. .

FIRST UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES -
Baroque Churches of the Philippines

These four churches, the first of which was built by the Spanish in the late 16th century, are located in Manila, Santa Maria, Paoay and Miag-ao. Their unique architectural style is a reinterpretation of European Baroque by Chinese and Philippine craftsmen. On 11 December 1993, they were declared as World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO.

Church of San Agustin in Paoay, Ilocos Norte
The Church of San Agustin, also known as Paoay Church, was built by Augustinian friars in 1694 and was finished only after 200 years. It reflects a unique combination of Gothic, Baroque, and Oriental architecture. The ancient church was declared by former president Ferdinand Marcos as a national treasure.

Santo Tomas de Villanueva Church in Miag-ao, Iloilo (PICTURE BELOW)
The Santo Tomas de Villanueva Church was built in 1797 by the Augustinian Missionaries in Miag-ao, Iloilo. It was specifically designed to serve as a fortress to protect the people from the Muslims (‘’Moros’’) who invaded Christianized villages during the early times.

Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur
‘’Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion’’ or the Church of the Assumption was built on top of a hill in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur and can be reached by climbing a flight of 82 steps. The church has a red façade with exposed brickwork. It was declared a National Historical Landmark on 26 September 1982.

San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila
The San Agustin Church is the oldest existing church in the Philippines. It lies inside the walled city of Intramuros in Manila. The legacies of the Spanish ‘’conquistadores’’ Miguel López de Legazpi, Juan de Salcedo, and Martín de Goiti are kept in the church. ... See MoreSee Less

TALLEST STATUE OF JESUS
The Sacred Heart of Jesus in Roxas, Capiz in the Philippines stands 132-foot (40 m). The construction of the statue began in 2011 and was completed on January 5, 2015. The construction of the statue was done by a seven-man core team led by a Pilipino sculptor John A. Alaban. The statue of Jesus is 102 ft (31 m) and mounted on a 9m high base ... See MoreSee Less

KARAOKE INVENTOR

Roberto del Rosario, president of the Trebel Music Corporation developed a sing-along system in 1975 and patented his “Minus-One” in 1983 and 1986. The device is now commonly known as the “karaoke machine”. Following a court battle with a Japanese company which claimed to have invented the system, the Supreme Court in 2007 declared that he owns the patent rights.
In the later models of his system, another cassette tape player/recorder was added. It could record on one magnetic tape both the musical accompaniment and voice of the person singing. To enhance the quality of sound the device had a "reverb" knob [or echo-like sound] adding technical artistry to the resulting sound. ... See MoreSee Less

PHILIPPINE TARSIER - 2 WORLD RECORDS

Smallest Haplorrhine in the World.
It is often described as the smallest primate in the World but this is not quite accurate. It is the smallest haplorrhine in the World ("haplorrhine" = somewhere between a monkey and a primate)

Mammal with the largest eyes in the World, in proportion to its body size. At just 12cm in length, its large eyes and soft, thick fur make it the cutest animal on the planet. They are found in the islands of Samar, Leyte, Bohol and Mindanao. ... See MoreSee Less

PHILIPPINE FASTEST CAR

2,000 race fans turned up at the inaugural AutoIndustriya.com Speedfest at Subic International Airport, 25-26 Feb 2012.
All speed runs were officially timed and recorded with the WCC/Matonetics Port-A-Tree Timing System.

The rules were simple: achieve the highest top speed over the 1.6 km long runway. It was MOTUL-Autoplus that took the overall win in the Unlimited Class as Carlos Gono, behind the wheel of his highly tuned Ford GT, blistered the SPEEDFEST Mile with a top speed of 330.7 km/h. Another car that broke the 200mph barrier was the highly-tuned 1000-horsepower MOTUL-Autoplus Nissan GT-R driven by Manuel Go Jr. that clocked in 321.88km/h for second place. Another 1000-horsepower JCT Racing Nissan GT-R driven by Jonathan Tiu clocked in at 310.6km/h for third place. All top-three cars in the 6-cylinder and up forced induction class broke the 300 km/h speed barrier.

