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ThePhilippines is inhabited by more than 185ethnolinguistic groups,^[1]: 5 many of which are classified as "Indigenous Peoples" under the country'sIndigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997. Traditionally-Muslim minorities from the southernmost island group ofMindanao are usually categorized together asMoro peoples, whether they are classified as Indigenous peoples or not. About 142 are classified as non-Muslim Indigenous people groups. Ethnolinguistic groups collectively known as the Lowland Christians, forms the majority ethnic group.^[1]: 6

TheMuslim ethnolinguistic groups of Mindanao,Sulu, andPalawan are collectively referred to as theMoro people,^[2] a broad category that includes some Indigenous people groups and some non-Indigenous people groups.^[1]: 6 With a population of over 5 million people, they comprise about 5% of the country's total population.^[3][4]

About 142 ofthe Philippines' Indigenous people groups are not classified as Moro peoples.^[1]: 6 Some of these people groups are commonly grouped together due to their strong association with a shared geographic area, although these broad categorizations are not always welcomed by the ethnic groups themselves.^[5][6][7] For example, the Indigenous peoples of theCordillera Mountain Range in northernLuzon are often referred to using theexonym^[5] "Igorot people," or more recently, as theCordilleran peoples.^[5] Meanwhile, the non-Moro peoples of Mindanao are collectively referred to as theLumad, a collectiveautonym conceived in 1986 as a way to distinguish them from their neighboring Indigenous Moro andVisayan neighbors.^[8] Small Indigenous ethnic communities remain marginalized, and often poorer than the rest of society.^[9]

About 86 to 87 percent of the Philippine population belong to the 19 ethnolinguistic groups which are classified as neither Indigenous nor Moro.^[1]: 6 These groups are collectively referred to as "LowlandChristianized groups," to distinguish them from the other ethnolinguistic groups.^[10] The most populous of these groups, with populations exceeding a million individuals, are theIlocano, thePangasinense, theKapampangan, theTagalog, theBicolano, and theVisayans (including theCebuano, theBoholano, theHiligaynon/Ilonggo, and theWaray).^[1]: 16 These native and migrant lowland coastal groups converted toChristianity during the Spanish colonization which culturally unified them^[11] and adopted heavy western elements of culture throughout the country's history.^{[citation needed]}

Due to the past history of the Philippines since theSpanish colonial era, there are also some historical migrant heritage groups such as theChinese Filipinos andSpanish Filipinos, both of whom intermixed with the above lowlandAustronesian-speaking ethnic groups, which producedFilipino Mestizos. These groups also comprise and contribute a considerable proportion of the country's population,^[12] especially itsbourgeois,^[13] and economy^{[13][14][15][16]} and were integral to the establishment of the country,^[11] from the rise ofFilipino nationalism by theIlustradointelligentsia to thePhilippine Revolution.^[17] Other peoples of migrant and/or mixed descent includeAmerican Filipinos,Indian Filipinos,^[18] andJapanese Filipinos.^[19]

Aside from migrant groups which speak their own languages, most Filipinos speak languages classified under theAustronesian language family, including the variousNegrito peoples of the archipelago, which are genetically and phenotypically distinct from the other ethnic groups of the Philippines.^[20] While these groups have maintained a culture and identity distinct from neighboring ethnic groups, they have long adapted their neighbors' Austronesian languages.^[21] Traditionally subcategorized geographically as theAti people of Visayas and Mindanao, and theAeta of Luzon, the Negrito population was estimated at 31,000 as of 2004.^[22]

There are several opposing theories regarding the origins of ancient Filipinos, starting with the "Waves of Migration" hypothesis ofH. Otley Beyer in 1948, which claimed that Filipinos were "Indonesians" and "Malays" who migrated to the islands. This is completely rejected by modern anthropologists and is not supported by any evidence, but the hypothesis is still widely taught in Filipino elementary and public schools resulting in the widespread misconception by Filipinos that they are "Malays".^[23][24]

