Front

Back

Front: Apolinario Mabini (1864-1903), author of the Constitution and 1st Prime Minister of the Philippines 1899

Back: VICTORY overprint

Front

Back

Front: José Rizal (1861-1896), Filipino national hero

Rizal was a prominent advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era and its eventual independence from Spain. His 1896 military trial and execution made him a martyr of the Philippine Revolution.

Back: VICTORY overprint

Front

Back

Front: William McKinley (left) and Admiral George Dewey (right)

William McKinley (1843-1901), 25th President of the United States 1897-1901

George Dewey (1837-1917), best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War; the only person in the history of the United States to have attained the rank of Admiral of the Navy, the most senior rank in the United States Navy.

Back: VICTORY overprint

Philippines, an archipelago in the western Pacific 500 miles from the southeast coast of Asia, was discovered by Spanish explorers in 1521.

The first permanent Spanish settlement was establish in 1565. Spain held the Philippines amid a growing movement of Filipino nationalism until 1898 when they were ceded to the United States at the end of the Spanish-American War.

The Filipinos then fought unsuccessfully against the United States to maintain their independent republic proclaimed by Emilio Aguinaldo. The country became a self-governing Commonwealth of the United States in 1935, occupied by Japan during WWII, and attained full independence in 1946.

For a more detailed country profile, see CIA World Factbook on Philippines.