In the 6-cylinder and up, naturally-aspirated class, it was the Lamborghini Gallardo of Maurice Laude that clocked the fastest run at 277.48 km/h. Chris Tajano's Audi R8 V10 took 2nd with a speed of 274.33 km/h. Third place went to Bennett Cua with his Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG Black Series doing a speed of 273.3 km/h. ... See MoreSee Less

LARGEST CHURCH

The Iglesia ni Cristo Central Temple (Filipino: Templo Central) is a main temple of the Iglesia ni Cristo. Located along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, it was completed on July 27, 1984, and is the biggest place of worship in the country with a capacity of around 7,000 people. ... See MoreSee Less

MOST FUEL EFFICIENT ICE CAR

Team Aquila from Mapua Institute of Technology managed 401.35 km per litre for its Internal Cmbustion Engine (ICE) prototype. The team emerged champions in that category in the Shell Eco-Marathon Asia held in Singapore from March 16-19, 2017. Aguila IV, the team's three-wheeled prototype gasoline category vehicle, utilizes lightweight design techniques such as carbon fiber body panels and light but high-tensile-strength aluminum alloy tubings for the internal frame. ... See MoreSee Less

PHILIPPINES BIGGEST DRUG HAUL

Philippine authorities have seized about 6 billion pesos worth of methamphetamine or shabu in a series of raids ending 23 Dec 2016. 6 people - 4 locals and 2 Chinese - were arrested and 560 Kg of suspected meth were found in the raids. ... See MoreSee Less

FASTEST GROWING INDUSTRY

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) currently provides the Philippines with 1.3 million jobs and US$25 billion in revenue. By 2017, BPO is expected to provide more foreign revenue than remittances – the republic’s traditional source of foreign exchange. Furthermore, the World Bank estimates that BPO revenues could soar to well over US$50 billion and provide some 2.6 million jobs by 2020.

Government investments in communications infrastructure, combined with an English-speaking talent pool and competitive tender prices has seen companies from all over the world outsourcing their IT work to the Philippines. Commonly outsourced processes include data processing, human resources, accounting, and call centre services.

In the early 2000, when there were reportedly only four call centres in the Philippines. Today, there are estimated to be almost 800 call centres and the industry as a whole contributes 10 per cent to the country’s GDP.(Photo: AFP) ... See MoreSee Less

TOP MEMORIZER FOR NAMES & FACES, SPOKEN NUMBERS

12-year-old Jan Jelo Juanir of St. Joseph School of Lawang Bato, Valenzuela, captured the silver in the Names and Faces event and the bronze in the Spoken Numbers event in the Kids division of the World Memory Championship held in Singapore in Dec 2016.

Juanir also got his second of the three norms needed to attain the title of International Master of Memory. ... See MoreSee Less

Philippine Book of Records shared Philippine Mind Sports Association - Philippine Memory Team's post. ... See MoreSee Less

Team Pinas Humakot ng 5 MEDALYA sa WORLD MEMORY CHAMPIONSHIP 2016 - Singapore (1 Gold, 3 Silvers, 1 Bronze) Philippine Memory Team brought home 5 medals from the 25th World Memory Championship whic...

OLDEST CITY

On April 7, 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan landed in Cebu. The Spanish arrived in Cebu on 1565 and in 1567 the Cebu garrison was reinforced with the arrival of 2,100 soldiers from New Spain (Mexico). By 1569 the Spanish settlement in Cebu had become important as a safe port for ships from Mexico and as a jumping-off point for further exploration of the region. Cebu City now has a land area of 315 sq km and a population of 922,611. ... See MoreSee Less

HOOQ, ASIA'S FIRST AND LARGEST VIDEO-ON-DEMAND SERVICE

Into its second year in Philippines, Hooq is unfazed by the increasing competition. Hooq currently boasts of over 35,000 hours of Hollywood, regional and Filipino movies and TV shows available to over 100,000 paying subscribers throughout the country.
Among its most popular contents are the Hooq-exclusive series “Supergirl,” Ash vs. Evil Dead,” “The Player” and “Mad Dogs” as well as “Spartacus,” “The White Queen,” and “The Flash".

Hooq’s partnerships with Viva Communications, GMA Network, Regal Entertainment and ABS-CBN have also given it an equally impressive line-up of local content including blockbuster films like “Diary ng Panget,” “The Gifted,” and “Ang Cute ng Ina Mo” as well as hard-to-find indies like “1st Ko si 3rd,” “Astro Mayabang,” and the acclaimed “Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay.” ... See MoreSee Less

Philippines' LARGEST COMPANY BY ASSETS is Metropolitan Bank & Trust. Its assets as at May 2016 is US$37.5 billion up 20.4% from 2015. ... See MoreSee Less

Philippines' current LARGEST COMPANY BY SALES is San Miguel. Its sales as of May 2016 is US$17.6 billion, up 0.1% from 2015. ... See MoreSee Less

FIRST CHOIR IN THE WORLD TO WIN EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX FOR CHORAL SINGING TWICE (1997 and 2007).

