Types of visa: Temporary and Visitor (Single- or Multiple-entry).
Validity:
Single-entry (3 months from date of issue); Multiple-entry (between 6 months and 1 year from date of issue). Visas normally allow stays of up to 59 days. Extensions are possible at the discretion of the Bureau of Immigration.
Cost: Single-entry: £18;Multiple entry: £36 (6 months), £72 (1 year).
Application to: Consulate (or Consula section at Embassy); see address section.
Application requirements: (a) 1 application form. (b) 1 passport-size photograph signed on the back. (c) Passport valid for at least 1 year. (d) Proof of means of support during stay. (e) Fee. (f) Business travellers also require a letter from the sponsoring Filipino company or from their employer, stating the purpose of the visit. Application for a non-immigrant visa should be made in person.

Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation (PCVC)
4th Floor, Legaspi Towers, 300 Roxas Boulevard, Metro Manila, Philippines
Tel: (2) 525 9318-32. Fax: (2) 521 6165 or 525 3314.
E-mail: pcvc@mnl.sequel.net Web site: http://www.tourism.gov.ph
Overseas:
Philippine Department of Tourism
17 Albemarle Street, London W1X 4LX
Tel: (0171) 499 5443 (general enquiries) or 499 5652 (incentive travel).
Fax: (0171) 499 5772.
Opening hours: 0900-1700 Monday to Friday.

International Airports:
Ninoy Aquino (MNL), 12km (7 miles) southeast of Manila.
Airport facilities include banks, post office, medical clinic, baggage deposit area,
duty-free shops and car hire. Bus and taxi services are available to the city (travel time 15 minutes).
Mactan International Airport (NOP) (Cebu Island) is 45km (28 miles) from the city centre.
Hotels and tour operators provide their own coaches; taxis can be hired.
Departure tax: P500 for international departures. Children under two years of age and transit passengers are exempt.
International Airports also at Davao and Laoag
AIR Travel:
for full Air Schedules go to Philippines Air Travel Page
To/from International
examples: Hong Kong, Air France, Emirates, US$130 or US$220 return.
Bangkok, about US$225 or US$280 return
Singapore (Singapore Airlines) US$270 or US$410 return.
Malaysia. Malaysia Airlines. Kuala Lumpur US$260 or US$470 return. Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) US$180 or US$355 return.
Indonesia. Davao (Mindanao) to Manado (Sulawesi) US$150 or US$262 return on Bouraq Airlines
SEA:
Manila is a major seaport, a crossroads of trade in the Asia-Pacific region. Shipping lines which call at Manila include American President Lines, Anline, Ben Line Container Ltd, Everett Lines, Hapag-Lloyd, 'K' Line, Knutsen Line, Lykes Orient Line, Orient Overseas Container Line, Scandutch, Sealand, United States Line and the Waterman Line. Schedules and rates are listed in the shipping pages of daily newspapers.

To/from Internal
AIR: Philippines Airlines has an Air Pass, when buying an International ticket, to use for four (US$155), six (US$182) or eight (US$198) internal destinations.
from Manila and Cebu you can fly to all the main islands
In addition to Philippine Airlines (PR) several other charter airlines, including Aerolift,
Pacific Air and Grand Airways offer comprehensive internal services.
Departure tax: P30 for internal flights from Manila; P7 for internal flights from Cebu. Children under two years are exempt.

SEA: Inter-island ships with first-class accommodation connect the major island ports. For details, contact local shipping lines.

RAIL: The only railway is on Luzon Island, from Legazpi to San Fernando (operated by Philippine National Railways). This network runs three trains daily to and from Manila, one overnight with couchettes and dining car. There is also some air-conditioned accommodation.

ROAD: There are 161,168 km (100,148 miles) of roads spread among the islands, with highways on the Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon island groups. Further roads are currently being constructed. Traffic drives on the right.
Bus: There are bus services between the towns and also widely available jeepneys. These are shared taxis using jeep-derived vehicles equipped to carry up to 14 passengers on bench seats. Fares are similar to buses.

