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Trek Cities
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Manila PHILIPPINES Overview |
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Director Jess Delegencia |
Manila has one of the largest populations in the world. The capitol of the Philippines, it's estimated that a quarter to a third of the city's population lives in slums or squatter settlements in various areas around the metro area. Because of the overcrowding, tragedies, such as last summer's the trash slide at Payatas, Quezon City in Metro Manila killed about 1000 people who live and work there.
Manila's history is a story of colonization for about 350 years by the Spanish from its founding in 1571 and then by a few other countries. The Philippines finally became independent in 1946, but has experienced a lot of political turmoil and corruption since, as evidenced by the current events of the presidency. Because of the influence of the Spanish, the main cultural religion is Roman Catholic. Tagalog is the main language of the people spoken there, but English is used in businesses, schools, and by the national media.
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