gasterosteiformes),
which also includes pipefish and sea dragons. Most seahorse species,
probably the most peculiar creatures in the water, live in the Coral
Triangle. There are at least 50 known seahorse species in the world.
They inhabit temperate and tropical waters but most of them are concentrated
in the warm coastal waters of the Philippines.
Donsol, a fishing
town in Sorsogon province, serves as a sanctuary to a group of 40
whale sharks (Rhincodon typus), which are considered as the largest
fish in the world. Locally known as "butanding", whale sharks
visit the waters of Donsol from November to May. They travel across
the oceans but nowhere else have they been sighted in a larger group
than in the waters of Sorsogon. They measure between 18 to 35 feet
in length and weigh about 20 tons.
The Philippines
is home to some of the world's most exotic birds.
One of the most endangered species is the exotic Kalangay or the Philippine
cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia), which belongs to Psittacidae or
the family of parrots. Some cockatoos can live up to 50 years. They
are known for mimicking human voices. Most of them measure 33 centimeters
in length and weigh 0.29 kilogram.
Palawan bearcat
is neither a bear nor a cat. Known in Southeast Asia as binturong,
the bearcat is a species of its own, with population in the forests
of Palawan, Borneo, Burma and Vietnam. It belongs to the family of
Viverridae (civets). The Palawan bearcat has a long body and a pointed
face leading to the nose. Its head and body measure 61 to 96 centimeters
in combined length while its tail is almost as long. It weighs 9 to
14 kilograms and lives up to 20 years.
Calamian Deer
- Calamian Islands, north of Palawan province, keep a species of deer
that cannot be found elsewhere. Scientists referred to the hog deer
in the islands as Calamian deer in order to distinguish them from
other hog deer in the world. An ordinary Calamian deer measures 105
to 115 centimeters in length and 60 to 65 centimeters high at the
shoulder and weighs about 36 to 50 kilograms. It is said to have longer
and darker legs, compared with other hog deer.
World's Smallest
Hoofed Mammal - South of Palawan, lies the Balabac Island, home of
the world's smallest hoofed mammal - the Philippine mouse deer. Locally
known as Pilandok (Tragalus nigricans), this ruminant stands only
about 40 centimeters at the shoulder level.
Flying Lemur
- One of the most distinct creatures on Earth lives in the Philippines.
It doesn't have wings but it can glide across 100 meters of space
in a single leap. Like the lemurs of Asia, it moves around at night.
Its head resembles that of a dog while its body has similarities with
the flying squirrel of Canada.
In Mindanao, people call it "kagwang". Around the world,
it is known as colugo or the flying lemur.
Did you know
that the first four cities of Metropolitan Manila are: Manila, Quezon,
Pasay and Caloocan* The flagpole located in Rizal Park, is where the
starts of 0 kilometer reading in measuring all distances from Manila.
Quezon City
is the second biggest city in the Philippines.
The Bonifacio
Monument in Monumento, Caloocan City was designed by a noted Filipino
sculptor Guillermo Tolentino
In 1916, in
the Philippines, an offensive style of passing the ball in a high
trajectory to be struck by another player (the set and spike) were
introduced. The Filipinos developed the "bomba" or kill,
and called the hitter a "bomberino". (source: http://volleyball.org/history.html)*
The PHILIPPINE EAGLE is the 2nd largest bird on the planet (next only
to the American Condor)....