Taxi: Taxis are available in the cities and in many towns. Make sure meters are
used, as some taxi drivers will set an exorbitant and arbitrary rate.

Car hire: Car rentals are available in Manila and in major cities. The minimum age is 18.
Documentation: International Driving Permit required, together with a national driving licence.

URBAN: A number of bus routes are operated by Metro Manila Transport using conventional vehicles, including double-deckers, and Manila's air-conditioned Love Bus which has become part of the city's attractions, besides providing a comfortable ride on specially designated routes. Most journeys, however, are made by jeepneys, of which there are an estimated 30,000 in Manila alone. The metro-rail, a light rail transit link, opened in 1984 and is now fully operational. 15km (9 miles) in length, it runs from Baclaran terminal in the south to Caloocan terminal in the north.

SHOPPING:The Philippines is a haven for shoppers. Countless bargain opportunities for the handicrafts of the different regions are found in the numerous shopping complexes, which range from sleek air-conditioned department stores and malls to open-air bazaars. The chain stores offer everything from the famous barong tagalog (hand-embroidered dress shirts for men in delicate jusi material) to Tiffany lamps made with capiz shells. For local colour there's nothing like going to the flea markets where visitors can buy all kinds of cloth weaves, brassware from the south, woodcarvings and other local crafts, as well as rare seashells and souvenirs, like the painted papier-mache horses of Laguna.
Some particularly good buys are the silver jewellery from Baguio, coral trinket boxes, rattan furniture, baskets in different designs, woven grass mats (banig), antique wooden figurines of saints, ready-to-wear clothes, garments embroidered with the traditional callado, Filipino dresses for women (usually made from banana and pineapple fibres), cigars and abaca placemats.
Handicraft stores are found everywhere in the country, especially in cities. Large department stores sell both local and foreign manufactured goods.
Shopping hours: 1000-2000 Monday to Saturday, but these can vary. Most department stores and supermarkets are open Sunday.

Jan 9 Nazareno (religious procession in honour of the image of Nazarene), Quiapo and Metro Manila. Jan (third week) Ait-Atihan Carnival, Kalibo and Aklan; Sinulog Festival, Cebu City.
Feb 2 Feast of Our Lady of Candles, Iloilo City.
Mar 29-Apr 1 Holy Week Lenten Rituals, nationwide.
Apr 2 Moriones (re-enacting of the beheading of Longinus), Boac, Mogpog, Gasan and Marinduque; Turumba, Pakil and Laguna.
Apr 8-30 Summer Arts Festival, Baguio.
May (whole month) Santacruzan and Flores de Mayo Festival, nationwide;
May 14 Carabao Festival, Pulilan and Bulacan.
May 15 Pahiyas (parades and flower decorations), Lucban and Sariaya.
May 17-19 Obando Fertility Rites, Obando and Bulacan.
Jun 12 Independence Day Celebrations, Kawitand Cavite.
Jun 24 Parada Ng Lechon (roast pig feast), Balayan and Batangas.
Jul 4 Pagoda Sa Wawa, Balayan andBatangas.
Jul 17 Sandugo Festival, Bohol.
Aug (Third Week) Kadayawan Sa Dabaw, Davao City.
Aug31 National Heroes Day, nationwide.
Aug 29-Sep (first week) Aurora Festival, Tanjay and Negros Oriental. Masskara Festival, Bacolod City.
Sep 19 Nuestra Senora de Penafrancia, Naga City and Carmarines Sur.
Oct 1-12 Zamboanga Hermosa Festival, Zamboanga City. Oct (second week) Masskara Festival, Bacolod City. Oct (third week) Lanzones Festival, Camiguin Island.
Nov 2 All Saints' Day, nationwide.
Nov22-23 Feast of San Clemente/Gigantes, Angono and Rizal. Dec Giant Lantern Festival, San Fernando and Pampanga; Binirayan, San JosÈ and Antique. Dec 25 Christmas Festival, Laoag.

