Population
When the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines the archipelago must have had a fairly considerable population, since within a fairly short time it was possible to assemble an army of 2000 men for the defence of the islands. The first census was done on 1591, based on tributes collected. There were 666,712 people in the islands. In 1903 the population of the Philippines was recounted by American authorities to fulfill Act 467, the survey yielding 7,635,426 people including 56,138 who were foreign-born. In the 1975 census the population was 42,000,000, and it is expected to reach 50,000,000 during the 1980s, reflecting an annual growth rate of 3.1%. This represents a much faster rate of growth than other countries in the region. It is difficult for the infrastructure of a developing country to meet the needs of its people with this very rapid rate of increase. As of 2007 census the country has a total population of 88,706,300 with a population growth of 1.764%. At present the Philippines ranked 12th in most populous country in the world.

The population of the Philippines is basically Malaysian, but the physical types are very mixed and there has been much interbreeding, so that it is difficult to assess the proportion of Malaysian blood; and the physical characteristics of the first arrivals in some cases represent opposite extremes. The mestizos (inhabitants of mixed race) may be descendants of Chinese as well as Spaniards. Those communities within the population which have preserved the dominant characteristics of their original stock tend to keep themselves; this is particularly true of the Chinese, for mestizos with a Spanish parent are less numerous as a result of successive intermarriages with Filipinos.

This racial mosaic is still further complicated by the geographical and historical conditions which have developed a spirit of regionalism. The great majorities of the population are of Christian faith and distinguished by its regional characteristics, while the cultural minorities are subdivided according to their way of life. The mountainous regions (northern Luzon, Mindoro, Palawan, Mindanao) have for the most part retained their original inhabitants in conditions similar in all respects to those prevailing when they first arrived. These peoples have been little affected by their contacts with their neighbours and have rarely been converted to Christianity. Their geographical isolation and their archaic religious and cultural traditions set them apart from the life of the country, with only a few exceptions. The Muslim minorities, however, which are also made up of a mixture of races, have always maintained a cultural particularism in opposition to the governing authorities of the day.

Ethnic groups
Filipinos to this days are compose of various Malayo- Polynesian speaking ethnic group, the major ethic groups are the Visayan, Tagalog, Ilocano, Bicolano, Pangasinense, Kapampangan, the Igorot and the Moro. About 8% of all the Filipinos are tribal groups.

The Visayan is the largest ethnic group of the Philippines. More than 40% (estimated 32.5 to 40 million) of the Filipinos have Visayan ancestry or identify as Visayan. Visayans were initially animists who were known for being traders and raiders. The landing of Magellan in the Visayas in 1521 marks the start of Christianization of the Visayas and the rest of the Philippines; The Tagalogs number about 15,876,000 making it the second largest Filipino ethnic group. Its territory stretches from the central plains of Luzon to the islands of Mindoro and Marinduque; Ilocanos are the inhabitants of the lowlands and coastal areas of northern Luzon. Some are dark-skinned with large round eyes due to Aeta admixture while others are fair-skinned and have almond eyes, owing the Chinese admixtures. Their homeland is the closest region in the Philippines to China. Many of them have Spanish descents and others having Indian or Arab blood; Bicolanos, the fourth largest ethnic group with 6.9%. They are descended form the Austonesian-speaking immigrants who came from South China during Iron Age. Some of them have Chinese, Arab and Spanish admixtures. Majority of them are devout Roman Catholics; Pangasinense, originate from the northwestern seaboard of Luzon. They are one of the first people in the Philippines to have contacts with Chinese. Most of them are agriculturists however, their literature is well-known throughout the Philippines; and the Kapampangan or Capampangan, originate from the central plains of Luzon and perhaps the only ethnic group in the Philippines with dominant Chinese ancestry.

Igorot, name for the people of the Cordillera region in the island of Luzon. These former headhunters were the most warlike of the mountain tribes. There are two subgroups: The larger group lives in the south, central and western areas, and very adept at rice-terrace farming; the smaller group lies in the east and the north. The social structure used of this group centred within the village wards (ato) containing about 14-50 homes. Traditionally, young men and women lived in dormitories and ate meals within their families. This gradually changed with the advent of Christianity. In general, however, it can be said that they are very aware of their own way of life and are not overly eager to change.

