The Philippine Archipelago

856 Pages·2017·19.98 MB·English

by  Yves Boquet (auth.)

Springer Geography
Yves Boquet
The
Philippine
Archipelago
Springer Geography
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10180
Yves Boquet
The Philippine Archipelago
Yves Boquet
Département de Géographie
Université de Bourgogne
Dijon, France
ISSN 2194-315X ISSN 2194-3168 (electronic)
Springer Geography
ISBN 978-3-319-51925-8 ISBN 978-3-319-51926-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-51926-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017930197
© Springer International Publishing AG 2017
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of
the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,
broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information
storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the
editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors
or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims
in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Printed on acid-free paper
This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature
The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Acknowledgements
In loving memory of Mrs Josefina Labrador (1939-1977)
This book would not exist without the warm welcome of my Filipino friends and
colleagues. Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat!
I must first of all thank the Department of Geography at the University of the
Philippines–Diliman in Quezon City for hosting me on several occasions and espe-
cially during my stay as a guest faculty from June to September 2013. Heartfelt
thanks to its director Dr. Darlene Occeña-Gutierrez, who organized my stay and
arranged for my long-term campus accommodation, free of charge, barely 5 min
walking time from my bedroom to my classroom: thanks are given to the efficient
and friendly staff of UP-Nismed residence. Thank you Professor Meliton Juanico,
who introduced me to Manila during my first ever visit to the Philippines in August
2009. Thank you to David Garcia who accompanied me in Clark and Subic Bay, and
Emmanuel Garcia for experiencing all kinds of public transport in Manila on my
second visit in December 2009. Thank you also to Daniel Mabazza for many
insightful exchanges including in Chile and Poland during IGU conferences,
Doracie Zoleta-Nantes (from Cologne to Kyoto), Ony Martinez, and the rest of the
department, faculty, staff, and my students of GEOG 151 and GEOG 242, for their
contributions and suggestions about this book, and the tasting of Philippine delica-
cies on many occasions.
Thank you to colleagues in other departments, in particular the Institute of
Transport, the UP Department of Architecture and Urban Planning (Dean Mary Ann
Espina, Michael Tomeldan, Danilo Silvestre), the UP Diliman Center for International
Studies (Professor Cynthia “Chim” Zayas, Raymond Macapagal and others, who
introduced me to Ifugao anthropology), and UP Chancellor Dr. Michael Tan.
I have also a profound gratitude to the Lyceum of the Philippines University
(Manila campus) for another 4 months teaching stint (June to September 2015):
thanks to Deans Cristina Aquino and Lilibeth Aragon, as well as Myrna Reyes and
Rommel Cabacog who helped immensely in the logistics of an extended stay, and
to the dynamic students of my world tourism classes.
Thank you to colleagues in Ateneo de Manila (Quezon City), especially Danielle
Guillen, Michael Pante, Professor Filomeno Aguilar, and Hiroko Nagai, and at La
Consolacion College (Manila), for welcoming me to conferences and for seminars
v
vi Acknowledgements
in their respective universities, and for trusting me to publish in Philippine Studies
and review for books and articles about the Philippines. Being recognized as an
expert on their country by my Filipino academic peers is indeed very gratifying.
Christian Merer, as Cultural attaché at the French Embassy in Manila (Makati to
be precise), provided early advice and contacts with Philippine academics. This was
very valuable.
I am grateful to the University of Burgundy and my colleagues in the Department
of Geography for allowing me to leave for such long times and as often! Succeeding
university presidents Sophie Béjean and Alain Bonnin, the deans of the School of
Social Sciences Daniel Durney and Philippe Salvadori, as well as International
Relations director Caroline Fortier have all encouraged my efforts to develop aca-
demic exchanges with the Philippines.
My senior students at the UTB Inter-Age Université pour Tous have been a
remarkably responding audience in the spring of 2016 when I proposed a course
focusing solely on the Philippines, quite possibly a first in French universities.
Thanks to Editions Universitaires de Dijon’s director Professor Hervé Duchêne
for encouraging me to write on short notice an abridged French version of this book,
and EUD commercial director Philippe Vauthier for promoting it so well to the
media on the eve of the 2016 Philippine elections. It helped me to clarify the focus
of some chapters in the present book.
Thanks must be addressed to Jean-Jacques Bavoux, Carol Boquet, Pierre
Camberlin, Jean-Pierre Chabin, Robert Chapuis, Guillaume Giroir, and Pierre
Volpoet for their constructive readings, remarks, criticisms, and suggestions along-
side the elaboration of this book.