The most widely accepted theory, however, is the"Out-of-Taiwan" model which follows theAustronesian expansion during theNeolithic in a series of maritime migrations originating fromTaiwan that spread to the islands of theIndo-Pacific; ultimately reaching as far asNew Zealand,Easter Island, andMadagascar.^[25][26] Austronesians themselves originated from the Neolithic rice-cultivating pre-Austronesian civilizations of theYangtze River delta in coastal southeastern China pre-dating theconquest of those regions by theHan Chinese. This includes civilizations like theLiangzhu culture,Hemudu culture, and theMajiabang culture.^[27] It connects speakers of theAustronesian languages in a common linguistic and genetic lineage, including theTaiwanese indigenous peoples,Islander Southeast Asians,Chams, IslanderMelanesians,Micronesians,Polynesians, and theMalagasy people. Aside from language and genetics, they also share common cultural markers likemultihull andoutrigger boats,tattooing,rice cultivation,wetland agriculture,teeth blackening,jade carving,betel nut chewing,ancestor worship, and the samedomesticated plants and animals (including dogs, pigs, chickens, yams, bananas, sugarcane, and coconuts).^[25][26][28]

PrehistoricTabon Man, found inPalawan in 1962 was, until 2007, the oldest human remains discovered byanthropologists in the Philippines.Archaeological evidence indicates similarities with two early human fossils found in Indonesia and China, called theJava Man andPeking Man. In 2007, a singlemetatarsal from an earlier fossil was discovered inCallao Cave,Peñablanca, Cagayan. That earlier fossil was named asCallao Man.^{[citation needed]}

The Negritos arrived about 30,000 years ago and occupied several scattered areas throughout the islands. Recent archaeological evidence described byPeter Bellwood claimed that the ancestors of Filipinos, Malaysians, and Indonesians first crossed theTaiwan Strait during the Prehistoric period. These early mariners are thought to be theAustronesian people. They used boats to cross the oceans, and settled into many regions of Southeast Asia, the Polynesian Islands, and Madagascar.^{[citation needed]}

Two early East Asian waves (Austroasiatic and possibleAustric) were detected, one most strongly evidenced among theManobo people who live in inland Mindanao, and the other in theSama-Bajau and related people of the Sulu archipelago, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Palawan. The admixture found in the Sama people indicates a relationship with theLua andMlabri people of mainland Southeast Asia, and reflects a similar genetic signal found in western Indonesia. These happened sometime after 15,000 years ago and 12,000 years ago respectively, around the time thelast glacial period was coming to an end.^[29]

The first Austronesians reached the Philippines at around 2200 BC, settling theBatanes Islands andnorthern Luzon. From there, they rapidly spread downwards to the rest of the islands of the Philippines andSoutheast Asia, as well as voyaging further east to reach theNorthern Mariana Islands by around 1500 BC.^[25][30][31] They assimilated the olderNegrito groups which arrived during thePaleolithic, resulting in the modern Filipino ethnic groups, which all display various ratios ofgenetic admixture between Austronesian and Negrito groups.^[32] By the 14th century, the Malayo-Polynesian ethnolinguistic groups had dominated and displaced the Negrito population in most areas. Traders from southern China,Japan,India, andArabia also contributed to the ethnic and cultural development of the islands.^[33] Papuan ancestry was also detected among the ethnic Blaan and Sangir people of Mindanao, suggesting that there was westward expansion of peoples from Papua New Guinea into the Philippines. The integration of Southeast Asia into Indian Ocean trading networks around 2,000 years ago also shows some impact, with South Asian genetic signals present within some Sama-Bajau communities.^[29]

By the 16th century,Spanish colonization brought new groups of people to the Philippines mainlySpaniards and Indigenous Mexicans. Many settled in the Philippines and intermarried with the indigenous population. This gave rise to theFilipino mestizo or individuals of mixed Austronesian and White or Indigenous American descent. There was migration of a military nature from the Americas to the Philippines, originally planned to include only Spaniards and mestizos but progressively including most other groups during late 17th century. Recruitment followed general levies in New Spain cities mostly, but about 25% of the soldiers were common prisoners or illegal immigrants arrived from Spain forced to serve in Philippines as soldiers as described by Stephanie J. Mawson in her article "Convicts or Conquistadores? Spanish Soldiers in the Seventeenth-Century Pacific".^[34] In that article as well as her dissertation paper called, 'Between Loyalty and Disobedience: The Limits of Spanish Domination in the Seventeenth Century Pacific', she recorded an accumulated number of 15,600 soldiers sent to the Philippines from theAmericas during the 1600s, outnumbering civilians in 7 to 1.^[35] In contrast, civilian immigration was much lower, with just about 5,000 civilians departing Spain to Philippines from 1571 to 1799, about half that number during 1600s. Clerics composed more than half of the civilian legal migrant population during 1600s. Only about a couple hundred Spanish women migrated to Philippines until 19th century, almost all of them in the early period before 1630.^[36] The total population of the Philippines in the first Spanish census was about667,612.^[37]

Another 35,000 Mexican immigrants arrived in the 1700s^[40][39] and they were part of a Philippine population of only 1.5 million, forming about 2.3% of the population.