The Muslim or Moro are a multilingual ethnic group and the largest mainly non-Christian ethnic group, comprising about 5% of the total population of the country as of 2006. They are descended from the same prehistoric Austronesian migrations from Taiwan that populated the rest of the Philippines and the Maritime Southeast Asia. They already established themselves in the Philippines and converted the various coastal peoples of the Sulu archipelago, Tawi-Tawi and Mindanao (The Tausugs and Samals of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and the Maguindanaos, Maranaos and Ilanons of Mindanao account for 94% of Muslim population of the Philippines at present) even before the Spanish period. The coming of Islam to these tribes of good seamen and traders gave them new political and religious structures which stimulated them to increased activity, and gradually extended the sultan's authority.

Among the Muslims (Moros) of the Philippines the consciousness of belonging to the wider Muslim community has been intensified by international trends. The upsurge of resistance after the relative calm of the immediate post-war period was a reaction to the violence which had developed in the Philippines. The declaration of martial law and the order to all citizens to surrender their arms cause concern to the Moros, who felt too vulnerable as well as the political rivalries in the quest to secure representation in Congress increased their feelings of frustration.

Muslim law does not merely govern religious life, but provides a complete system regulating all the activities of civil, legal, commercial and political life. The Sultan is a descendant of the Prophet, and thus incarnates the supreme authority. He has the Kali to advise him in religious matters and the Pang lima as his representative although the latter function has tended to fall into the hands of the central administration. The maharlikas or aristocracies seem to have been under the Sultan's control to an extent that varies from period to period. Traditionally they lived by trade, particularly by trading in the slaves whom they brought back from their raids on Spanish territory.

Economic underdevelopment and the inadequacy of the education and health services in the south increased Muslim discontent, which found inspiration in the faith of Islam and a rallying point in the Moro National Liberation Front. It should be noted, however, that on Mindanao and in the Sulu archipelago the Moros are in a minority, except in the Lake Lanao area (92% of the population) and on Tawi Tawi (94%). During the period of American control there were large-scale migrations from the over-populated plain areas (Visayas, Luzon) to the fertile land of Mindanao, bringing several million Christians into this region.

There are now 13 different Muslim tribes in the Philippines the Tausugs and Samals in the Sulu archipelago and Tawi Tawi, the Magindanaos, Maranaos, Ilanons and Kolibugans on Mindanao, the Yakans of Basilan, the Higaonons of Cagayan de Oro, the Palawanons and Molbogs of Palawan and the Sangils of the Saranggani Islands.

Tribal groups
A government body Panamin, was set up in 1965 to look after the interests of the minority peoples scattered about the north and south of the archipelago. About 60 tribal groups in the Philippines exist and still practice their traditional customs. These non-Muslim minorities amount to some 2 million people. The minority peoples can be classified according to their economic activities. They are located mostly in the areas of Central and Northern Luzon, Mindoro, Palawan, Western Mindanao and Sulu Islands. Some communities live by hunting and food-gathering, others by farming, either of slash-and-burn type or on irrigated terraces.

The Negritos also known as Aetas and Agtas can be described as physically small and usually short in stature, dark-skinned, spiral-haired and broad nosed. They have isolated themselves and driven away successive newcomers to the areas they occupy mostly in the highest and most inaccessible parts of the country, the Sierra Madre, Apayao, Zambales, eastern central Luzon, Surigao, northern Negros, eastern Panay. They number between 20,000 and 30,000, and are still living in the Paleolithic period. Some draw their whole subsistence from the forest, wandering about in the quest for food. Others obtain employment in timber-felling, or go down to work in the plains in exchange for such commodities as tobacco, salt, tools, rice and metal articles; in such cases they tend to speak the language of their neighbours and abandon their own. They live in groups of three or four families under the leadership of the oldest man, marrying either within or outside the group. They frequently adorn themselves with ornamental scars, and file and blacken their teeth. They respect the spirits which control nature and seek to avoid offending them, appeasing good spirits and warding off evil ones by gifts, dances, herbs and talismans.

