where are the philippines located on the world map
Philippines The Philippines (/ˈfɪlɪpiːnz/ ( listen); Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs] or Filipinas [ˌfɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas), is a unitary sovereign state and island country in Southeast Asia. Situated in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of about 7,641 islands[17] that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila.[18] Bounded by the South China Sea on the west, the Philippine Sea on the east and the Celebes Sea on the southwest, the Philippines shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Vietnam to the west, Palau to the east and Malaysia and Indonesia to the south.
Flag of the Philippines The Philippine national flag has a rectangular design that consists of a white equilateral triangle, symbolizing liberty, equality, and fraternity; a horizontal blue stripe for peace, truth, and justice; and a horizontal red stripe for patriotism and valor. In the center of the white triangle is an eight-rayed golden sun symbolizing unity, freedom, people's democracy, and sovereignty. Each ray represents a province with significant involvement in the 1896 Philippine Revolution against Spain; these provinces are Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga, Bataan, Laguna, Batangas, and Nueva Ecija (some sources specify other provinces as alternatives to some of these[a]).[8][9] However, according to the Declaration of Independence and a research by UP Professor Ambeth Ocampo, the rays of the sun symbolized the first 8 provinces of the Philippines which was declared under martial law during the First Philippine Revolution.[27] Three five-pointed stars, one for each of the triangle's points, stand for the three major islands where the revolution started: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.