Country Profile: United States, top destination of Pinoys overseas

GMA News Online is doing a series of profiles of different countries, especially the ones with high populations of Pinoys. As the United States remains the top destination of Pinoys overseas, the first in the series is about the US. According to an estimate of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, there were about 2.87 million Filipinos as of 2009.   Remittances: The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said remittances from the US in 2011 reached $10.656 billion, more than half of the overall remittances of $20.116 billion sent by Filipinos in different parts of the world. The United States of America is considered the world's leading economic and military power with unequalled global interests.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the US accounts for about 25 percent of the world total. GDP is generally defined as the market value of a country's goods and services. Its military budget is believed to be almost equal to the defense budget of the rest of the world put together. The US is a prime mover of global popular culture as American television shows, films, and music all have a global reach. FACTS AND FIGURES (Based on data from the news site BBC and the World Factbook of the US Central Intelligence Agency)   Location: North America (between Canada and Mexico)   Capital: Washington D.C.   Total land area: 9,826,675 square kilometers (third largest country in the world after Russia and Canada)   Population (2012): Approximately 313,847,465 (third most populous nation in the world next to China and India)   Life expectancy (2012): 76.05 years (males); 81.05 years (females)   People (2007 estimate):  Caucasian or white Americans composed 79.96% of the population; African-Americans, 12.85% and Asians, 4.43%, among others.* * Note posted on the World Factbook website: "A separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean persons of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin including those of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, Spanish, and Central or South American origin living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.); about 15.1% of the total US population is Hispanic"   Language: English (used by 82.1% of the population); Spanish (used by 10.7% of the population)   Most populous cities (as of 2009): New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and Washington D.C.   Religion (2007 estimate): Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% Main exports: Food, live animals, chemical products, computers, electrical machinery, vehicles, military equipment, and aircraft THE PHILIPPINES AND THE US A history timeline on the website tribo.org cites some significant dates in Philippine-American history:  

• 1565 The Philippines became a "colony" of Spain;
• 1605 Most Filipinos became Catholics by this time;
• 1762-64 Manila was occupied by the British; 
• 1896 Notable Philippine heroes like Dr. Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, and Emilio Aguinaldo led resistance against the Spanish colonizers
• 1897 Fighting between the Filipinos and Spaniards temporarily stopped because of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato;
• 1898 American ships arrive in Manila Bay; the Spanish are defeated; June 12: Declaration of Independence signed by Aguinaldo, who became the first Philippine president December 12: American and Spanish negotiators sign the Treaty of Paris, officially ending the Spanish-American War; the Philippines was ceded to the US for $20 million.
• 1916 The Jones Law was enacted; it expressed the intention of the US to grant complete independence to the Philippines 'as soon as conditions are appropriate'.
• 1934  the Tydings-McDuffie Act was passed; it specified a 10-year period of "Commonwealth" status (beginning in 1935), leading to complete independence;
• 1941 December 7: Japanese forces attack Pearl Harbor and Clark Air Base
• 1944 October 20: US forces return to the Philippines, particularly in Leyte province; three days later, the Philippine Commonwealth was reestablished;
• 1946 July 4: the US gave the Philippines political independence;
• 1947 the Philippines signed the Military Bases Agreement with the US;
• 1991 Mt. Pinatubo erupted; American forces abandon Clark Air Base due to the extensive damage caused by the volcanic eruption;
• 1991 the Philippine Senate rejected the ratification of the "Treaty of Friendship, Peace, and Cooperation" between the Philippines and the US; this would have extended the lease of the American bases in the Philippines;
• 1992 Subic Naval base was closed.

PINOYS IN THE US Famous Fil-Ams in Hollywood: comedian Rob Schneider, lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls Nicole Scherzinger, RnB singer Bruno Mars, and singer, rapper apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas. Filipinos in Sports: Fil-Am footballer Paulino Alcantara, tagged as the greatest Filipino football player, was honored by Federation of International Football Association for his contribution to international football. Filipinos in Politics: Benjamin Cayetano, former Governor of the State of Hawai’i, is the highest ranking Fil-Am in US politics to date.   Other fields   Artist Venanci C. Igarta is the only Filipino to have an exhibition at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.   Fil-Am Eduardo San Juan designed the Lunar Rover used by Apollo Astronauts to explore the moon.   The 1^st floor of the Gelman Library at the George Washington University was named after Fil-Am Jonathan Melegrito for rendering 25 years of service to the library. TRIVIA   Filipino-American Heritage Month is celebrated every October.   The first Filipino community in the US settled in Louisiana in 1763.   The term "Pinoy" originated in the US to distinguish them from Filipinos living in the Philippines. US Embassy in the Philippines Website: http://manila.usembassy.gov/ Facebook page of the US Embassy Visa blog Twitter account - with Veronica Pulumbarit/HS, GMA News Series of US Visa articles by GMA News Online:
Have a question about US visas? Tweet the Consul General

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