Nearly 487 years to the day after Ferdinand Magellan discovered the Philippines – businesswoman Sister Grace Galindez-Gupana (Philippines) achieved five Guinness World Records in a single day.

With the support of the Philippine National Red Cross, Sister Gupana embarked on a mass medical mission to provide 24 hours of free screenings for the marginalized Pintong Bocaue community. In doing so, she established four Guinness World Records:

Most blood identification tests in 24 hours: 260
Most cholesterol readings taken in 24 hours: 527
Most blood pressure readings taken in 24 hours: 2,302
Most diabetes readings taken in 24 hours: 503

Sister Grace wanted to involve children of the community in a record-breaking attempt too, and recruited youngsters from the local Baranggay Pintong Bocaue school to complete the longest drawing. Using coloured crayons, the children drew a picture of a long dragon with horns. The drawing was subsequently burned, in a symbolic act representing the victory of good over the devil.

All records were accredited in person by the Director of Records from Guinness World Records, who flew from London to Manila to certify that each record attempt had been carried out legitimately and to present Sister Gupana with certificates for her new records.

Sister Gupana is not new to record breaking. Last year, the ardent supporter of the State of Israel and its citizens reaped her first two Guinness World Records in the Holy Land for the largest flag (18,843 m²; 202,823 ft²) and for the largest banner (54,451 m²; 586,103 ft²).

For Sister Grace, breaking a record is a way of showing to the world that Filipinos can make a difference and are capable of helping and supporting those in need.

In regards to her remarkable feat, Sister Gupana states, "7 records is an amazing achievement for a lifetime."

Government agencies will take a crack at a Guinness World Record by rolling out the largest photo mosaic, featuring 1,000 pictures of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The 180 x 160-foot tarpaulin print will be unveiled at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila at 11 a.m. on Sunday, the President’s 62nd birthday, Malacañang said in a statement.

The photos that will be used in the mosaic were taken by veteran photojournalist Revoli Cortez, the statement said.

It could not be immediately confirmed if the President will witness the unveiling of her photo mosaic. According to her schedule, she will celebrate her birthday in her hometown of Lubao in Pampanga province.

The event will be sponsored by the Office of the Press Secretary, the Department of Interior and Local Government, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Pictured here at the Armscor Shooting Club, Miko loads, aims and fires his semiautomatic weapon at moving targets. Complete with a gun belt, shades and a tailored shirt, Miko travels across the country participating in national junior competitions.

Competing against children ten years his senior (in the 9-17 age group), Miko is now looking to travel to America to test his talents.

For Miko's father, Cresencio "Mike" Pascua Andres JR, the boy's passion and natural ability for practical shooting has been carefully monitored by his family and shooting community.

"It is within the family and friends that Miko was influenced to love and enjoy the practical shooting sport," says Mike. "Because of his interest, we took turns in teaching, training and coaching him on the basics of the sport."

Practical shooting is one of the fastest growing sports in the Philippines and Miko took up the sport in January this year.

Seven months later, Miko is fully versed in the strict laws of the sport.

Despite the obvious dangers and concerns raised over a boy of six handling such a weapon, Mike is eager to stress that safety is always at the forefront of his mind.

"Safety is of the utmost importance," he says, adding his son was having guidance and help from a range of shooting institutions to try and prevent accidents.

"As a parent, I too am worried about the dangers of the sport. Accidents and injuries might happen in the course of the sport and that is always a concern.

He added: "Here he is, the youngest practical shooter the world has ever known.

"As a growing, normal kid, Miko is also into other children's games. He enjoys the company of his schoolmates.

"Miko is very young but is determined to excel in the practical shooting sport," says Mike.

"He has been taught a lot of discipline and respect.

"Miko, I and his team coach, constantly talk about the dangers of the sport and we are always reminding him that he is in a 'big boys' game and that safety of of the utmost importance."

Marlo Gonzales, an International Range Officer (IROA) who has trained Miko for the past three months, says Miko has great natural talent for the sport.

"Miko has a natural ability for practical shooting," he said.

"His grand father is a retired Police general and so firearms have been in the family .

"So far he has competed in competitions for levels one to three.

"We have lots of kids here at the shooting club who take part in competitions. As long as the kids shoot safely and have special training in handling a firearm then there should be no problem."

Mike is now hoping to take Miko to the USA to participate in an international competition.

"Miko will keep on practising," revealed Mike.

"Hopefully he will travel to the USA this September to take part in the USPSA 2009 national competition.

"Then in October he will compete in the PPSA national competition in the Philippines.

"For the time being we are all very, very happy for Miko."