In the late 1700s to early 1800s, Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga, an Agustinian Friar from Spain, in his Two Volume Book: "Estadismo delas islas Filipinas"^[41][42] compiled a census of the Spanish-Philippines based on the tribute counts (representing an average family of seven to ten children^[43] and two parents per tribute)^[44] and came upon the following statistics:

The Spanish-Filipino population as a proportion of the provinces widely varied; with as high as 19% of the population of Tondo province^[41]: 539 (The most populous province and former name of Manila), to Pampanga 13.7%,^[41]: 539 Cavite at 13%,^[41]: 539 Laguna 2.28%,^[41]: 539 Batangas 3%,^[41]: 539 Bulacan 10.79%,^[41]: 539 Bataan 16.72%,^[41]: 539 Ilocos 1.38%,^[42]: 31 Pangasinan 3.49%,^[42]: 31 Albay 1.16%,^[42]: 54 Cebu 2.17%,^[42]: 113 Samar 3.27%,^[42]: 113Iloilo 1%,^[42]: 113 Capiz 1%,^[42]: 113Bicol 20%,^[45] andZamboanga 40%.^[45] According to the data, in the Archdiocese of Manila which administers much of Luzon under it, about 10% of the population was Spanish-Filipino.^[41]: 539 Overall the whole Philippines, even including the provinces with no Spanish settlement, as summed up, the average percentage of Spanish Filipino tributes amount to 5% of the total population.^[41][42]

The current modern-dayChinese Filipinos are mostly the descendants of immigrants fromSouthern Fujian in China from the 20th century and late 19th century, possibly numbering around 2 million, although there are an estimated 27 percent of Filipinos who have partial Chinese ancestry,^[46][47][48] stemming from precolonial and colonial Chinese (Sangley) migrants from the past centuries especially during theSpanish Colonial Era.^[49] Intermarriage between the groups is evident in the major cities and urban areas,^[50] and spans back toSpanish colonial times, where a colonial middle-class group known as theMestizo deSangley (Chinesemestizos) descend from.^[51] Its descendants during the late 19th century produced a major part of theilustradointelligentsia of the lateSpanish Colonial Philippines, that were very influential with the creation ofFilipino nationalism and the sparking of thePhilippine Revolution.^[11] In 2013, according to theSenate of the Philippines, there were approximately 1.35 millionethnic (or pure)Chinese within the Philippine population, whileFilipinos with anyChinese descent comprised 22.8 million of the population.^[12]

The Philippines was aformer American colony and during the American colonial era, there were over 800,000 Americans who were born in the Philippines.^[52] As of 2013^[update], there were 220,000 to 600,000 American citizens living in the country.^[53] In 2025, the number of Americans living in the Philippines increased to at least 750,000 forming 0.75% of the population^[54] and there are also 250,000Amerasians scattered across the cities ofAngeles City,Manila, andOlongapo, forming aboout 0.25% of the Philippine population.^[55] Together, bothAmerican andAmerasian people form 1% of the Philippines.^[54][55]

There are alsoJapanese people, which include escaped Christians (Kirishitan) who fled thepersecutions ofShogunTokugawa Ieyasu which the Spanish authorities in the Philippines had offered asylum from to form part of theJapanese settlement in the Philippines.^[56] In the 16th and 17th centuries, thousands of Japanese people traders also migrated to the Philippines and assimilated into the local population.^[57]

Practicingforensic anthropology, while exhuming cranial bones in several Philippine cemeteries, researcher Matthew C. Go estimated that 7% of the mean amount, among the samples exhumed, have attribution to European descent.^[58] Research work published in the Journal of Forensic Anthropology, collating contemporary Anthropological data show that the percentage of Filipino bodies who were sampled from theUniversity of the Philippines, that isphenotypically classified as Asian (East,South,Southeast Asian) is 72.7%, Hispanic (Mixed Spanish-Indigenous American and Mixed Spanish-Asian) is at 12.7%, Indigenous American (Native American) at 7.3%, African at 4.5%, and European at 2.7%.^[59] However, this is only according to an interpretation of the data wherein the reference groups, which were cross checked to the Filipino samples; for the Hispanic category, wereMexican Americans, and the reference groups for the: European, African, and Indigenous American, categories, were:White Americans,Black Americans, andNative Americans from the USA, while the Asian reference groups were sourced fromChinese,Japanese, andVietnamese origins.^[58] In contrast, a different anthropology study using Morphoscopic ancestry estimates in Filipino crania using multivariate probit regression models by J. T. Hefner, while analyzing Historic and Modern samples of Philippine skeletons, paint a different picture,^[60] in that, when the reference group for "Asian" was Thailand (Southeast Asians) rather than Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese; and the reference group for Hispanic was Colombians (South Americans) rather than Mexicans,^[60] the historical and modern sample results for Filipinos, yielded the following ratios: Asian at 48.6%, African at 32.9%, and only a small portion classifying as either European at 12.9%, and finally for Hispanic at 5.7%.^[60]

The results of a massive DNA study conducted by theNational Geographic's "The Genographic Project", based ongenetic testings of 80,000 Filipino people by the National Geographic in 2008–2009, found that the average Filipino's genes are around 53% Southeast Asian and Oceanian, 36% East Asian, 5% Southern European, 3% South Asian and 2% Native American.^[61]

A minority group comprise about 5% of the total Philippine population, or 5 million people. The collective termMoro people orBangsamoro people refers to the, at least 13,islamicized ethnolinguistic groups ofMindanao,Sulu andPalawan. As Muslim-majority ethnic groups, they form the largest non-Christian majority population in the country, Most Moros are followers ofSunni Islam of theShafi'imadh'hab. The Muslim Moros originally had a few independent states such as theMaguindanao Sultanate &Buayan Sultanate forMaguindanaon, the Lanao Sultanates forMaranao, and theSulu Sultanate forTausug. The Sultanate of Sulu once exercised sovereignty over the present day provinces ofBasilan,Palawan,Sulu,Tawi-Tawi, the eastern part of the Malaysian state ofSabah (formerly North Borneo) andNorth Kalimantan in Indonesia.

TheMolbog (referred to in the literature as Molebugan or Molebuganon) are concentrated in southernPalawan, aroundBalabac,Bataraza, and are also found in other islands of the coast of Palawan as far north as Panakan. They are the only indigenous people in Palawan where the majority of its people areMuslims. The area constitutes the homeland of the Molbog people since the classical era prior to Spanish colonization. The Molbog are known to have a strong connection with the natural world, especially with the sacredpilandok (Philippine mouse-deer), which can only be found in the Balabac islands. Thecoconut is especially important in Molbog culture at it is their most prized agricultural crop. The word Malubog means "murky or turbid water". The Molbog are likely a migrant people from nearbySabah,North Borneo. Based on their dialect and some socio-cultural practices, they seem to be related to theOrang Tidung or Tirum (Camucone in Spanish), an Islamized ethnolinguistic group native to the lower east coast of Sabah and upperEast Kalimantan. They speak theMolbog language, which is related toBonggi, spoken in Sabah,Malaysia.However, someSama words (of the Jama Mapun variant) andTausug words are found in theMolbog dialect after a long period of exposure with those ethnics. This plus a few characteristics of their socio-cultural life style distinguish them from theOrang Tidung. Molbog livelihood includes subsistence farming, fishing and occasional barter trading with theMoros and neighbouring ethnolinguistic groups in Sabah. In the past, both the Molbog and the Palawanon Muslims were ruled bySuludatus, thus forming the outer political periphery of theSulu Sultanate. Intermarriage betweenTausug and the Molbog hastened the Islamization of the Molbog. The offsprings of these intermarriages are known as kolibugan or "half-breed".

TheKolibugan resulted from the intermingling of the indigenousSubanon populations with theMuslim populations in the coastal areas ofZamboanga. Converted Subanons also created the Kolibugan. The population is concentrated along the western side of the provinces of bothnorthern (6,495) andsouthern Zamboanga (3,270), and a national count of over 11,000. The concentrations are inSiocon (2,040),Sirawai (1,960), andSibuco (1,520) (NSO 1980). The total population count is estimated at 32,227 (NM 1994). The generalized culture is lowland central Philippines focused on wet rice cultivation, and some localized swidden cultivation. Adaptation to the marine environment is made, but mostly in terms of domestic fishing.^[62]

TheMaranao people (Maranao:[ˈməranaw];Filipino:Maranaw), also spelled Meranao, Maranaw, and Mëranaw, is the term used by the Philippine government to refer to the southern tribe who are the "people of the lake", a predominantlyMuslim Lanao province region of thePhilippine island ofMindanao. They are known for their artwork, weaving, wood, plastic and metal crafts and epic literature, theDarengen. They live aroundLake Lanao, the ancestral homeland of the Maranao people. They are related to modern theMaguindanao andIranun people. They speak theMaranao and live in the provinces ofLanao del Norte andLanao del Sur. Because of the mass influx ofCebuano migrants to Mindanao, many Maranaos are also fluent inCebuano. They also useArabic as aliturgical language ofIslam. Most Maranaos, however, do not know Arabic beyond its religious use. Some also knowChavacano, which is a Philippine SpanishCreole that gained popularity as a major language during the short-livedRepublic of Zamboanga. Most Maranaos with part-Tausug orYakan fromZamboanga andBasilan are conversant, specifically the Zamboanga dialect known asZamboangueño.

TheIranun/Ilanun are aMoroethnic group native toMindanao,Philippines, and the west coast ofSabah. The modern Iranun are believed to be descendants ofMaranao who leftLake Lanao and settled elsewhere. These migrations were usually of merchant clans of the Maranao which established trading routes near the coast. Some Iranun clans, however, are descendants of outcast clans that left Lake Lanao after one of their clan members committed a murder. For several centuries, the Iranuns in the Philippines formed part of theSultanate of Maguindanao. In the past, the seat of the Maguindanao Sultanate was situated atLamitan andMalabang. Both of which were the strongholds of the Iranun society. Iranuns fought the Western invaders under the flag of the Maguindanao Sultanate. They formed part of the Moro resistance against theUS occupation of the Philippines from 1899 to 1913. The Iranun were excellent in maritime activity as they are traditionally sailors andpirates. They used to ply the route connecting theSulu Sea,Moro Gulf toCelebes Sea, and raided theSpanish held territories along the way.

TheMaguindanao people are the historical people of theSultanate of Maguindanao. The wordMaguindanao orMagindanaw means "people of the flood plains", from the wordMagi'inged, which means "people or citizen", anddanaw, which means "lake or marsh". ThusMaguindanao orMagindanaw can also be translated as "people of the lake", identical to their closely related neighbors, theMaranao andIranun. These three groups speak related languages belonging to theDanao language family.They live primarily inMaguindanao,Soccsksargen,Davao Region andZamboanga Peninsula and speakMaguindanaon with second languages asHiligaynon,Cebuano,Tagalog andArabic and/orEnglish. Because of the mass influx ofCebuano andHiligaynon migrants to Mindanao, many of the Maguindanao people tend to be exposed to the Cebuano or Hiligaynon languages from Visayas easily enough to be able to speak it.Arabic is spoken by a minority of the Moro people, being theliturgical language ofIslam. Some also speak Chabacano, which is a Philippine Spanish Creole that gained popularity as a major language during the Spanish rule and during the short-lived Republic of Zamboanga, most specifically Cotabateño dialect, spoken inCotabato City.

TheSangil people (also called Sangir, Sangu, Marore, Sangirezen, or Talaoerezen) are originally from theSangihe andTalaud Islands (now part ofIndonesia) and parts ofDavao Occidental (particularly in theSarangani Islands),Davao del Norte,Davao del Sur,Sultan Kudarat,South Cotabato, andCotabato. Their populations (much like theSama-Bajau) were separated when borders were drawn between the Philippines and Indonesia during thecolonial era. The Sangil people are traditionally animistic, much like otherLumad peoples. During the colonial era, the Sangil (who usually call themselves "Sangir") in the Sangihe Islands mostly converted toProtestant Christianity due to proximity and contact with the ChristianMinahasa people ofSulawesi. In the Philippines, most Sangil converted toIslam due to the influence of the neighboringSultanate of Maguindanao. However, elements of animistic rituals still remain. The Indonesian and Filipino groups still maintain ties and bothManado Malay andCebuano are spoken in both Indonesian Sangir and Filipino Sangil, in addition to theSangirese language. The exact population of Sangil people in the Philippines is unknown, but is estimated to be around 10,000 people. Indonesian Sangir live in the Philippines, particularly Balut Island,Davao del Sur,Davao del Norte,Davao Oriental,Sarangani,Sultan Kudarat,Cotabato,South Cotabato,General Santos andDavao City,^[63][64] because of its proximity to Indonesia; they speak Cebuano & Tagalog as second languages & are Protestant Christians by faith.

