菲律宾英语新闻

提起菲律宾，可能有一些人还有刻板印象，菲律宾是贫穷、落后的，菲律宾除了菲佣、芒果还有菠萝就没有其它的了。这句话其实并不客观。菲律宾英语游学也是十分受到欢迎的，有非常多来自世界各地的学员去菲律宾学英语。同时菲律宾是全球英语呼叫之都，很多全球知名大品牌客服中心都在菲律宾，知道为什么吗？菲律宾的呼叫中心在BPO行业的如此巨大声望在很大程度上是由于两个非常重要的因素完美结合：经济与文化菲律宾人英语基本识字率达93% 我们先来看一个关于菲律宾英语的数字： 菲律宾是世界上第五大说英语的国家 菲律宾人英语基本识字率达93% ，亚洲排名第一。（这里的识字率指的是不仅是会说，是读写文字的人的比例） 在菲律宾文化中，英语是这个国家的两种官方语言之一，并在企业，学校和政府是主要使用的语言，更不用说电视，广播和流行媒体！菲律宾人沟通能力很强，英语水平也很好，你如果去过菲律宾，你会发现，即使不曾出过国的菲律宾人，英语依然讲得很流畅。这也是菲律宾吸引更多投资者将呼叫中心设在这里的原因之一。 菲律宾人非常乐观，服务态度也非常好 如果你去过菲律宾，你会发现菲律宾人非常的乐观，他们的脸上常常挂着笑容。因此他们的文化中也具有非常冷静的元素，以至于他们具备一种特别机智的观察事物的角度。 菲律宾人的服务态度也非常地好，在菲律宾的任何地方，都可以享受到“VVIP”的待遇，充分体现了“顾客就是上帝”这句话的含义。 而此性格特征也体现在呼叫中心的工作中。现实情况是，业务代表有时发现自己不得不与愤怒甚至具有攻击性的客人进行沟通。而他们的服务态度以及乐观的心态很容易可以平静地解决问题。这在呼叫中心客服世界则变成了一项特别宝贵的资产，良好支撑他们所代表的企业品牌，如花旗银行，Safeway公司，雪佛龙，都已委托如此重要的客户关系到菲律宾呼叫中心。 菲律宾高学历者比比皆是 菲律宾贫富差距很大。菲律宾的中产阶级父母很重视教育，至少会让子女受大学教育，甚至送小孩去欧美读大学也很普遍，这一点与我们北上广的父母并没太大差别。特别是教育、金融和贸易等领域菲律宾人才非常多。很多菲律宾人能去世界各个地方工作，和他们的英语能力也分不开。 某集团首席执行官也表示：“菲律宾拥有大量受过高等教育、具有独特跨文化知识的专业人士，这是菲律宾的优势之一。我们相信，在我们寻求巩固亚太地区第一的地位之际，这些人才将发挥关键作用。” 由于菲律宾英语的普及程度，也吸引着越来越多的学员来菲律宾学英语。而菲律宾国家旅游发展计划把英语游学确认为九大产品之一，相信游学项目的开展也会吸引全世界更多想学习英语的人来菲律宾学习英语。

8 hostages killed in Manila bus hijackingBy John M. Glionna and Al Jacinto, Los Angeles Times August 23, 2010 ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines —In a desperate act to regain his job, a disgruntled ex-police officer on Monday hijacked a busload of Hong Kong tourists in Manila, prompting a 12-hour drama that ended with eight captives and the alleged suspect being killed, authorities said.Much of the episode played out in the pouring rain as authorities surrounded the bus, a maneuver that snarled traffic.In the end, the gunman, former police Capt. Rolando Mendoza, was killed by a sniper shot to the head and body near the front door of the bus where he staked out a last-stand battle with 30 police commandos, who moved in with tear gas and flash bombs. He injured one sniper before his death, police said."The hostage-taker was killed. He chose to shoot it out with our men," police Col. Nelson Yabut told reporters. "On our first assault, Capt. Mendoza was sprawled in the middle of the aisle and shot one of our operatives. On our second assault we killed him."Police said they stormed the vehicle when Mendoza opened fire on the hostages. Several captives were seen crawling out the back door of the bus during the gunfight.As the standoff came to an end, police vehicles and ambulances converged on the tourist bus. Eight hostages were confirmed dead, one hostage was hospitalized in critical condition, and five others were unharmed. The condition of two other hostages was unknown late Monday.The standoff began when Mendoza, armed with an M-16 rifle, seized the bus, demanding to be reinstated to his job.Mendoza was among five officers charged with robbery and extortion after a Manila hotel chef filed a complaint alleging the policemen falsely accused him of using drugs to extort money, according to 2008 newspaper reports.The gunman released nine hostages in the afternoon, denying the allegations against him. In a live interview with a local radio station, Mendoza threatened to kill the remaining 15 captives unless he got his job back."I can see there are many SWAT teams arriving; they are all around," Mendoza said in Tagalog. "I know they will kill me, I'm telling them to leave because anytime I will do the same here."As night closed in, negotiators lost hope of a peaceful conclusion to the standoff. Finally, police said, commandoes stormed the bus after they saw Mendoza open fire on the hostages as the bus driver jumped out a window, fleeing in panic.Earlier in the night, policemen arrested a brother of the hostage-taker, Gregorio Mendoza. He had reportedly been dispatched to persuade the suspect to surrender but was later accused of instigating his brother, according to Director Leocadio Santiago, chief of police forces in the National Capital Region.The arrest of Mendoza's older brother may have prompted the gunman to shoot the hostages, police say. Moments after the brother's arrest, several shots rang inside the bus."His problem was he was unjustly removed from service. There was no due process, no hearing, no complaint," Gregorio Mendoza told reporters as he was surrounded by police.A handwritten message was left stuck to the bus door. "Big mistake to correct," it read, "a big wrong decision."Later, Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang criticized Philippine authorities for mishandling of the siege, whose violent last moments were broadcast on live television.© Copyright (c) Los Angeles Times