Credits to: http://www.worldamazingrecords.com

7,107 Islands
The Philippines, a democratic country in Southeast Asia that declared its independence from Spain on June 12, 1898 but only obtained its full sovereignty on July 4, 1946, has a total land area covering 300,000 square kilometers (115,830 sq. miles) and distributed in 7,107 islands. According to the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, 15,854,922 hectares or 53 percent of the country's total land area were forestlands while the remaining 14,145,078 hectares or 47 percent were alienable and disposable lands as of December 2000. The three major island groupings are Luzon (7 regions, 38 provinces), Visayas (3 regions, 16 provinces), and Mindanao (6 regions, 25 provinces).

World's 17th Largest Island
Luzon, with a total land area of 104,688 square kilometers is the world's 17th largest island (excluding continental masses of lands). Listed as the 19th largest island is Mindanao, with a land area of 94,631 square kilometers. The world's largest islands are Greenland (a Danish territory), with a total land area of 2.18 million square kilometers; New Guinea, 820,033 square kilometers; and Borneo, 743,107 square kilometers.

267,000 Square Kilometers of Coastal Waters
The coastal zones of the Philippines are composed of 11,000 square kilometers of land and 267,000 square kilometers of coastal waters.

41,960 Barangays
The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) reported that as of December 2001, the Philippines had 16 regions, 79 provinces, 114 cities, 1,496 municipalities and 41,960 barangays or villages. The newest province was Zamboanga Sibugay in western Mindanao while the newest city was Gapan in Nueva Ecija province. The most populated province as this was being written remained Cebu, with over 3 million residents while the least populated was Batanes, with less than 20,000 inhabitants. The largest province in terms of land area was Palawan, with 14,896 square kilometers while the smallest province was Batanes, with 209 square kilometers.

According to the Liga ng mga Barangay, the Philippines now has 41,960 barangays or villages. Each barangay in a municipality represents at least 2,000 people while each barangay in a highly urbanized city represents a minimum of 5,000 residents.

Metro Manila, 0.2 Percent of Land Area
Metro Manila, a conglomerate of 12 cities and five municipalities, has a total land area of 636 square kilometers and a population of over 10 million people, excluding transients or passing individuals. In proportion to the country's land size, the metropolis covers only 0.2 percent of the total land area of the Philippines but is the site of more than half of the country's largest companies. In 1999, Metro Manila contributed 34.7 percent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP); Southern Tagalog, 13.9 percent; Central Luzon, 8 percent; and the rest of the country, 43.4 percent.

200 Volcanoes
There are 200 volcanoes in the Philippines, 22 of them are said to be active. The archipelago also sits on the Philippine fault zone, a 1,300-kilometer active left-lateral strike-fault from Luzon to Mindanao. This is why earthquakes occur in the country.

20 Typhoons Each Year
Situated between latitude 21°25'N and 4°23'N and longitude 116°E and 127°E, the Philippines is a tropical country with an average year-round temperature of 27°C (82°F). The Philippine time is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) plus eight hours. According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), about 20 typhoons visit the Philippines between June and October each year. In 1993, the Philippines had 32 typhoons, the highest in many years.

500 Dialects
According to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), there are 78 language groupings and over 500 dialects in the Philippines. While Filipino is regarded as the national language, it was mainly based on Tagalog (from the local phrase taga-ilog meaning residents near the river) language. The main language of instruction is English and the country's laws are also recorded in this language. Filipinos are said to be the world's second largest English-speaking people, after the Americans. This, of course, is subject to debate since only a few Filipinos actually talk in English on the street.

Credits to : http://www.txtmania.com

Everybody loves a freshly-brewed cup of coffee to perk you up on a lazy morning. It is one of life’s simple pleasures. But will you still feel the same when you found out that the freshly-brewed cup of coffee of yours, you just downed till the last drop, was made from coffee beans that were once part of an icky excrement of a wild Philippine jungle cat?

Yes, this is not just an urban legend or some kind of strange voodoo potion you need to drink to get out of the forest alive. The cat poo coffee is real and it is considered the most expensive coffee in the world. It is actually known internationally as “Kopi Luwak”. These expensive coffee beans are collected and processed in the islands of Indonesia and some parts of South East Asia, including the Philippines.

The word “Kopi Luwak” is derived from two Indonesian words kopi (coffee) and luwak (asian palm civet). In the Philippines, there are actually two kinds of “kopi luwak” coffee beans, one is processed in the mountainous parts of northern Luzon (Cordillera Region) called Motit coffee, and the other, known as Kape Alamid, is farmed in the Tagalog regions.

Consuming this rare coffee is actually safe, according to some experts, because of all the process involved. A nocturnal animal, the Philippine civet (Paradoxorus Philippinensis) chooses only the ripest and sweetest coffee cherries it can gather in the forest and eats them till the coffee seasons over. The civets’ droppings, a mixture of coffee beans and the special civet enzymes, are then collected in the early morning to ensure freshness and will be washed, sun-dried, and roasted lightly to protect the distinct coffee flavor that is now imbued in the coffee beans. The civet is an animal that is not known as a carrier of E. coli and some experts are insisting that the civets’ enzymes produced in its digestive system helps eliminate those bacteria that might be harmful to humans.

A cup of this strange brew can cost you around 50 US dollars (2,400 Philippine Pesos) per cup. Now that’s what I call cat sh*t!

Credit to: http://www.allphilippines.com

The Philippines may be known as one of the poorest in the world (based on its PPP (purchasing power parity) and nominal GDP ranking). But what this country lacks is also what this country can be proud of, or sort of . For the record, the Guinness Book of World Records recognizes the rare 100,000 Philippine peso bill as the world’s largest banknote of legal tender.

Some facts about the 100,000 Philippine peso bill:

It was issued by the Central Bank of The Philippines to commemorate the Philippine Centennial Celebration in 1998.

It has a 21 mark security feature that includes a 3 dimensional portrait watermark, iridescent strip, color shift windowed security thread, and a protective hologram.

Dimensions: width: 8.5 inches height: 14 inches- more or less the same size of a bond paper.

Printed in Germany

It was sold in 1998 for 180,000 Philippine pesos per bill.

Only 1000 of these have been issued by the CBP.

• Cebu is the first Philippine City.


• Maria Teresa Calderon - World champion speed reader as listed in the Guiness Book of World Records


• In the Philippines, Filipinos were introduced to the English language in 1762 by British invaders, not Americans. Philippines is the world's 3rd largest English-speaking nation, next to the USA and the UK.


• Coconuts - the Philippines is considered to be the largest producer of coconuts


• Gemma Cruz was the first Filipina to win an international beauty title - Miss International 1964.
• Dan Inosanto - from Mike Robandido - Pinoy who taught Bruce Lee how to use arnis de mano.


• The second oldest philippine printing press next to Manila can be found in Pila Laguna. The first book printed was named Vocabulario Delengua Tagala - the philippines first filipino - spanish dictionary which was printed in 1613, 25 years older than the first book printed in the United States.


• The Philippine Basketball Association is Asia's premier and the world's second oldest professional league.
• After Happy Birthday, the song most sung in the Philippines is Lupang Hinirang, the national anthem.
• Philippine Airlines took to the skies on March 15, 1941, using a Beech Model 18 aircraft amid the specter of a global war. It became Asia's first airline.
• The world's largest pearl was discovered by a Filipino diver in a giant Tridacna (mollusk) under the Palawan Sea in 1934. Known as the "Pearl of Lao-Tzu", the gem weighs 14 pounds and measures 9 1/2 inches long and 5 1/2 inches in diameter. As of May 1984, it was valued at US$42 million. It is believed to be 600 years old.
• Alto Broadcasting System (ABS) Channel 3, the first television station in the country, went on the air in 1953.
• Fernando Amorsolo, a painter, was the first national artist declared by the Philippine government. The award was conferred on Amorsolo in April 1972, several days after his death.
• The world's second deepest spot underwater is in the Philippines. This spot, about 34,440 feet (10,497 meters) below the sea level, is known as the Philippine Deep or the Mindanao Trench. The Philippine Deep is in the floor of the Philippine Sea. The German ship Emden first plumbed the trench in 1927. The world's deepest part of the ocean is the Marianas Trench, which is over 11,000 meters below the seal level.
• The symbolic name for the Philippines, Juan dela Cruz, is not a Filipino invention? It was coined by R. McCulloch-Dick, a Scottish-born journalist working for the Manila Times in the early 1900s, after discovering it was the most common name in blotters
• Mayon is the most beautiful mountain I have ever seen, the world-renowned Fujiyama (Mt. Fuji) of Japan sinking into perfect insignificance by comparison. British traveler-writer A. Henry Savage Landor
• Ilo-Ilo golf and country club is the oldest golf club in the Philippines. It was built at 1908 by Irish Engineers.
• Emilio Aguinaldo lost to Manuel L. Quezon in the country's first presidential elections in 1935.
• Bagumbayan was the original name of Luneta Park.
• Of the 500 known coral species in the world, 488 are found in the Philippines.
• The Philippines is home to some of the world's most exotic birds. One of the most endangered species is the exotic Kalangay or the Philippine cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia), which belongs to Psittacidae or the family of parrots. Some cockatoos can live up to 50 years. They are known for mimicking human voices. Most of them measure 33 centimeters in length and weigh 0.29 kilogram.