The Philippines is made up of 7,107 islands covering a land area of 299,764 sq. km Main Island groups are Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The capital is Manila. Time Zone is GMT + 8 hours.

CLIMATE: March to May is hot and dry. June to October is rainy. November to February is cool. Average temperature is 25°C to 32°C.

POPULATION: There are 90 million Filipinos in the country. Population growth is estimated at 2.36% annually. Luzon, has more than half of the entire population.

LANGUAGES: There are 2 official languages: Filipino and English. Filipino, based on the Tagalog dialect, is the national language of the country. English is also widely used and is the medium of instruction in higher education. 8 major dialects are: Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Kapampangan and Pangasinan.

RELIGIONS: 83% of Filipinos are Catholic while 5% are Muslim. The rest are made up of smaller Christian denominations and Buddhist.

UNIT OF MEASURE: The Metric System is used in most trade and legal transactions.

ELECTRICITY: 220 volts a/c is the common standard while 110 volts a/c is also used in major hotels.

CURRENCY: The Philippines’ monetary unit is the Peso (Php), divided into 100 centavos. Foreign currency can be exchanged at any hotels, most large department stores, banks and authorized money changing shops accredited by the Central Bank of the Philippines. International credit cards such as Visa, Diners Club, Bank Americard, Master Card and American Express are accepted in major establishments.