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Philippines

archipelagic country in Southeast Asia

119 dated entries naming Philippines, drawn from 82 separate years between 900 CE and 2025 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

Also written as Philippine, Philippine Islands, The Philippines in the source articles; Wikipedia redirects those to the same subject, so their entries are on this page.

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9th century

  • 900April 21 – Namwaran and his children, Lady Angkatan and Bukah, are granted pardon by the Lakan (ruler) of Tondo, as represented by Jayadewa, Lord Minister of Pila, which released them of all their debts as inscribed in the Laguna Copperplate Inscription (Philippines).source

11th century

  • 1001March 17 – The Buddhist ruler of Butuan, in the Philippines (P’u-tuan in the Sung Dynasty records), Sari Bata Shaja, makes the first tributary mission to China.source

12th century

  • 1175The Namayan Kingdom formed by a confederation of barangays, reaches its peak on Luzon (modern Philippines).source

14th century

  • 1380November 7 – Sheikh Karimul Makhdum, a Syrian Sunni Muslim missionary, brings the religion of Islam to the Philippine Islands by establishing a mosque on the island of Tawi-Tawi. The date of November 7 is now celebrated annually as a holiday in the Bangsamoro region of the Philippines.source

15th century

  • 1405November 17 – The Sultanate of Sulu is established on the Sulu Archipelago, off the coast of Mindanao in the Philippines.source

16th century

  • 1521March 16 – Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Philippines, in eastern Samar.source
  • 1521April 27 – Battle of Mactan: Ferdinand Magellan is killed in the Philippines when he confronts Lapulapu, the chief of the island.source
  • 1564November 21 – Spanish Conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi sails from Mexico. Later, he will conquer the Philippine Islands, founding Manila.source
  • 1565February 13 – Spanish Conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi lands with his troops on the shores of Cebu Island in the Philippines.source
  • 1571June 3 – Following the Battle of Bangkusay Channel, the conquest of the Kingdom of Maynila is complete; Spanish Conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi makes Manila a city, and the capital of the Philippines.source
  • 1571June 24 – On the island of Luzon in the Philippines, Miguel López de Legazpi of Spain establishes a Spanish fortress at Manila Bay and, after making a peace pact with the Crown Prince of Luzon, Rajah Sulayman declares Manila to be the administrative capital of the Spanish East Indies.source
  • 1571August 29 – Liliw, Laguna, Philippines is founded by Gat Tayaw, followers and residents as a municipality of Laguna.source
  • 1573The first Spanish galleon, laden with silver for the porcelain and silk trade with the Ming Dynasty of China, lands at Manila in the Philippines. This occasion marks the beginning of the Spanish silver trade to China, that will trump that of the Portuguese, the latter of whom acted as an intermediary between the silver mines of Japan, and the luxury items in China to be purchased with that silver. Most of the silver entering China comes from what is now Mexico, Bolivia, and Peru in the New World.source
  • 1574June 10 – Manila, Philippines gains cityhood.source
  • 1579The municipality of Boac in Marinduque, Philippines is founded.source
  • 159712 million pesos of silver cross the Pacific. Although it is unknown just how much silver flowed from the Spanish base of Manila in the Philippines to the Ming Dynasty of China, it is known that the main port for the Mexican silver trade—Acapulco—shipped out 150,000 to 345,000 kg (4 to 9 million taels) of silver annually from this year to 1602.source

17th century

  • 1607January 19 – San Agustin Church, Manila, is officially completed; by the 21st century it will be the oldest church in the Philippines.source
  • 1609The municipality of Buenavista in Marinduque, Philippines is founded.source
  • 1611April 28 – The Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario is established in Manila, the Philippines (later renamed Colegio de Santo Tomas, and later still the University of Santo Tomas).source
  • 1615September 17 – Los Baños, Laguna, is founded by Spanish colonists on Luzon island in the Philippines.source
  • 1616February 19 – The first recorded eruption of Mayon Volcano, the Philippines' most active volcano, takes place.source
  • 1617April 14 – Second Battle of Playa Honda: The Spanish navy defeats a Dutch fleet in the Philippines.source
  • 1624The Japanese shōgun expels the Spanish from Japan, and severs trade with the Philippines.source
  • 1646March 15 – Start of the Battles of La Naval de Manila, a series of five naval battles fought between the Dutch Republic and Spain in the waters of the Philippines.source
  • 1686May 4 – The Municipality of Ilagan is founded in the Philippines.source

18th century

  • 1704November 27 – Annular solar eclipse is visible through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, eastern China, Myanmar and northern Philippines.source
  • 1744January 24 – The Dagohoy rebellion in the Philippines begins, with the killing of Father Giuseppe Lamberti.source

19th century

  • 1803November 30 – The Balmis Expedition starts in Spain, with the aim of vaccinating millions against smallpox in Spanish America and the Philippines.source
  • 1844December 31 – This date is omitted from the calendar in the Philippines in order to align it with the calendar elsewhere in East Asia, essentially moving the International Date Line to the east of the archipelago.source
  • 1845January 1 – The Philippines began reckoning Asian dates by hopping the International Date Line through skipping Tuesday, December 31, 1844. That time zone shift was a reform made by Governor–General Narciso Claveria on August 16, 1844, in order to align the local calendars in the country with the rest of Asia as trade interests with Imperial China, Dutch East Indies and neighboring countries increased, after Mexico became independent in 1821. The reform also applied to Caroline Islands, Guam, Marianas Islands, Marshall Islands, and Palau as part of the Captaincy General of the Philippines.source
  • 1855September 29 – The Port of Iloilo in the Philippines is opened to international trade, by Queen Isabella II of Spain. This year also the ports of Sual (modern-day Pangasinan) and Zamboanga City are opened to international trade.source
  • 1856May 1 – The province of Isabela is created in the Philippines, in honor of Queen Isabella II of Spain.source
  • 1872February 17 – Filipino priests José Burgos, Mariano Gomez and Jacinto Zamora, collectively known as Gomburza, are executed in Bagumbayan Fields, Manila, Philippines by the authorities of New Spain, on charges of subversion arising from the 1872 Cavite mutiny.source
  • 1895January 23 – Philippine Regional Exposition was held in Manila, wherein Governor-General Blanco declares a great future predestined for the Philippines.source
  • 1896December 30 - José Rizal, author and poet, national hero of the Philippines (born 1861)source
  • 1898June 12 – Philippine Declaration of Independence: After 333 years of Spanish dominance, General Emilio Aguinaldo declares the Philippines' independence from Spain.source
  • 1898June 12 – Philippine Declaration of Independence is held at the ancestral home of Emilio Aguinaldo, proclaiming the sovereignty of the Philippines.source
  • 1899April 11 – U.S. President William McKinley declares the Spanish–American War to be at an end as the Treaty of Paris between the U.S. and Spain goes into effect. Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam are ceded to the U.S. and Cuba becomes an American protectorate.source
  • 1899May 19 – The U.S. Army captures Tawi-Tawi, the southernmost island in the Philippines.source
  • 1899August 20 – The Kiram–Bates Treaty is signed in the Philippines, with U.S. forces recognizing the autonomy of local governments in the Sulu Archipelago (within the Mindanao island group) in return for the Sultan's assistance in suppressing attacks on U.S. forces.source
  • 19007 November – The Treaty of Washington is signed, clarifying the Spanish Empire's cession of the Philippines as agreed by the 1898 Treaty of Paris.source

20th century

  • 1913June 15 – Battle of Bud Bagsak in the Philippines concludes with U.S. troops under General John J. Pershing taking Bug Bagsak from defending Moro rebels, killing at least 500.source
  • 1914July 27 – Felix Ysagun Manalo registers the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) with the government of the Philippines.source
  • 1917March 10 – The Province of Batangas is formally founded, as one of the Philippines' first encomiendas.source
  • 1933January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wishes of U.S. President Herbert Hoover.source
  • 1934March 24 – The Tydings–McDuffie Act is passed, allowing the Philippines a greater degree of self-government from the United States.source
  • 1936August 1-16 – The Philippines competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. 28 competitors, all men, take part in 20 events in 6 sports.source
  • 1942February 22 – WWII: General George Marshall transmits a direct order to General MacArthur in President Roosevelt's name, ordering MacArthur himself to turn over command of the Philippines to a subordinate, and report to Australia to assume command of the large American force being built up there. The orders are worded to allow MacArthur to choose the exact moment of his departure; for various reasons, he will not leave until March 11.source
  • 1942March 11 – WWII: Douglas MacArthur's escape from the Philippines – U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, his family and key members of his staff are evacuated by PT boat, under cover of evening darkness, from Corregidor in the Philippines. Command of U.S. forces in the Philippines passes to Major General Jonathan M. Wainwright.source
  • 1942April 3 – WWII: Japanese forces begin the last phase of the Battle of Bataan, an all-out assault on the United States and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula.source
  • 1943October 14 – José P. Laurel takes the oath of office as President of the Philippines (Second Philippine Republic).source
  • 1944October 20 – American and Filipino troops (with Filipino guerrillas) begin the Battle of Leyte in the Philippines. American forces land on Red Beach in Palo, Leyte, as General Douglas MacArthur returns to the Philippines with Philippine Commonwealth president Sergio Osmeña and Armed Forces of the Philippines Generals Basilio J. Valdes and Carlos P. Romulo. American forces land on the beaches in Dulag, Leyte, accompanied by Filipino troops entering the town, and fiercely opposed by the Japanese occupation forces. The combined forces liberate Tacloban.source
  • 1944October 23–26 – WWII: Naval Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines – In the largest naval battle in history by most criteria and the last naval battle in history between battleships, combined United States and Australian naval forces decisively defeat the Imperial Japanese Navy.source
  • 1945January 30 – Raid at Cabanatuan: 121 American soldiers and 800 Filipino guerrillas free 813 American prisoners of war from the Japanese-held camp in the city of Cabanatuan, in the Philippines.source
  • 1953October 23 – Alto Broadcasting System (ABS) in the Philippines makes the first television broadcast in southeast Asia, through DZAQ-TV. Alto Broadcasting System is the predecessor of what will later become ABS-CBN Corporation.source
  • 1954May 8 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is formed in Manila, Philippines.source
  • 1954September 6 – The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) treaty is signed in Manila, Philippines.source
  • 1957March 17 – 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash: Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others are killed in a plane crash.source
  • 1965September 28 – Taal Volcano in Luzon, Philippines, erupts, killing hundreds.source
  • 1970November 20 – Violent typhoon (Typhoon Patsy or Yoling) with winds of (more than) 125 mph raged through the heavily populated (Luzon) island, wrecking the harbor and airport facilities at Manila. Typhoon Patsy was one of the deadliest typhoons to strike the Philippines in its history. 611 people were killed (with 351 missing) on the island, and 135 people were killed at sea due to shipping failures. In Manila, 120 persons died, 60 others were missing, and more than 1,000 injured; property damage reached $80 million.source
  • 1971August 21 – A bomb made of two hand grenades by alleged communist rebels explodes in the Liberal Party campaign party in Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, Manila the Philippines, injuring several anti-Marcos political candidates.source
  • 1972June 22–30 — Typhoon Ora strucks the Philippines and Southern China.source
  • 1972September 23 – Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos announces on national television the issuance of Proclamation No. 1081 placing the entire country under martial law.source
  • 1973January 17 – Ferdinand Marcos becomes President for Life of the Philippines.source
  • 1973October 15 – Typhoon Ruth crosses Luzon, Philippines, killing 27 people and causing $5 million in damage.source
  • 1974July 19 – Miss Universe 1974, the 23rd Miss Universe pageant, is held in Manila. Outgoing Miss Universe Margarita Moran, of the Philippines crowned the tearful pageant winner, Amparo Muñoz of Spain. It is the first time that pageant history is held in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.source
  • 1976June 2 – The Philippine government opens relations with the Soviet Union.source
  • 1976August 17 – The 8.0 Mw Moro Gulf earthquake hits off the coast of Mindanao, Philippines, triggering a destructive tsunami, killing between 5,000 and 8,000 people and leaving more than 90,000 homeless.source
  • 1978August 25 – Tropical Storms severely battered the northern Philippines and Manila, killing more than 50 persons.source
  • 1979July 30 – Eat Bulaga!, the longest running noon-time variety show in the Philippines, premiered on RPN. It was also aired on ABS-CBN from 1989 to 1995, GMA Network from 1995 to 2023 and the TV5 since 2023.source
  • 1981February 17–22 – Pope John Paul II visits the Philippines.source
  • 1983August 21 – Benigno Aquino Jr., Philippines opposition leader, is assassinated in Manila just as he returns from exile.source
  • 1984September 1 – Typhoon Nitang strikes the Philippines. It kills 1,492 people and 1,856 more are injured. Roughly 1.6 million people are affected in the country. A total of 108,219 homes are destroyed and 142,653 more are damaged. However, President Ferdinand Marcos declared a state of calamity only after Nitang's onslaught.source
  • 1985October 18 – Typhoon Saling made landfall in the Philippines. The typhoon leaves 101 dead and $68 million in damage (1985 dollars).source
  • 1985November 8 – SM City North EDSA is opened as the first SM Supermall in the Philippines.source
  • 1986February 22 – The People Power Revolution begins in the Philippines to remove President Ferdinand Marcos from office.source
  • 1986February 25 – People Power Revolution: President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines is ousted from power and goes into exile in Hawaii after 20 years of dictatorial rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the first Filipino woman president and forms an interim government with Salvador Laurel becoming her Vice-president and Prime Minister.source
  • 1987June 27 – A commercial HS 748 (Philippine Airlines Flight 206) crashes near Baguio, Philippines, killing 50.source
  • 1987November 25 – Category 5 Typhoon Nina smashes the Philippines with 265 km/h winds and a devastating storm surge, causing destruction and 812 deaths.source
  • 1989December 1 – A military coup attempt begins in the Philippines against the government of Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino. It is crushed by United States intervention ending by December 9.source
  • 1990May 13 – In the Philippines, gunmen kill two United States Air Force airmen near Clark Air Base on the eve of talks between the Philippines and the United States over the future of American military bases in the Philippines.source
  • 1990June 14 – 1990 Panay earthquake: An earthquake measuring Ms struck Panay in the Philippines, killing 8 and injuring 41.source
  • 1990July 16 – 1990 Luzon earthquake: An earthquake measuring Mw kills more than 2,400 in the Philippines.source
  • 1990October 4 – Moro conflict: Rebel forces seize two military posts on the island of Mindanao, Philippines before surrendering on October 6.source
  • 1991June 28 – SM Megamall is opened as the third SM Supermall in the Philippines.source
  • 1991November 5 – Tropical Storm Thelma causes flash floods in the Philippine city of Ormoc, killing more than 4,900 people.source
  • 1993June 26–28 – Typhoon Koryn causes massive damage to the Philippines, China and Macau.source
  • 1994March 29 – The Philippines gets connected to the Internet. The Philippine Network Foundation (PHNet) connected the country to Sprint in the United States via a 64 kbit/s link.source
  • 1994October 2 – 16 – The Philippines participates in the 1994 Asian Games held in Hiroshima, Japan from October 2 to 16, 1994. It Ranks 14th with three gold medals, two silver medals and eight bronze medals with a total of 13 over-all medals.source
  • 1994November 15 – 1994 Mindoro earthquake A 7.1 earthquake hits the central Philippine island of Mindoro, killing 78 people, injuring 430 and triggering a tsunami up to 8.5 m high.source
  • 1995November 7 – Typhoon Angela leaves the Philippines and Vietnam devastated, with 882 deaths and US$315 million in damage. The typhoon is the strongest to strike the Philippines in 25 years, with wind speeds of 130 mph and gusts of 180 mph.source
  • 1996February 14 – Violent clashes erupt between Filipino soldiers and Vietnamese boat people, as the Filipino government attempts to forcibly repatriate hundreds of Vietnamese asylum seekers.source
  • 1996March 18 – The Ozone Disco Club fire in Quezon City, Philippines, kills 163 people.source
  • 1996March 24 – The Marcopper mining disaster on the island of Marinduque, Philippines takes place.source
  • 1996August 1 – Sarah Balabagan returns to the Philippines.source
  • 1998February 2 - Cebu Pacific Flight 387 crashes into a mountain, this crash marked deadliest aviation accident in Philippines until 2000.source
  • 1998June 30 – Philippine Vice President Joseph Estrada is sworn in as the 13th President of the Philippines.source
  • 2000April 19 – Air Philippines Flight 541, a Boeing 737-200, crashes during approach at Davao City, Philippines, killing 131 people, making it the deadliest air disaster in the Philippines.source
  • 2000May 5 – After originating in the Philippines, the ILOVEYOU computer virus spreads quickly throughout the world.source

21st century

  • 2009September 26 – Typhoon Ketsana, PAGASA Name: Ondoy, makes landfall in The Philippines, killing hundreds in Metro Manila and flooding in Huế, Vietnam.source
  • 2009November 23 – In the Philippines, at least 58 people are abducted and killed in the province of Maguindanao, in what the Committee to Protect Journalists called the single deadliest attack on journalists in history.source
  • 2011December 16 – Tropical Storm Washi causes 1,268 flash flood fatalities in the Philippines, with 85 people officially listed as missing.source
  • 2012February 6 – A magnitude 6.7 earthquake strike in the central Philippines island of Negros, leaving 112 people dead.source
  • 201323 September - At least 25 people are dead in Hong Kong and southern China after Typhoon Usagi passes through with the storm having killed eight people in the Philippines.source
  • 2013November 8 – Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), one of the strongest tropical cyclones on record, hits the Philippines and Vietnam, causing devastation with at least 6,241 people dead.source
  • 2016July 12 – The Philippines wins the arbitration case they filed at the Permanent Court of Arbitration regarding the legality of China's "nine-dash line" claim over the South China Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.source
  • 2016November 18 – The remains of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos are buried in a private ceremony at the Libingan ng mga Bayani prompting protests throughout the Philippines.source
  • 2018September 14–16 – Typhoon Mangkhut impacts the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, resulting in more than 60 fatalities.source
  • 2019April 10 – Fossil fragments found in the Callao Cave in the Philippines reveal the existence of a new species of human, the Homo luzonensis. The species is named after Luzon, where the fossils were discovered.source
  • 2019August 10 – 32 are killed and 1,000,000 evacuated as Typhoon Lekima makes landfall in Zhejiang, China. Earlier it had caused flooding in the Philippines.source
  • 2019December 2 – Typhoon Kammuri hits the Philippines, causing the evacuation of 200,000 people, but without reports of injuries or serious damage.source
  • 2019December 19 – A court in the Philippines convicts Andal Ampatuan Jr., his brother Zaldy Ampatuan and 31 others including three members of the Ampatuan clan, of 57 counts of murder and sentences them to life imprisonment without parole for their role in the Maguindanao massacre.source
  • 2020January 12 – The Taal Volcano in the Philippines has had its first major eruption since 1977.source
  • 2020Typhoon Vamco makes landfall in Vietnam, after crossing the Philippines and killing at least 69 people. The storm causes the worst floods in the region since Typhoon Ketsana in 2009.source
  • 2022July 27 – A 7.0 earthquake strikes the island of Luzon in the Philippines killing 11 people and injuring over 600.source
  • 2025March 11 – The former President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, is arrested in the Philippines after being served an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.source
  • 2025September 12–28 – The 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship is held in Pasay and Quezon City, the Philippines, and is won by Italy.source
  • 2025November 4 – Typhoon Kalmaegi leaves more than 288 people dead in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand.source
  • 2025November 21 – December 7 – The 2025 FIFA Futsal Women's World Cup is held in the Philippines, and is won by Brazil.source

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