In the next two decades there was a succession of presidents who maintained strong links with the United States. In 1965 Ferdinand Marcos of the Nacionalista Party won the presidential elections and began a programme of rapid economic development. Before his maximum of two terms in office were over, in 1972, Marcos instituted martial law and suppressed all political opposition. He also set about large-scale looting of the country's exchequer to fill his and his family's own foreign bank accounts. Opposition to Marcos evolved in two distinct forms: the 'constitutional' opposition organised around dissenting senators such as Benigno Aquino; and the Communist Party which, linking with various tribal groups, launched an armed insurgency based in the southern islands, particularly Mindanao. By the mid-1980s, the New People's Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party, was able to sustain a major insurrection right across the country in both rural and urban areas. The turning point for the regime came after the assassination of Benigno Aquino upon his return from exile in 1983.

Public opinion rallied behind his widow, Corazon Aquino. A massive campaign of demonstrations and non-violent protest confronted Marcos. Equally important, President Reagan faced a groundswell of American public opinion in favour of Aquino, and withdrew his backing from Marcos. The Filipino military, Marcos' last bastion of support, followed suit and Marcos left for Hawaiian exile in February 1986 and died in September 1989, escaping charges of embezzlement lodged in the USA by the Aquino government, which had pursued the case with some vigour. Lacking any political experience whatever, Corazon Aquino took a while to settle into the presidency. Relations between the new government and the military were the most pressing problem. The army sheltered an influential rump of support for Marcos which busied itself plotting against Aquino and had, by the end of 1989, made no less than six coup attempts. All were put down and Aquino kept the bulk of the military on her side by supporting a hard line in the counter-insurgency campaign against the NPA.

Military issues also dominated the Philippines' key foreign relations with the USA. The Americans had maintained two large bases on Luzon Island at Subic Bay (navy) and Clark Air Base, plus a handful of smaller facilities, since the end of the Second World War, but the agreement permitting their use was due to expire in 1991. Aquino again faced conflicting pressures: the economic value of the bases against nationalist demands for their removal. Amid tortuous and protracted negotiations, the problem was solved at a stroke by the volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo, dormant for 600 years, in the summer of 1991. Clark Air Base 10 miles from the volcano was damaged so badly as to render it unusable and the Americans decided to abandon it. In October 1991, the Philippines Senate accepted a deal carved out between the Government and the Americans allowing for a total pull-out by 1994. The country now turned its attention to the presidential election campaign. The constitution prevented Mrs Aquino from putting herself forward for re-election. Fidel Ramos, Aquino's erstwhile Defence Minister and a key figure in recent Filipino politics, secured her endorsement.

The election was closely fought between the three principal candidates: Ramos; Aquino's cousin, Eduardo 'Danding' Cojuangco; and Miriam Santiago, a fiery and popular lawyer with an impressive record as an anti-corruption campaigner. Ramos won the poll in May 1992 with 5.3 million votes. Imelda Marcos, who also stood, hoping to exploit her husband's residual popularity, came a poor fourth. On November 24, 1993, Imelda Marcos was found guilty of 'political graft' and was sentenced to up to 24 years in jail. At the time of writing the case is under appeal. The main issues for the Ramos government have been the economy which has been performing well, driven by export growth and the continuing insurgencies in the southern part of the archipelago. While the NPA has declined to virtual non-existence, the Moslem insurgents of the Moro National Liberation Front continue to test the army. The government opened negotiations with the Front in the autumn of 1995.

GOVERNMENT:

The constitution adopted in 1987 provides for a dual-chamber congress comprising a 24-member Senate and a House of Representatives with a maximum 250 members, of whom 200 are directly elected. The president, who holds executive power, is elected for a 6-year term.