10 Quirky Philippine Facts

Reading the basic facts about a place can be rather boring, sifting through facts and figure with little of real interest. However, if you include trivia, things get a little more interesting – especially if the trivia is unusual and a little bit quirky. So, we have compiled a list of 10 Philippine facts and trivia on the quirky side.

1. Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao, better known as Manny Pacquiao, is not only a professional boxer, he is also an elected politician. The first boxer in history to win ten world titles in eight different weight divisions, is an elected congressman representing the province of Sarangan in the Philippines. 

2. It shouldn’t surprise visitors to see Filipinos constantly using their cell phones. A 2003 survey showed that the average Filipino sends 2,300 text messages a year, making the Philippines as a top cell phone user nation. 

3. The Philippine archipelago consists of more than 7,100 islands, with a combined total land area of 115,707 square miles. This makes the nation almost as large as Italy and much larger than all of the islands of Great Britain. The number of islands provides the Philippines with an irregular coastline almost 10,850 miles long - twice the length of the US coastline!

4. Filipinas are the most beautiful women in Asia – official! Filipinas were the first Asians to win five major international beauty pageant crowns — two for Miss Universe (1969 and 1973), and three for Miss International (1965, 1970, and 1979).

5. In 1585, Spanish soldier Pablo Alvarez became the first westerner to marry a Filipina, Nicolasa de Alvarez, a native of Lubao, Pampanga. Many others have since followed his example.

6. The yo-yo was actually invented in the Philippines as a hunting weapon! Though all sources agree on this fact there is disagreement over the name origin. US Websters’ states that the name ‘yoyo’ is an Ilokano word, while other sources say the name is derived from Tagalog, and means, ‘come-come’ or ‘return’.

7. Found in mouth burningly plentiful supply in the fiery dishes of the Bicol region, fresh chilies are an addictive and a powerful anti-depressant rich in both vitamins A and C. Maybe that’s why Filipino Eriberto N. Gonzales Jr. entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 1999 – for consuming 350 chilies in just 3 minutes!

8. The highest numbers of overseas tourists that visit the Philippines are Koreans.

9. Throughout the Philippines kilometer distance markings on national highway road markers all show the road distance to the flagpole in Rizal Park, Manila. All distances start from there at 0 (zero).

10. One of the reasons the Philippines is a world-class diver’s paradise is that of the 500 known coral species in the world, 488 or 97% are found in the Philippines; Of the eight known species of giant clams in the world, seven are found in the Philippines; and the rarest and most expensive shell in the world, the Conus Gloriamaris (Glory of the Sea), is among a massive 12,000 species of seashells found in Philippine waters.

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