Tribes like the Sulods, Bukidnons, Subanuns, Manobos, Tirurays, Bilaans, Mandayas, Mangyans, and Tagakaolos, still practise slash-and-burn farming. As a rule the same land is used for only two consecutive years, rice being sown on the first year and vegetables on the second. These communities thus move about from place to place, living in groups of some fifteen families on average. The Apayao, Bontoc, Ifugao, Ibaloy, Kalinga, Kankanai or Tinguian are tribes from the Central Cordillera. These tribes practise irrigated rice-farming and have a more highly stratified society, reflecting the wealth represented by rice.

Much interest was aroused in 1971 by the discovery of a small community of some twenty people in South Cotabato. The Tasadays live in caves and depend on wild tubers and small animals for food. A section of the Philippine Village Museum in Manila gives recognition to this tribe.

More recently (1978) another community of troglodytes was discovered, only slightly larger, the Tau't Batus living in caves on the extinct volcano of Ransang on the island of Palawan. They are ignorant of agriculture, animal husbandry and the crafts of pottery and weaving, but are able to make fire; their food consists of crabs, frogs, larvae, insects, tubers, wild yams, etc.

The T'boli tribe of South Mindanao is known for their colorful body ornaments consisting of earrings, lush necklaces and handcrafted bracelets. They are one of those tribes that have maintained and evolved artistically rich cultural practices evidently shown in their musical performances.

The Badjaos or sea gypsies are much more difficult to classify. At present they are gradually taking up settled life in southern Sulu and are adopting the Islamic faith, although they are not recognised as Muslims by their neighbours the Samals, still less by the Tausugs.

Non-indigenous Ethnic Group
The Chinese are thought to have come to the Philippines as early as the 6th century B.C. There was trade between China and the Philippines in the time of the Tang (618-907) and Sung (960-1127) dynasties, but it did not really flourish until the 13th and 14th centuries. Yet when the Spaniards arrived there were no more than 150 Chinese in Manila. At first the Spanish authorities encouraged their commercial activities, but later took umbrage at their control of trade and confined them to one part of the town, the Parian district. Jealousy of the Chinese led to a number of massacres (1603, 1639, 1662), and in the following century the Governor of the Philippines had all the Chinese on Luzon hanged for collaboration with the British occupying forces (1762-64). At the end of the 18th century, however, after various orders of expulsion, the Spaniards favoured the development of Chinese trade in return for the payment of taxes.

In spite of this hostility the number of Chinese has risen to around 500,000, or according to some estimates considerably more. Most of them have adopted Christianity; others are Taoists. They have their own cemetery in Manila, used for the burial of both Christians and Buddhists. Efforts are now being made to assimilate these Filipino Chinese and to facilitate the process of naturalization. Many of them are now leaving the Chinatown quarter and moving to other parts of the city, where they live side by side with the Filipinos. Their main common bond is their economic, commercial and financial interdependence. Many Chinese have married Filipinos, but continue to speak Chinese, or frequently prefer to speak English rather than Tagalog.

The Spanish presence has been evident since early sixteenth century. The Spanish colonial era in the country (1565-1898) was limited entirely to government administrators, military men and religious missionaries. A large part of European introgression is very likely of Spanish origin. Filipinos with a mix Spanish ancestry, Spanish mestizos, are particularly visible in movie industry and some leaders of the Philippine business and commerce are of Spanish descent. Spanish and Spanish speaking families are mostly found in areas that had agricultural importance.

The American presence in the Philippines is contemporaneous and relatively high, owing to the half of century of colonization by the United States. The Philippines has the second largest population of American citizens outside of United States, many of whom have been naturalized.

There are also Arabs, who contributed mostly in Muslim society of the country. The presence of Indians has been ongoing since prehistoric times predating even the coming of the Europeans by at least two centuries. The Japanese who are mostly businessman and many are married to Filipinas. Koreans in the Philippines are mostly temporary students and workers who are in training. It was noted that the largest South Korean community are residing at the Philippines. There are also presence of other European and Asian nationalities such as British, Belgians, Italians, Indonesians, Malaysians, Thais and Vietnamese to name a few.

