 
The Philippines were claimed by Spain in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan, who named the islands after King Philip II of Spain. The Americans took control of the Philippines upon defeating Spain in the Spanish-American war of 1898. During World War II, the islands were occupied by the Japanese. Near the end of the war, the Americans returned, and following the war, the Philippines were granted independence. The country known today as the Republic of the Philippines lies right in the heart of Southeast Asia, between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. The three main Philippine island groups are Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. The Philippines are comprised of 7,107 islands, extending more than 1,700 kilometers in the direction of the Equator.  Several students of Jose Rizal Memorial State College have visited our site. You can see a picture of the campus on the left. The college is in Dipolog. Dipolog is a city of over 1,000,000; its name means 'Orchid City'. Its residents speak mainly Cebuano/Visayan. English and Filipino (Tagalog) are also widely spoken. 95% of the population is Christian Catholic; the remaining 5% comprise Christians of different denominations.
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