| Philippines |
 Bahala na... Bahala na means 'whatever will happen, will happen', or 'in the hands of God' (as in insha'Allah), or 'not up to us.' So it can be interpreted as a fatalist or passive attitude; 'it's out of my hands', 'nothing I can do about it…' The language is Tagalog, the main indigenous language of the Philippines, and the official national language, although English is the main language for newspapers and public education. There are 22 million Tagalog speakers in the Philippines and an estimated 90 million around the world. The alphabet sample (above) is the first four letters of the Tagalog script: a - ba - ka - da. The Spanish influence is waning, although Spain's King Philip II gave the islands their name in the 16th century. Two Tagalog aphorisms: Ang hindî magmahál sa sariling wikà ay higít pa ang amóy ng mabahong isdâ. He who does not love his own language is worse than a smelly fish. Hulí man daw at magalíng, nakákahábol pa rin. Even though he was late, he was still on time.  Location: Asia Status: UN Country Capital City: Manila Main Cities: Quezon City, Davao, Cebu Population: 67,898,000 Area: 300,000 km2 Currency: 1 Philippine peso = 100 centavos Languages: Filipino (Tagalog), English, Spanish Religions: Roman Catholic, Muslim |