Language
There are more than 89 languages and 122 dialects in the Philippines; but only eight languages can be regarded as of major importance in terms of the number of people who speak them - Ilocano, Pangasinan, Pampangan, Cebuano, Bicol, Waray, Hiligaynon and Tagalog. The most important of these is Tagalog, which is spoken in the Manila area. All these languages, though in some, respects very different from one another, are of the Malaya-Polynesian (i.e. Austronesian) family.

Under the 1973 constitution there are three official languages Filipino, English and Spanish. The language most used in administration is English, although increasing numbers of documents are now being written in Filipino; Spanish is now employed only in certain special situations. Filipino has the grammatical structure of Tagalog and a vocabulary enriched by terms borrowed both from other local languages and from foreign languages. The adoption of this language, with its distinctively national name, is evidently designed to promote linguistic unity and gloss over the fact that it has hitherto been spoken only in a restricted area. The National Assembly is to take measures for its development. All three languages are required to be taught: English at all levels, Filipino in primary and secondary schools, Spanish at university level. The 1973 Constitution dropped the Spanish and retained English and Filipino as the official languages of the country. The present constitution, ratified in 1987, stated that Filipino and English are both the official languages of the country.

According to the census dated 1975, 55% of the population then spoke Filipino, but only 37% had full command of the language as their mother tongue. The proportion is expected to reach 82% in 25 years. The use of Filipino is becoming increasingly general in Manila.

The Filipinos thus speak several languages in everyday life, particularly in Manila, where a husband and wife will often come from different linguistic regions. Although the study of Spanish is obligatory it is spoken regularly only in a small number of families, usually mestizos with Spanish blood. In families where the normal language is English it is rarely spoken in pure form, but incorporates many Tagalog expressions and exclamations. This is what is familiarly known as Taglish, the language used also by the information media, radio and television. Conversely, although the younger generations in Manila like to talk Tagalog among themselves this incorporates many English words and expressions. In many fields there is no Tagalog word, or if there is it may not be known to the speaker. It is significant that in Manila most of the signs and inscriptions in the streets are in English, even though the spelling may sometimes be a little unorthodox. A complete and classical form of Tagalog is spoken only in its original area of distribution.

The languages of the Philippines can be divided into three main groups, corresponding to successive waves of incomers to the archipelago. The first group is the Northern Philippine languages. These are thought to have settled on the island of Luzon before moving farther north into Formosa; among the languages belonging to this group are lfugao, Igorot and Kalinga (all in the Mountain Province), Pangasinan and Sambal (Zambales), and Kapampangan (Pampanga). These languages are believed to have split off around 700 B.C; the second breakaway is thought to have taken place in the 1st century B.C. The Meso Philippine languages; the principal languages of this group are Tagalog, Bicol, Bisaya (Visayas), Tausug and the Manyan languages; lastly, the Southern Philippine languages, the third group belong the languages of Mindanao, those spoken by the Manobos and tribes which are now Muslim. All these languages are spoken in the centre of the archipelago. The Manobo languages mainly in central Mindanao and the languages of the tribes converted to Islam in the rest of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago (Magindanao, Maranao, Tausug).

The similarities and differences between the various languages can be seen by comparing the words for parents: Ilocano, am-amma; Tagalog, magulang; Bukidnon, manga laa; Kalingga, danakkel; Bicol, magurang; Maranao, manga lakes; Pampangan, pengari; Cebuano, amahan; Magindanao, manga; Pangasinan, ateng; Tausug, manga maas lukes.

Filipino owes some of its vocabulary to strong influences from neighbouring cultures. Chinese influence, dating back to the first millennium, is reflected in more than 500 words taken over from the Chinese language. Something like a hundred roots of Sanskrit origin, no doubt introduced through the intermediary of the powerful Malaysian kingdom of Srivijaya. Spanish has contributed a very large number of words and expressions; when used in their original sense (and this is not always the case) they usually suffer changes in spelling or in syntax: thus the Spanish word seguro (sure) takes on an exactly opposite meaning and expresses uncertainty, the figure 4 (quatro) becomes kuwatro, and so on. In practice, however, either Tagalog, Spanish or English numbers can be used.