Geography The Philippine Islands are an archipelago of over 7,000 islands lying about 500 mi (805 km) off the southeast coast of Asia.The overall land area is comparable to that of Arizona.Only about ...

GeographyThe Philippine Islands are an archipelago of over 7,000 islands lying about 500 mi (805 km) off the southeast coast of Asia. The overall land area is comparable to that of Arizona. Only about 7% of the islands are larger than one square mile, and only one-third have names. The largest are Luzon in the north (40,420 sq mi; 104,687 sq km), Mindanao in the south (36,537 sq mi; 94,631 sq km), and Samar (5,124 sq mi; 13,271 sq km). The islands are of volcanic origin, with the larger ones crossed by mountain ranges. The highest peak is Mount Apo (9,690 ft; 2,954 m) on Mindanao.GovernmentRepublic.HistoryThe Philippines' aboriginal inhabitants arrived from the Asian mainland around 25,000 B.C. They were followed by waves of Indonesian and Malayan settlers from 3,000 B.C. onward. By the 14th century A.D., extensive trade was being conducted with India, Indonesia, China, and Japan.Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese navigator in the service of Spain, explored the Philippines in 1521. Twenty-one years later, a Spanish exploration party named the group of islands in honor of Prince Philip, who was later to become Philip II of Spain. Spain retained possession of the islands for the next 350 years. The Philippines were ceded to the U.S. in 1899 by the Treaty of Paris after the Spanish-American War. Meanwhile, the Filipinos, led by Emilio Aguinaldo, had declared their independence. They initiated guerrilla warfare against U.S. troops that persisted until the capture of Aguinaldo in 1901. By 1902, peace was established except among the Islamic Moros on the southern island of Mindanao. The first U.S. civilian governor-general was William Howard Taft (1901–1904). The Jones Law (1916) provided for the establishment of a Philippine legislature composed of an elective Senate and House of Representatives. The Tydings-McDuffie Act (1934) provided for a transitional period until 1946, at which time the Philippines would become completely independent. Under a constitution approved by the people of the Philippines in 1935, the Commonwealth of the Philippines came into being with Manuel Quezon y Molina as president. On Dec. 8, 1941, the islands were invaded by Japanese troops. Following the fall of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's forces at Bataan and Corregidor, Quezon established a government-in-exile that he headed until his death in 1944. He was succeeded by Vice President Sergio Osmeña. U.S. forces under MacArthur reinvaded the Philippines in Oct. 1944 and, after the liberation of Manila in Feb. 1945, Osmeña reestablished the government. The Philippines achieved full independence on July 4, 1946. Manuel A. Roxas y Acuña was elected its first president, succeeded by Elpidio Quirino (1948–1953), Ramón Magsaysay (1953–1957), Carlos P. García (1957–1961), Diosdado Macapagal (1961–1965), and Ferdinand E. Marcos (1965–1986). Under Marcos, civil unrest broke out in opposition to the leader's despotic rule. Martial law was declared on Sept. 21, 1972, and Marcos proclaimed a new constitution that ensconced himself as president. Martial law was officially lifted on Jan. 17, 1981, but Marcos and his wife, Imelda, retained broad powers. In an attempt to resecure American support, Marcos set presidential elections for Feb. 7, 1986. With the support of the Catholic Church, Corazon Aquino declared her candidacy. Marcos was declared the official winner, but independent observers reported widespread election fraud and vote rigging. Anti-Marcos protests exploded in Manila, Defense Minister Juan Enrile and Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos defected to the opposition, and