I have an immense gratitude towards my sister Véronique Lahaye, cartographer
at the Paris geography institute (University Paris-Sorbonne) who made beautiful
maps out of my ugly sketches and scribbles and transformed boring statistical data
into explicit thematic maps. One map drawn at UP by Ony Martinez for an earlier
paper was reused in this book. All photographs in the book are mine.
I was also able to experience life in the Philippines “from the inside” thanks to
many friendships developed since 2009. It is impossible to mention everyone, but I
thank above all those who welcomed me to their homes in provinces, under the
shade of palm trees or in front of rice fields, without the physical comfort of the
West or Metro Manila hotels, but with the warm and smiling hospitality of Filipinos:
families De Leon, Guevarra, Martinez, Osio, Saguinsin and Siquijor in Calauan,
Cabuyao, Pagsanjan, Victoria and Santa Cruz (Laguna), Diesta and Marbella in
Pagbilao and San Antonio (Quezon), Labrador, Ramos and Botuyan in Cayucyucan
(Camarines Norte), Factor in Pinamalayan (Oriental Mindoro). Thank you all for
making me “kuya” (elder brother), “tito” (uncle), or “ninong” (godfather and wed-
ding sponsor). Thank you Mr. Rogelio Labrador for making me feel part of your
extended family, and for the karaoke singing duets. This immersion in the life of
several Filipino families has been an invaluable experience to complement and
enrich academic, book-based, knowledge, and understand better how people live in
the country, what is important to them, while sharing their day-to-day joys and
sadnesses, hopes and disappointments, enthusiasms, and difficulties. I think it will
show through in several parts of this book.
Acknowledgements vii
Thank you to Bernard Marcellana for driving long hours to Bicol and the north-
ern Philippines (Baguio, Banaue, Sagada) in 2011 and 2012 and many interesting
insights about the Philippines during these trips of discovery outside of Manila. I am
very grateful to Richel Martinez, Joy, and Janneth Botuyan for helping and translat-
ing into/from Tagalog or Bikolano during field surveys in Pagsanjan and Cayucyucan.
The country has many problems to solve, but also a youthful population willing
to do it, if given the chance. Filipino children (Aesha, Allaine, Andy, Ayill, Chris
Jay, Evelyn, Ghiem, Hannahkim, James Albert, Jhanella, John Hurley, Khayeann,
King Lenard, Limchel, Maelyn, Mark Rassel, Miles, Nonoy, Patrick, Ralph Ronald,
Rheu Jade, Sarah Joy, Sean Ace, Trishia, Yuna, and millions of others): the future of
the Philippines is in your hands!
Contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 1
References ................................................................................................. 7
Part I Land, History and People
2 7107 Islands ............................................................................................. 11
2.1 Sea and Land Intertwined: The Terraqueous Character
of the Philippines ............................................................................. 12
2.1.1 Islands, Seas and Lakes ........................................................ 12
2.1.2 Shorelines ............................................................................. 18
2.1.3 Philippine Seas and EEZ ...................................................... 21
2.2 Mountainous Islands from the Ring of Fire ..................................... 22
2.2.1 Physiography of the Philippines ........................................... 22
2.2.2 The Complex Origin of the Philippine Archipelago ............ 24
2.3 The High Level of Maritimity of the Archipelago ........................... 27
2.3.1 Coastal Population ............................................................... 27
2.3.2 People of the Sea: The Badjao “Sea Gypsies” ..................... 28
2.3.3 Dangers from the Sea ........................................................... 30
References ................................................................................................. 31
3 A Tropical Archipelago ........................................................................... 37
3.1 General Characteristics of the Philippine Climate ........................... 37
3.2 Amihan and Habagat ........................................................................ 43
3.3 Typhoons .......................................................................................... 48
References ................................................................................................. 57
4 The Spanish Creation of the Philippines: The Birth of a Nation ........ 61
4.1 Pre-Hispanic Philippines .................................................................. 62
4.2 Spanish Exploration and Conquest .................................................. 65
4.3 The Spanish Colonization of the Philippines ................................... 68
ix
x Contents
4.3.1 Hispanic Philippines............................................................. 68
4.3.2 Catholic Philippines ............................................................. 72
4.4 The Philippine Revolution ............................................................... 76
4.4.1 The National Heroes, Rizal and Bonifacio .......................... 78
4.4.2 From the Spanish-American War
to the Philippine- American War ........................................... 79
References ................................................................................................. 83
5 From US Colony to Independent Country: The Construction
of a State ................................................................................................... 91
5.1 The American Colonization of the Philippines ................................ 91
5.2 The Independence of the Philippines ............................................... 96
5.2.1 The Commonwealth of the Philippines ................................ 96
5.2.2 The Japanese Invasion .......................................................... 98
5.2.3 Independence........................................................................ 101
5.3 The Republic of the Philippines ....................................................... 103
5.3.1 From Democracy to Martial Law ......................................... 103
5.3.2 “People Power”: The EDSA Revolution .............................. 104
5.3.3 The Post-Marcos Years ......................................................... 105
References ................................................................................................. 110
6 100 Million Filipinos ............................................................................... 117
6.1 The Rising Number of Filipinos ...................................................... 119
6.1.1 Growth Population Data ....................................................... 119
6.1.2 A Young Country .................................................................. 120
6.1.3 A Sexually Active Filipino Youth ......................................... 122
6.1.4 Determinants of Fertility ...................................................... 126
6.1.5 The Role of the Catholic Church in High Fertility Rates..... 128
6.1.6 Fertility and Infant Mortality ............................................... 129
6.2 A Slower Population Growth and Its Expected Benefits ................. 129
6.2.1 A Fertility Transition Underway .......................................... 129
6.2.2 The Society Debate Around the RH Bill .............................. 131
6.2.3 A Demographic “Sweet Spot” for the Philippine
Economy ? ............................................................................ 136
6.3 The Health Status of the Philippine Population ............................... 137
6.3.1 Mortality and Life Expectancy ............................................. 138
6.3.2 Improving Children’s Health ................................................ 138
6.3.3 Controlling Infectious Diseases ........................................... 140
References ................................................................................................. 150
7 The Diversity of the Philippine Population ........................................... 159
7.1 The Linguistic Diversity .................................................................. 160
7.2 Indigenous Minorities in the Philippines ......................................... 168
7.2.1 The Diversity of Indigenous Minorities ............................... 168
7.2.2 The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 ........................ 172
7.3 The Chinese in the Philippines ........................................................ 173
References ................................................................................................. 175
Contents xi
Part II The Philippines in the Global Economy
8 Emerging Tiger? The Paradoxes of the Philippine Economy ............. 183
8.1 A Laggard Country ........................................................................ 184
8.2 A Declining Position in Asia ......................................................... 187
8.3 A Country Perceived as Difficult to Do Business In ..................... 190
8.4 Innovation and Higher Education: A Mediocre Performance
in International Surveys ................................................................. 192
8.5 An Unusual Structure of Employment ........................................... 196
8.6 The “Informal” Economy .............................................................. 197
8.7 Growth Without Development? ..................................................... 201
References ................................................................................................. 205
9 Farm Productions and Rural Landscapes ............................................ 213
9.1 Farms and Crops ............................................................................ 214
9.2 Rice in the Philippines ................................................................... 215
9.2.1 Rice Eating in the Philippines .......................................... 216
9.2.2 The Geography of Rice in the Philippines ....................... 217
9.2.3 The Ifugao Rice Terraces of Northern Luzon .................. 219
9.3 Corn: The Second Staple Crop....................................................... 224
9.4 Three Major Export Crops ............................................................. 226
9.4.1 Coconuts .......................................................................... 227
9.4.2 Bananas ............................................................................ 234
9.4.3 Pineapple .......................................................................... 239
9.5 Animal Husbandry in the Philippines ............................................ 242
9.5.1 Hog Raising, Between Backyard Pigs and Industrial
Swine Production ............................................................. 242
9.5.2 Cattle Raising ................................................................... 246
9.5.3 Poultry .............................................................................. 248
References ................................................................................................. 252
10 The Philippine Agriculture: Weaknesses and Controversies .............. 259
10.1 Sugar Haciendas ............................................................................. 261
10.2 Agrarian Reform ............................................................................ 266
10.2.1 Land Ownership Inequalities ........................................... 266
10.2.2 Peasant Movements .......................................................... 268
10.2.3 Land Reform .................................................................... 270
10.3 Insuring Rice Self-Sufficiency for the Philippines ........................ 280
10.3.1 Not Enough Rice .............................................................. 280
10.3.2 Rice Research: Successes and Controversies ................... 283
10.3.3 Rice Imports Policy .......................................................... 287
10.4 The Issues of Land Conversion and Environmental
Degradation .................................................................................... 288
References ................................................................................................. 290