The main Tagalog-speaking areas were Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Rizal (the province immediately east of the capital), Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Quezon, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur (northern part only), the island of Marinduque and part of Mindoro. It can be seen that these areas represent only a small part of the country's total area.

The Philippines do not seem to have had any written language until the 10th or 11th century, when an alphabet was brought in from Sumatra. The Spaniards took a lively interest in the local languages and devoted much effort to studying them. A number of Spanish writers expressed admiration for the Tagalog language and its alphabet, noting at the same time that almost the whole population, particularly in the Manila area, was illiterate. Originally the Spanish authorities contemplated making Tagalog the vernacular language of the Philippines, but it soon became the policy to impose Spanish. A census carried out by the Americans in 1905, however, showed that only 10% of the population spoke Spanish at that date.

Tagalog is an archaic Malaysian language; it is a highly structured language which has shown no development in the direction of simplification. Spanish influence has led to the adoption of the Latin alphabet. A distinctive feature of Tagalog is its use of affixes prefixes and sometimes infixes and suffixes which are added to the root of the word and declined or conjugated to convey the maximum amount of information. Thus in the word "makipagdamayan" which means a person who receives sympathy from someone else, the root is "damay", "pag...an" makes the root a substantive and "maki" expresses reciprocity. The affixes can also be used to emphasize a particular element in a sentence the agent, the object, direction or location, the instrument, the beneficiary.

Religion
The breakdown of the population of the Philippines by religion is a matter of considerable significance, since it reflects a cultural as well as a psychological division, resulting from a separation produced both by geography and history. The Spaniards soon made Manila their base, and thereafter only the peoples in the extreme north and south were able to escape their grasp. They converted all the inhabitants of the plains to Catholicism, leaving alone only the animists of the interior and the mountainous regions; while the Muslims for their part fiercely defended their separate identity.

The principal religion of the Philippines is Catholicism, though there are some Protestants (Methodists, Lutherans) as well as the Aglipayans or Iglesia ni Kristo, and Muslims and others.

Ancient Indigenous Belief
During the pre-colonial period the people of the Philippines practiced polytheism, animism and worship the elements. Their beliefs and cultural mores anchored in the idea that the world is inhabited by spirits and supernatural entities, both good and bad and that respect is accorded to them through natural worship. At present, only a handful of indigenous tribes continue to practice this. The religious life of these groups is dominated by the rituals associated with rice-growing, and they have specialists in the rituals accompanying the first planting and the harvest, and also ensure various prohibitions that are observed during the growing period. The pattern of social and family activities is also governed by the crops. Usually they have a supreme god who is venerated through the intercession of other gods. The gods and spirits of the ancestors (anitos) are addressed by particular individuals with occult powers. The anitos are consulted on all events of importance such as a birth, some particular desire or aspiration, to make a field fertile, etc. Only other people's ancestors may exert a baleful influence. The various divinities are propitiated by dances, prayers and sacrifices (rice, poultry, a pig, a carabao).

Some of the rituals performed before the arrival of the Spaniards (pandot) lasted several days, sometimes involving the worshippers in trances and loss of consciousness. The Filipinos revered a powerful creator god, who was attended by numerous other gods, each of whom had a particular role in the various events of life (birth, death, love) and in the interplay of the elements and the life of nature (rain, rainbow, sun, and the wild animals). Thus they would sometimes throw food into the water for the crocodiles or set out dishes of food on particular rocks. They also honoured the spirits of dead relatives, whose ill humour might bring about illness or death. It was also necessary to secure the favour of good spirits and appease bad spirits; and this was achieved by particular ceremonies conducted by a priest or priestess (babaylan) in which the worshippers responded to the priestly invocations. These ceremonies involved precise rituals, varying according to the object to be achieved: the healing of a sick person, an act of thanksgiving for success in war or a good harvest. The entrails of sacrificial animals served for the purposes of divination. Carved wooden statues of divinities were worshipped in the people's houses (likha), but the ancient religion had no temples.

