Population
80 million
Malays
Chinese
Muslim minorities
Mestizos
Capital City
Manila
Leadership
President
Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo
Religion
82% Roman Catholic
9% Protestant
5% Muslim
3% Buddhist
Philippines
Ambassador
to the
U.S.
Ambassador
His Excellency Albert
Del Rosario
Embassy of the Republic
of the Philippines
1600 Massachusetts
Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 467-9300
Fax: (202) 467-9417
Web:
www.philippine
embassy-usa.org
BIO
Since the end of the Marcos regime over 15 years ago, the Philippines has struggled to reestablish its
place in the global community. With over 7000 islands, and
a varied population, it is easy to see why any effort to
create and maintain order and organization might be a
challenging task.
But
recently, one of the greatest problems facing the people
of the Philippines has been the violent
actions of Muslim
insurgents in the region. For about 30
years, Abu Sayyaf
(a rebel group alleged to have ties to
Al-Qaeda) has
violently attempted to establish a Muslim
dominance and
independence in the south.
One
of the group's incidents of violence that received wide
press coverage was the taking of 20
hostages from a
tourist hotel by Abu Sayyaf in May of 2001,
and the sub-
sequent murders of two of those hostages -
one being
New Tribes Missions missionary Martin
Burnham.
The
rebels have also claimed responsibility for a number
of bombings in recent months that resulted
in scores of
deaths and injuries. The US has maintained
a military
presence in the Philippines, working to
support and train
the Philippine army in fighting these
desperate guerilla
groups.
Can you recommend
some other Philippines
websites?