The University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers was organized in 1963 by National Artist Professor Andrea O. Veneracion. The group is composed of students, faculty and alumni from the different colleges of the University of the Philippines (UP). The choir is one of the world’s most awarded, having consistently won all the top prizes in most of the world’s prestigious choral competitions: Arezzo and Gorizia in Italy, Marktoberdorf in Germany, Spittal in Austria, Neuchatel in Switzerland, Tours in France, Varna in Bulgaria, Debrecen in Hungary, Cantonigros, Tolosa, Torrevieja in Spain, and the European Grand Prix.

The ensemble performs a wide repertoire of various styles and forms: renaissance music, classical music, Filipino and international folksongs, contemporary and avant-garde music, opera and even popular music. Their specialization and focus on the madrigal idiom has inspired their unique set-up of singing while seated in a semi-circle, without a conductor. ... See MoreSee Less

LARGEST PROPERTY DEVELOPER

Ayala Land, Inc. is the largest property developer in the Philippines, operating prime commercial spaces throughout the country. It is owned by the Ayala Corporation.
Ayala Land develops residential, retail, office, hotel, and leisure components, within growth centers across strategic areas around Philippines. It is the real estate arm of Ayala Corporation, the country’s oldest and one of its largest conglomerates. From an internal division of Ayala Corporation, it was spun off and incorporated in 1988. ... See MoreSee Less

LARGEST CABLE TV PROVIDER

SKYcable is a cable television service of Sky Cable Corporation, the Philippines' largest cable television provider. It has over 500,000 subscribers controlling 40% of the cable TV market. Commercial cable operations commenced in 1992. In 2006, the first ever prepaid cable TV service in the country was introduced, SKYCABLE Silver Prepaid. In 2008, SKYBROADBAND, the fastest residential broadband internet service in the land, and SKYVOICE, the lowest-priced IDD calling service, were launched. ... See MoreSee Less

TOP DRUG ABUSE IN PHILIPPINES
It has been estimated that about seven million people use shabu, also known as ice or crystal methamphetamine.
Most people smoke shabu, but it can also be snorted, injected, or simply dissolved in a liquid. In no time at all, tolerance can set in after frequent use, and the user will need greater quantities to get high. ... See MoreSee Less

LARGEST LOCAL FAST FOOD CHAIN

Jollibee has the largest fast food chain in the archipelago. It is most popular for its spaghetti and chicken. It was founded in 1975 by Tony Tan Caktiong and his family in Cubao, Quezon City. The Group has a total store network of 2,951 stores worldwide as of March 31, 2015. In the Philippines, its store network totals to 2,335. ... See MoreSee Less

HIGHEST WATERFALL

The highest waterfall in the country is the 388m-high Aliwagwag Falls, in Cateel town, Davao Oriental province. The cascade has 13 rapids and looks like a stairway with 84 steps of varying heights. ... See MoreSee Less

MOST POPULATED CITY

The population of the Philippines as of August 1, 2015 was 100,981,437, based on the 2015 Census of Population. Four cities surpassed the one million population mark, namely, Quezon City (2.94 million), City of Manila (1.78 million), Davao City (1.63 million), and Caloocan City (1.58 million). ... See MoreSee Less

Top Philippine Facebook Pages ... See MoreSee Less

WORLD'S LARGEST PEARL

Philippine officials believe they may have recovered the biggest natural giant clam pearl in the world - weighing a whopping 34kg (5.2 stone).
The pearl was found 10 years ago by a fisherman who was unaware of its value and kept it as a good luck charm, Palawan official Aileen Amurao said.
"We were amazed when he brought it to us," she told local media.
Officials are awaiting confirmation from gemologists that the find is indeed the world's largest pearl.
The pearl is 1ft (30.5cm) wide and 2.2ft long and, if confirmed, will easily beat the current record holder, the Pearl of Lao Tzu, which weighs 6.4kg. ... See MoreSee Less

PHILIPPINES: WORLD'S LARGEST EXPORTER OF NICKEL DSO

The Philippines saw an increase in its nickel production from 2014, producing 530,000 tonnes last year. In 2015, it is the world's top direct shipping ore (DSO) exporter. The country took advantage of Indonesia’s export ban and stepped in to distribute to China in 2014 with the Philippines’ nickel exports to China increasing by 24 percent in the first 10 months of the year, according to Bloomberg. The Philippines also holds 3.1 million tonnes in nickel reserves. ... See MoreSee Less