Philippines: Land And People (1959)

[Music] there's the rice the staff of life in the Philippines there are quiet Villages where Farmers till the soil and grow the rice and the lakes and harbors where fishermen tend their Nets there are mountain that rise High out of the sea on almost every island dense forests cover over half of this tropical Nation there are the rivers to bathe in and to carry the products of the land to the markets in the towns and cities there is Manila the capital and pride of the nation the largest city of the Republic of the Philippines a nation of about 7,000 Islands most of them small and uninhabited with a land area nearly the size of California but with almost twice its population the geographic proximity to Japan and red China and the distance from the traditionally friendly United States play a crucial role in the the future of the young Republic of the islands the largest and most populous is Lozan in the North in the middle there are hundreds of smaller Islands known as theas and in the South lies the second largest island mindo these islands became the independent Republic of the Philippines in 1946 its democratic system of government is patterned largely after that of the United States to this day we can see the traces of the almost 400 years of Spanish rule over the Philippines but even more striking is the more recent influence of the United States soon after mellan discovered the Philippines in the early 1500s missionaries began converting the Filipinos to Christianity by the time the United States acquired the islands from Spain in 1898 some 90% of the people were catholic the influence of Spain is still seen today not only in religion but also in architecture and language but now that influence is shared with the public schools which are probably the most important contribution of the United States to the development of the modern Philippines a system of schools extends to the tiniest and most remote Villages the number of Phil Filipinos who can read and write is high by comparison with other Asian Nations since more than 80 dialects are spoken attempts are being made to create a national language the Tagalog dialect is the basis of this national language but English is still the language of Education government and the City Marketplace someday when the history of the Philippines of this period will be written the schools will certainly be remembered as playing a most significant role scientists from the United States and Europe have done much to help improve standards of health and sanitation their efforts have been requested by the government of the new nation a healthier generation is growing up to enjoy sports that have been brought in by people from other lands Philipino athletes and movie stars take their place as Heroes to the Filipino children alongside of Heroes from the United States and Europe seven out of 10 Filipinos live in small villages called baros farming their own land which may vary from 5 to 8 acres in size even a poor Filipino farmer has grown up in the Christian tradition of individual Freedom his desire for his country's right to democracy and Independence is both strong and sincere he's now struggling to master the economic responsibilities that go along with political freedom and Independence life is simple in the baros by our standards but by Asian standards except for Japan where standards are much higher the Filipinos are well off many live in bamboo houses raised on poles to protect them from the dampness and provide better ventilation in a human humid and rainy climate with temperatures in the low 90s a good part of the year a cow or much more often a caribow a pig and a few chickens are the usual livestock a single Village well usually serves all the people of the village rice to the Filipino is what wheat is to US during the growing season of from 5 to 6 months the Patty Fields must be weeded and protected from birds and field rats at Harvest Time the kernels of rice are usually separated from the stalks by the ancient method of trampling or beating as new roads are built Marketing in the larger towns becomes possible and trips to the market are always a treat for the children much fishing is done for fish is an important item that goes along with the rice diet of most Filipinos rice and fish to a Filipino is like meat and bread to us the fish that is not consumed immediately is dried in the Sun for future use coconut palm trees are cultivated in many parts of the Philippines the dried meat from coconuts called copra is used in the manufacturer of soaps and margarin coconuts which grow high in the trees can be reached with long poles more often skilled Pickers climb high to cut them down by the use of a machetta first the husk is broken off then the nut is split open to dry in the Sun from the dried meat or COA comes the oil used in many Industries the Philippines supply nearly half of the world's need of COA when it is time to dry the coconut meat everyone helps with the work sugar is another export crop of the Philippines sugar is refined from the stock of the sugar cane production methods in sugar cane fields are still traditional like this slow way of fertilizing but more modern methods are coming gradually as agricultural schools are established the government operates large scale programs to teach the people how to be better and more efficient farmers [Music] music is an important part of the life of the islands many baros have their own bands Filipinos seem especially fond of music and make excellent musicians and they enjoy folk dancing here is a visible contrast traditional dances and modern clothes the signs of a more prosperous industrial society are beginning to appear as Rich mineral resources of gold chromium copper and iron are mined on loan and mindo some refining of ore is done in the islands but most ores are shipped abroad for processing logging is an important industry there are very large reserves of mahogany Nara and Rosewood most of the logs are shipped to the American continent or to Japan for processing the Filipinos are now building plants in which they will be able to process their own logs wherever there is a harbor in the Philippines hemp is likely to be exported nearly all of the world's supply of Manila hemp used to make rope is produced in the Philippines ships connecting the hundreds of islands all Converge on the busy Port of Manila with their loads of passengers and goods from the other Islands Manila Harbor is one of the finest in the world many of the things which the Philippines buy from other nations enter the islands through Manila oil Rubber and manufactured goods of all kinds are brought in from abroad since they are not as yet manufactured in the Philippines because so many things are imported the Philippines are always faced with the problem of finding enough dollars to pay for them but gradually new factories are being built within the nation companies from the United States and Europe are helping with the enormous job of industrializing this predominantly AG agricultural country industry is needed to raise the standard of living which the people of the Philippines need and want badly most of the new industrial activity is centered around the city of Manila there are only a few large cities of which Manila is the social cultural and economic Center thousands of jeeps used during the war have been converted into buses called Jeep a city of more than a million people Manila is clean and modern yet it has its own atmosphere which reflects its Heritage from Spain and the Orient the population of Manila is a mixture of Filipinos some Chinese and a few Europeans and Americans the products of the land rice sugar and coconuts have long been the basis of the Philippine economy and the people have faced many problems as they have realized the need for improved agricultural methods and increased industrialization part of the nation was left in Ruins after the war with Japan and its economy reduced to chaos but the Filipinos have made a remarkable recovery from the damages of the war this young Republic is constantly testing its stability in politics it is struggling to master modern economics the Philippines is determined to earn an important place in the family of Nations