Marcos lost virtually all support; he was forced to flee into exile and entered the U.S. on Feb. 25, 1986. The Aquino government survived coup attempts by Marcos supporters and other right-wing elements, including one in November by Enrile. Legislative elections on May 11, 1987, gave pro-Aquino candidates a large majority. Negotiations on renewal of leases for U.S. military bases threatened to sour relations between the two countries. Volcanic eruptions from Mount Pinatubo, however, severely damaged Clark Air Base, and in July 1991, the U.S. decided simply to abandon it.In elections in May 1992, Gen. Fidel Ramos, who had the support of the outgoing Aquino, won the presidency in a seven-way race. In Sept. 1992, the U.S. Navy turned over the Subic Bay naval base to the Philippines, ending its long-standing U.S. military presence.Meanwhile, the separatist Moro National Liberation Front was fighting a protracted war for an Islamic homeland on Mindanao, the southernmost of the two main islands. The Philippine army also battled another rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. In Aug. 2001, both rebel groups signed unity agreements with the Philippine government. Frequent and violent clashes with these and other terrorist groups have continued, however. Abu Sayyaf, a small group of guerrillas that has been fighting since the 1970s for an independent Islamic state and reportedly has links to Osama bin Laden, gained international notoriety throughout 2000 and 2001 with its spree of kidnappings and murders. The Philippine military has also battled the New People's Army, a group of Communist guerrillas that have targeted Philippine security forces since 1969. International officials reported in June 2003 that Jemaah Islamiyah, an affiliate of al-Qaeda, was training recruits in Mindanao, in the southern Philippines. About 120,000 people have died in the conflicts with rebel groups, and more than 3 million have been displaced.In May 1998, 61-year-old former action film star Joseph Estrada was elected president of the Philippines. Within two years, however, the Philippine Senate began to impeach Estrada on corruption charges. Massive street demonstrations and the loss of political support eventually forced Estrada from office. Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, daughter of former president Diosdado Macapagal, became president in Jan. 2001. In July 2003, dozens of mutinous soldiers took over a Manila shopping complex, protesting low pay and demanding the resignation of President Arroyo and the defense secretary. The demonstration ended peacefully. In May 2004 elections, President Arroyo narrowly defeated film star Fernando Poe. Poe alleged voter fraud and warned of a revolt by his supporters.Police killed three top members of Abu Sayyaf while quelling a March 2005 prison uprising in Manila. In all, 22 people, including 20 prisoners and two guards, died in the violence. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo faced a political crisis in the summer of 2005, after admitting to calling an election official during 2004's presidential race. A taped phone conversation between Arroyo and the official seemed to suggest that she had tried to use her power to influence the outcome. Several members of her cabinet quit and joined the opposition and tens of thousands of protesters in calling for her resignation. In a televised address, Arroyo apologized for the “lapse of judgement” and said, “my intent was not to influence the outcome of the election and it did not.” The opposition filed an impeachment motion in July. In addition, Arroyo's husband, who had been accused of taking bribes from a gambling syndicate, said in July that he was moving abroad indefinitely.A mudslide in February leveled the town of Guinsaugon and killed about 1,800 of its 1,857 residents.Arroyo declared a state of emergency in February, saying the government had foiled an attempted coup by the military. She also banned rallies commemorating the 20th anniversary of the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos. Some observers, however, dismissed the report of the coup attempt as political maneuvering to gain support and weaken the opposition.