PEOPLE AND CULTURE
Filipinos are predominantly of Malay descent, frequently with Chinese and sometimes American or Spanish ancestry.
Many Filipinos have Spanish names because of a 19th-century Spanish decree that required them to use Spanish surnames, or last names. Parents often name their children after the saint whose feast day was on the day of their birth.
Elementary education in the Philippines starts at age seven, is required by law, and lasts for six years. Secondary education begins at age 13 and lasts for four years; undergraduate college instruction typically is four years.