According to ehistorylib, in 2005, the Philippines had a population of approximately 88 million people. The majority of the population was located in the northern and central regions of the country, with a large concentration in the capital city of Manila. The economy of the Philippines was largely based on agricultural production, with significant contributions from fishing and manufacturing industries. Foreign relations with other countries were mostly limited to its Asian neighbors, as well as some European countries such as Germany, France, and Spain. In terms of politics in 2005, the Philippines had a democratically elected government that was led by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The government had a bicameral legislature consisting of both a House of Representatives and a Senate which were elected by popular vote every three years. Additionally, there was an independent judiciary branch which ensured that laws were applied fairly and impartially across the country.
Yearbook 2005
According to countryaah, Manila is the capital and one of the major cities within the country of Philippines. Philippines is a country located in Southeastern Asia. The unrest in the southern part of the country continued during the year. In January, clashes broke out between government forces and hundreds of rebels from a breakaway faction of Moro’s Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The clashes began since the rebels attacked a military base. The leadership of the MILF, which has observed a ceasefire since July 2003, said it did not approve of the attack. Later that month, the military attacked a camp that it claimed was used for meetings between the guerrillas and the Indonesian terror network Jemaa Islamiyya.
- Also see abbreviationfinder.org for how the acronym PH stands for the country of Philippines and other meanings of this two-letter abbreviation.
In February, the island of Jolo was also shaken by violent confrontations between the army and rebels from the Islamist terror group Abu Sayyaf and a breakaway faction from Moro’s National Liberation Front (MNLF). At least 70 rebels and 30 government soldiers were reported to have been killed.
At least a dozen people were killed in three bomb attacks in Manila, Davao and General Santos in mid-February. Abu Sayyaf took on the blame for the death. A March insurgency demanded nearly 30 deaths. According to authorities, members of Abu Sayyaf were behind the revolt in a prison outside the capital. At first it looked as if the insurgents would give up, but when the negotiations were over, the police stormed the prison and 22 prisoners were killed, among them three Abu Sayyaf leaders.
President Gloria Arroyo’s husband Josč°· Miguel Arroyo and her son were indicted in May for receiving bribes from gambling syndicates, something they rejected. Shortly thereafter, the president herself happened to be in blustery weather after it emerged that during the 2004 election campaign she had called a high ranking official in connection with the vote in the 2004 presidential election. to influence the result. She was also accused of funding her election campaign with money from a gaming syndicate. The opposition now made great efforts to get the president dismissed. During the summer, demonstrations were held for and against Arroyo in Manila, and opinion polls showed rapidly falling opinion figures for the president. However, the House of Representatives legal committee rejected the opposition parties’ motions that Arroyo should be brought before national law. In September, the entire House of Representatives voted by a clear majority to approve the committee’s report.
The influential former Archbishop Jaime Sin died June 21. Sin played a crucial role when President Ferdinand Marcos was deposed in 1986 and was also active in 2001 when Joseph Estrada was forced to resign as president.
The governor’s election in the autonomous Muslim region of Mindanao on August 8 was clearly won by Zaldy Ampatuan, who was running for Presidential Alliance’s Lakas Christian and Muslim Democrats. No serious incidents of violence were reported during the election, but information was available on voting, bribes and cheating.
The peace talks between the government and the Communist Party broke down in August. The government then asserted an agreement that had guaranteed 97 persons immunity from prosecution as long as the negotiations were ongoing. As a reason, it was stated that the guerrilla New People’s Army (NPA) continued to commit abuses, such as murders of politicians, police and military. The army has also been accused of torturing and murdering political activists on the left. NPA’s Political Branch The National Democratic Front highlighted that, due to the weakening of Arroyo’s position, it would be better to negotiate with her successor.
On October 28, three militant Islamists, one Indonesian and two Filipinos, were sentenced to death for a bombing attack in Manila in February in which four people were killed and one hundred injured. However, no executions have been carried out in the Philippines since 2000.
Severe floods hit three provinces south of Manila in early December. At least 60,000 people were evacuated from the area.
