ROART ACADEMY, INC. 2. The Republic of the Philippines is a sovereign state in archipelagic Southeast Asia, with 7641 islands spanning more than 300 000 square kilometers of territory. It is divided into three island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The Philippines was named after Prince Philip (later King Philip II) of Spain, by the Spanish explorer Ruy Lopez de Villalobos during his 1542-1546 expedition to the islands. The Philippines is a unitary presidential constitutional republic, with the President of the Philippines acting as both the head of state and the head of government. It proclaimed its independence from the Spanish Empire on June 12, 1898, following the culmination of the Philippine Revolution. It is a founding member of both the United Nations (UN) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It has embassies and consulates in 62 countries around the world. Source: About the Philippines GOVPHL Accessed May 24, 2019 baups//www.gue.ph/about-the-philippines Purpose: