2. DEFINITION OF LITERATURE The word literature is derived from the Latin term Litera which means letter. It has been defined by various writers. Because literature deals with ideas, thoughts and emotions of man, literature can be said to be the story of man. Man’s loves, griefs, thoughts, dreams, and aspirations coached in a beautiful language is Literature.

3.  In order to know the history of a nation’s spirit, one must read its literature. Brother Azurin defines Literature that it expresses the feelings of people to society, to the government, to his surroundings, to his Fellowmen and to his Divine Creator. Webster defines literature as anything that is printed, as long as it is related to the ideas and feelings of people, whether it is true, or just a product of one’s imagination. Salazar and Nazal says that true literature is a piece of written work which is undying.
4. In response to his everyday efforts to live, to be happy in his environment and, after struggles, to reach his Creator.
5. LITERARY STANDARDS Universality Artistry IntellectualValue Suggestiveness Spiritual Value Permanence Style
6. UNIVERSALITY Great literature is timeless and timely. Forever relevant, it appeals to one and all, anytime, anywhere, because it deals with elemental feelings, fundamental truths and universal conditions.
7. Artistry  This is the quality that appeals to our sense of beauty.
8. Intellectual ValueA literary works stimulates thought. It enriches our mental life by making us realize fundamental truths about life and human nature.
9. Suggestiveness This is the quality associated with the emotional power of literature. Great literature moves us deeply and stirs our feeling and imagination, giving and evoking visions above and beyond the plane of ordinary life and experience.
10. Spiritual Value Literature elevates the spirit by bringing out moral values which makes a better persons. The capacity to inspire is part of the spiritual value of literature.
11. Permanence A great work of literature endures.  It can be read again and again as each reading gives fresh delight and new insights and opens a new world of meaning and experience.  Its appeal is lasting.
12. Style  Thisis the peculiar way in which writers sees life, forms his ideas and expresses them.
13. Why do we need to studyPhilippine Literature?
14.  We study Philippine Literature so that we can better appreciate our literary heritage. Through the study of Philippine Literature, we can trace our rich heritage of ideas and handed down to us from our forefathers. Understand that we have a noble traditions which can serve as the means to assimilate other cultures. Realize literary limitations conditioned by certain historical factors and we can take steps to overcome them. Manifest our deep concern for our own literature.
15. Literature and History Literature and history are closely interrelated. In discovering history of a race, a country, we basically understand their own culture and traditions, hence the written customs and traditions of a country, the dreams and aspirations of its people is called Literature. History can also be written down and this too, is literature. History therefore is an integral part of literature.
16.  Literature and history however also have their differences. Literature may not necessarily be based on true events but history is.
17. Literary Compositions thatinfluenced the world The Bible or the Sacred Writings – This has become the basis of Christianity originating from Palestine and Greece. Koran- The Muslim Bible originating from Arabia. The Iliad and Odyssey – These have been the source of myths and legends of Greece. They were written by Homer.
18.  The Mahabharata- The longest epic of the world. It contains the history of religion of India. Canterbury Tales- It depicts the religion and customs of the English in the early days. This originated from England and written by Chaucer. Uncle Tom’s Cabin- by Harriet Beecher Stowe of the US. This depicted the sad fate of slaves; this became the basis of democracy later on. The Divine Comedy – by Dante Alighieri This shows the religion and customs of the
19.  El Cid Compeador – This shows the cultural characteristics of the Spaniards and their national history. The Song of Roland – This includes Doce Pares and Ronscesvalles of France. It tells about the Golden age of Christianity in France. The Book of the Dead – This includes the cult of Osiris and the mythology and theology of Egypt. One Thousand and One Nights or the Arabian Nights – From Arabia and Persia (Iran) It shows the ways of government, of industries and of the society of the Arabs
20. Genre of Literature Literature Prose Poetry
21. Types of Prose Novel- This is a long narrative divided into chapters. Short Story – It is a fictional narrative in prose consisting of a series of events designed to create a single dominant effect. It is intended to be read in one sitting Plays- These are presented on a stage, is divided into acts and each acts has many
22.  Essay- is a prose composition with a focused subject of discussion or a long systematic discourse. The word essay is taken from the French infinitive essayer to try or to attempt Biography – This deals with the life of a person. Fairytale – Is a type of narrative that relates the lives and adventures of supernatural spirit.

Metropolitan Manila (Filipino: Kalakhang Maynila) or the National Capital Region (NCR) (Filipino: Pambansang Punong Rehiyon) is the capital of the Philippines and among the world's thirty most populous metropolitan areas. Metro Manila is one of the two defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines, the other being Metro Cebu.
Metro Manila is the metropolitan area that contains the city of Manila, as well as sixteen surrounding cities and municipalities, including Quezon City, the capital from 1948 to 1976. Metro Manila is the political, economic, social, and cultural center of the Philippines, and is one of the more modern metropolises in Southeast Asia. Among locals, particularly those from Manila proper and those in the provinces, Metro Manila is often simply referred to as Manila; however locals from other parts of the metropolis may see this as offensive, owing to city pride and also the fact that some cities are actually geographically closer to the neighboring provinces than to Manila itself. Metro Manila is often abbreviated as M.M.. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is located in Makati City.
Metro Manila is the smallest of the country's administrative regions, but the most populous and the most densely populated, having a population of 9,932,560 (2000 census) in an area of only 636 square kilometers. It is also the only region without any provinces. The region is bordered by the provinces of Bulacan to the north, Rizal to the east, and Cavite and Laguna to the south. Metro Manila is also sandwiched by Manila Bay to the west and Laguna de Bay to the southeast with the Pasig River running between them, bisecting the region.
The term Metro Manila should not be confused with the metro rail system of the region, and the word metro itself always describes the metropolitan area (as in the metro). The railways are called by their abbreviations, such as the LRT and the MRT, also known as Light Rail Transit and Metro Rail Transit, respectively.
On paper, Manila is the designated capital and seat of the Philippine government, but in practice, the seats of government are all around Metro Manila. The executive and administrative seat of government is located in Manila, so is the judiciary. The upper house of the legislature (Senate of the Philippines) is located in Pasay City, and the lower house (House of Representatives of the Philippines) in Quezon City.

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (abbreviated ARMM) is the region, located in the Mindanao island group of thePhilippines, that is composed of predominantly Muslim provinces, namely: Basilan (except Isabela City), Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Suluand Tawi-Tawi. It is the only region that has its own government. The regional capital is at Cotabato City, although this city is outside of its jurisdiction.
The ARMM previously included the province of Shariff Kabunsuan until 16 July 2008, when Shariff Kabunsuan ceased to exist as a provinceafter the Filipino Supreme Court declared the "Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act 201", which created it, unconstitutional in Sema v. Comelec.[1] On 7 October 2012, President Benigno Aquino III said that the government aimed to have peace in the region and it will be known as "Bangsamoro".[2]
For the most part of the Philippines' history, the region and most of Mindanao has been a separate territory, which enabled it to develop its own culture and identity. The region has been the traditional homeland of Muslim Filipinos since the 15th century, even before the arrival of the Spanish who began to colonize most of the Philippines in 1565. Muslim missionaries arrived in Tawi-Tawi in 1380 and started the conversion of the native population to Islam. In 1457, the Sultanate of Sulu was founded, and not long after that the sultanates of Maguindanao and Buayan were also established. At the time when most of the Philippines was under Spanish rule, these sultanates maintained their independence and regularly challenged Spanish domination of the Philippinesby conducting raids on Spanish coastal towns in the north and repulsing repeated Spanish incursions in their territory. It was not until the last quarter of the 19th century that the Sultanate of Sulu formally recognized Spanish sovereignty, but these areas remained loosely controlled by the Spanish as their sovereignty was limited to military stations and garrisons and pockets of civilian settlements in Zamboanga and Cotabato,[5] until they had to abandon the region as a consequence of their defeat in the Spanish-American War.
In 1942, during the early stages of Pacific War (a theater of the Second World War), troops of the Japanese Imperial Forces invaded and overran Mindanao. Three years later, in 1945, combined United States and Philippine Commonwealth Army troops liberated Mindanao, and with the help of local guerrilla units ultimately defeated the Japanese forces occupying the region.

Central Mindanao was a region of the Philippines, located in central Mindanao, and was officially designated as Region XII.
Prior to the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, these provinces comprised the region:
 With the creation of ARMM, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao were removed from the region, leaving Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat as constituent provinces.
 With the addition of South Cotabato and Sarangani, the region was renamed as SOCCSKSARGEN and Central Mindanao as a political entity ceased to exist, although the "Central Mindanao" name lives on as a description to the provinces populated by Muslim Filipinos.

The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) is a region in the Philippines composed of the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalingaand Mountain Province, as well as Baguio City, the regional center. The Cordillera Administrative Region encompasses most of the areas within the Cordillera Central mountains of Luzon, the largest mountain range in the country. It is the country's only land-locked region. The region is home to numerous indigenous tribes collectively called the Igorot
On June 18, 1966, Republic Act No. 4695[2] was enacted to split Mountain Province into four separate and independent provinces of Mountain Province, Benguet, Ifugao and Kalinga-Apayao.
Prior to the formal creation of Cordillera Administrative Region, as a consequence of the constitutional mandate under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the former four provinces was loosely under Cagayan Valley Region while the fifth province Abra was grouped under Ilocos Region.
On July 15, 1987, President Corazon C. Aquino issued Executive Order No. 220 which created the Cordillera Administrative Region, that includedMountain Province, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga-Apayao and annexed the province of Abra as part of the Cordillera Administrative Region, giving the region formal autonomy as part of her political compromise to the Cordillera People's Liberation Army, a rebel group operating in the mountain region.
On February 14, 1995, Kalinga-Apayao, one of the five provinces of the region was split into two separate and independent provinces of Apayao and Kalinga with the enactment of Republic Act No. 7878.[2]
Several attempts at legalizing autonomy in the Cordillera region have failed in two separate plebiscites. An affirmative vote for the law on regional autonomy is a precondition by the 1987 Philippine Constitution to give the region autonomy in self-governance much like the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao in southern Philippines. The first law Republic Act No. 6766, took effect on October 23, 1989 but failed to muster a majority vote in the plebiscite on January 30, 1990.[3] The second law, Republic Act No. 8438 passed by Congress of the Philippines on December 22, 1997, also failed to pass the approval of the Cordillera peoples in a region-wide referendum on March 7, 1998.
At present, a third organic act of the Cordillera is in the offing supported by the Cordillera Regional Development Council.

Caraga is an administrative region of the Philippines, on the northeastern portion of the island of Mindanao, also called Region XIII. The Caraga Region was created through Republic Act No. 7901 on February 23, 1995. The region is composed of five provinces: Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Dinagat Islands;[1] six cities: Bayugan, Butuan, Cabadbaran, Surigao, Tandag, Bislig; 67 municipalities and 1,311 barangays. Butuan City is the regional center.
The "Kalagans", called "Caragans" by the Spaniards, occupied the district composed of the two provinces of Surigao, the northern part of Davao Oriental and eastern Misamis Oriental. The two Agusan provinces were later organized under the administrative jurisdiction of Surigao and became the independent Agusan province in 1914. In 1960, Surigao was divided into Norte and Sur, and in June 1967, Agusan followed suit. While Butuan then was just a town of Agusan, the logging boom in the 1950s drew business to the area. On August 2, 1950, by virtue of Republic Act 523, the City Charter of Butuan was approved. It is reported that during the early years of the Caraga region, its inhabitants came from mainland Asia, followed by Malayans, Arabs, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and Americans. Migrants from the Visayan and Luzon provinces later settled in the area. Most of its inhabitants speak Cebuano and reside in the rural areas.

Southern Mindanao, designated as Region XI,[1] is one of the regions of the Philippines, located on the southeastern portion ofMindanao. Davao Region consists of four provinces, namely: Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, and Davao del Sur. The region encloses the Davao Gulf and its regional center is Davao City. Davao is the Hispanicized pronunciation of daba-daba, the Bagobo word for "fire" (the Cebuano translation is "kalayo").
Many historians believe that the name "Davao" is actually the mixture of the three names that three different tribes, the earliest settlers in the region, had for the Davao River. The Obos, an aboriginal tribe, referred to the Davao River as Davohoho. Another tribe, the Bagobos, referred to the river as Davohaha, which means "fire", while another tribe, the Guiangan tribe, called the river as Duhwow.
The history of the region dates back to the times when various tribes occupied the region. It is believed that the Manobos, Mandayas and the Bagobos actually occupied the area. These are the same tribes that created the small settlements and communities that eventually became Mindanao.