Christianity
Catholicism is by a long way the predominant religion, and the visit by Pope John Paul II in January 1981 on the occasion of the beatification of the Dominican Lorenzo Ruiz (martyred in the 17th century) gave rise to great displays of religious fervour. It must be observed, however, that although the Catholics of the Philippines accept the dogmas and practices of the Church they also honour certain ancient traditions which have been taken up into the Philippine version of Catholicism. These are usually mere additions, superstitions or exaggerations which are no doubt derived from the dramatic and luxuriant vigour of Spanish Catholicism. In country areas widows still mourn for a full year. During Holy Week some villages put on performances of the Passion with an intensity, violence and fanaticism which the Church itself condemns: the man playing Christ may carry realism to the point of having nails driven through his feet. Novenas (devotions lasting nine days) are a popular form of religious observance, and there are innumerable fiestas, which always begin in the local church but continue as purely pagan rejoicings. Thus the Ati-atihan procession is preceded by three days of samba dancing, begins with an open-air mass and then continues to the rhythm of the samba. The popularity of healers or medicine-men reflects a combination of profound Catholic faith and the veneration of spirits. The festivals of the religious calendar, particularly Christmas, are the occasion of large family gatherings which entail lavish expenditure and increase the family load of debt. The agricultural festivals in which the church takes part afford an opportunity of appealing to the spirits to send rain or thanking them after the harvest. The peasants will sometimes ask the priest to bless the first shoots of rice to be planted out.

Many other examples can be cited to show the apprehension felt by the Filipinos lest they should incur the ill will of the spirits. When a family is moving into a new house they place vessels containing rice and salt under it to bring luck. Garlic is laid at the doors and windows, and a cross is set above the door to ward off evil spirits. When someone dies the doors and windows of his house must be closed after the removal of the body, lest death should soon return to the house.

Church of Aglipay
The Church of Aglipay was founded in September 1902, born of the same nationalist revolutionary movement which sought to throw off the Spanish yoke, both military and political. The Spanish religious authorities barely tolerated the Filipino clergy, and a priest named Gregorio Aglipay who had great influence over the Catholics of the Philippines refused to recognise Spanish religious supremacy and appealed to Rome. He had no intention of breaking away from the Church, but the intransigence of the Papal envoys drove him into schism, and he then accepted the title which he had previously refused of the Supreme Bishop of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, an independent Filipino church free of all foreign influence.

Iglesia ni Kristo
The Iglesia ni Kristo (Church of Christ) was founded in Manila in 1913 by Felix Manalo, a former Protestant of great personal charisma. His appeal was to all those at first, mainly the peasants who had failed to find support in any Catholicism or Protestantism during the times of difficulties in their lives; later he also attracted members of the higher classes of society. The church has a supreme head wielding centralised authority; and since the central authorities may take upon themselves to advise the faithful which candidate to vote for in an election, the church has considerable political influence. Its strength lies in the total commitment of its ministers to preaching the faith and offering help to those who ask for it, and in their thorough command of the text of the Scriptures. The members of the church are required to lead an upright and temperate life on pain of expulsion.

Islam
The Islam reached the Philippines in the 14th century with the arrival of Malay and Javanese merchants and Arab missionaries from Malaysia and Indonesia. According to the 2006 census the Muslims of the Philippines numbered approximately 4,300,000. There are Sunnis of the Shafi'ite school at any rate in theory, for some ancestral practices have been incorporated in the obligations of the Islamic faith, a faith which came from far afield and was sometimes propagated in the Philippines by indirect routes. A striking example of this is provided by the method of observing the Ramadan fast among the Yakans on the island of Basilan, who compel their domestic animals to take part in the fast, although the very possession of these animals is prohibited by Islam. There are many variants of the rituals of worship on the basis of Sunnite tradition; each tribe has assimilated the Koran but has adapted it in accordance with local conditions and the teachings of the village imams. The Koran is now being translated into Maranao. There have also been local developments in religious practices in towns, although the main religious festivals are of course observed the New Year (Amon Jaded), the Birth of the Prophet (Maulidin Nabi), the Ascension of the Prophet (Lailatul) and the end of Ramadan (Bid ul-Fitr).