The Government of the Philippines
Overview
- Capital: Manila
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- Administrative regions: 17 regions, 82 provinces
- Government & legal system: Presidential republic; mixed civil and common law system. (government site)
- Head of state / government: Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., President (official page)
- Official language(s): Filipino and English (both official)
- National Day: June 12 (Independence Day, 1898)
- Independence: June 12, 1898 (declared, from Spain); full sovereignty recognized 1946 (from the United States)
- Other official holidays: National Heroes Day (last Monday of August), Rizal Day (Dec 30)
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs (official site)
- Regional / international memberships: United Nations/ UN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations/ ASEAN, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation/ APEC, World Trade Organization/ WTO
- Visa / entry requirements: Visa-free for many nationalities for short stays. (visa info)
- Currency: Philippine peso (PHP) — notes depict national heroes José Rizal and Andrés Bonifacio among others, plus landmarks and endemic wildlife.
- Flag symbolism: Horizontal blue-red bicolor (blue over red in peacetime, reversed in wartime) with a white hoist triangle bearing a golden sun (eight rays) and three golden stars — blue represents peace and justice, red represents valor, the sun represents liberty, and the three stars represent Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao
