For all those people who haven't been to the Philippines, there may be boundless fantasies about the Philippines in their minds. Paradise-like beaches, super hot weather, enthusiastic people, delicious traditional food...etc. However, However, these are not the most comprehensive look of the Philippines. The following has shared 7 interesting secret facts with those who might be unfamiliar with the Philippines.
- The First LGBT Political Party in the World
Although same-sex marriage hasn't been legalized, the Philippines is the first country in the world that has the first LGBTQ political party! Since 2003, the Ang Ladlad, which means “out of the closet” in Filipino, was established, the Philippines, without a doubt, has been one of the most gay-friendly countries in Asia.
- The Filipino Unique Ability To Smile During Disasters
We may be told to stay calm when disasters happen, but Filipinos just smile away and laugh. Their "Bahala Na Attitude"(optimistic fatalism) gives Filipino a super optimistic attitude to accept the situations they may encounter. "Filipino fatalism can be double-edged; while it resigns a Filipino to their fate, it also gives them the strength to endure". (Filipiknow.com, 2018)
(Photograph: Pinterest.)
- Filipinos' Crazy Love for Karaoke
Almost every Philippine family has a karaoke machine or a digital mic that turns your television into a karaoke machine. Since the first Karaoke was invented by a Japanese singer, Daisuke Inoue, in 1971 and later was brought to the Philippines by a Seoul-based writer, Hannah Bae, the Philippines have obsessed with Karaokes which is always a feature at birthday and holiday parties. A Filipino inventor Roberto del Rosario later developed the Karaoke Sing-Along System in 1975. Since then, singing has become a necessary part of the Philippines. (BBC, 2011)
(Photograph: Travelblog.org.)
- Social Media is Huge in the Philippines
For most of the people in the world, social media is a form of connectivity that serves as a means to reinforce their relationships. However, for Filipinos, they don't just use it but deeply live within it. According to the 2018 Global Digital Report, the Philippines has the highest social media usage rate in the world that they spend an average of three hours and 57 minutes every day on social media to keep in touch with their families and friends. The number of Filipinos use Facebook is also up to 92.2 percent, according to the statistics done by Statcounter in 2019. They crazily love socializing on their social media, and it is no wonder that they would be awarded "The texting capital of the world".
- The Philippines Has the Most Christians in Asia
Although most of their Southeast Asian countries practice Buddhism, the Philippines has the most Christians in Asia, making up approximately 90% of the population. (HuffPost, 2017)
- Up to 183 individual languages spoken in the Philippines
There’s no easy way to name all of the languages spoken in the Philippines because the Philippines consists of 7,641 individual islands, so it must be diverse in linguistics. (Babbel Magazine, 2019) It has two official languages: Filipino and English. Filipino is "an updated version of Tagalog that includes elements of other native Philippine languages, as well as English, Spanish, Malay and Chinese". English is due to its time as a U.S. territory between the years of 1898 and 1946.
- Jollibee is the Filipino McDonald's
Jollibee is the fast-food equivalent of McDonald’s in the Philippines, and it is incredibly popular within Overseas Foreign Workers (OFW). Jollibee started as a small ice cream store and later evolved into a fast-food chain known for delicious Filipino-style burgers, hotdogs, and spaghetti representing the Filipino spirit: always “jolly”!
(Photograph: udn.com )
Have you heard of these fun facts about the Philippines?
These just a little piece of how the Philippines really looks like. There are actually more interesting things worth explorations in the Philippines!
