The Philippines is an archipelago located 966 km off the southern coast of Asia, consisting of 7,100 islands including coralline islets.  The eleven largest islands make up 92% of the total land area of 300,000 square kilometres.

The country's topography consists of 34,600 kms of discontinuous coastline, with mountainous regions surrounding major lowland plains.  It has a tropical climate, with alternating dry and monsoon seasons.

Our government is made up of three branches:  the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial.  The President is the Head of State, and the Legislative branch is made up of the Upper House (Senate) and the Lower House (House of Representatives).