TheYakan people are among the major indigenous Filipino ethnolinguistic groups in theSulu Archipelago. Having a significant number of followers ofIslam, the Yakans are included among the 13Moro groups in thePhilippines. The Yakans mainly reside inBasilan but are also inZamboanga City. They speak a language known asBissa Yakan, which has characteristics of bothSama-BajauSinama andTausug. It is written in the Malayan Arabic script, with adaptations to sounds not present inArabic. Yakans speakChabacano, which is the lingua franca of Basilan, the reason of easier adaptation to the society of Zamboanga City. Because of the mass influx of Cebuano migrants to Mindanao, many of the Yakans also tend to be exposed to the Cebuano language from Visayas easily enough to be able to speak it. The Yakan have a traditionalhorse culture. They are renowned for their weaving traditions.

TheTausūg people (known as Suluk inSabah) are an ethnic group of thePhilippines,Malaysia andIndonesia. The Tausūg are aVisayan subgroup that mostly converted to Islam in the late AD 1300s, and are closely related to theSurigaonon andButuanon people. The Muslim Tausugs originally had anindependent state known as theSulu Sultanate, which once exercised sovereignty over the present day provinces ofSulu, coastal areas ofBasilan, southernPalawan,Tawi-Tawi, some coastal areas of theZamboanga Peninsula, and the eastern part of theMalaysian state ofSabah (formerlyNorth Borneo) andNorth Kalimantan in Indonesia. "Tausug" means "the people of the current", from the wordtau which means "man" or "people" andsūg (alternatively spelledsulug orsuluk) which means "[sea] currents". This refers to their homelands in theSulu Archipelago. The Tausūg in Sabah refer to themselves as Tausūg but refers to their ethnic group as "Suluk" as documented in official documents such as birth certificates inSabah, which are writtenMalay. Because of the mass arrival of Cebuano settlers to Mindanao, many Tausug people are exposed in the Cebuano language easily enough to be able to speak it as Tausug & Cebuano languages belong to Visayan languages. Some Tausug in Sulu & Tawi-Tawi speak Chabacano, specifically the Zamboanga dialect; most of those fluent in Chabacano are residents of Basilan & Zamboanga City. Most Tausug in Sabah and North Kalimantan & some Tausug in Sulu Archipeago & south Palawan speakSabah Malay.

TheJama Mapun are sometimes known by the exonyms 'Sama Mapun", "Sama Kagayan", or "Bajau Kagayan". They are part of theSama-Bajau peoples. They are from the island ofMapun, Tawi-Tawi (formerly known as Cagayan de Sulu). Their culture is heavily influenced by theSulu Sultanate. They are relatively isolated and do not usually consider themselves as Sama.

Banguingui, also known as Sama Banguingui or Samal Banguingui (alternative spellings include Bangingi', Bangingi, Banguingui, Balanguingui, and Balangingi) is a distinct ethno-linguistic group dispersed throughout theGreater Sulu Archipelago and southern and western coastal regions of theZamboanga Peninsula inMindanao,Philippines. They are one of the ethnic groups usually collectively known as theSama-Bajau peoples.

TheSama Dea (Samal/Sama) are part of theSama-Bajau peoples, more accurately a general subgroup of "Land Sama" native to the Philippines. They are popularly known asSamal (also spelled "Siamal" or "Siyamal"), which is a Tausūg andCebuano term that is sometimes considered offensive. Their preferredendonym is simply "Sama", but they can also be called as Sama Deya or Sama Darat. These are the Sama-Bajau which traditionally lived in island interiors. Some examples are the Sama Sibutu and the Sama Sanga-Sanga. They are usually farmers who cultivaterice,sweet potato,cassava, andcoconuts forcopra through traditionalslash-and-burn agriculture (in contrast to theplow agriculture technology brought by the Tausūg). They are originally from the larger islands ofTawi-Tawi andPangutaran. In the Philippines, the Sama Dea will often completely differentiate themselves from the Sama Dilaut. A large number are now residing around the coasts of northernSabah, though many have also migrated north to theVisayas and southernLuzon. They are predominantly land-dwelling. They are the largest single group ofSama-Bajau. InDavao del Norte, theIsland Garden City of Samal was possibly named after them. A 2021 genetic study show how the Sama has common ancestry with theAustroasiaticMlabri andHtin peoples of mainland Southeast Asia.^[65]

TheSama Bihing or Sama Lipid are also known as "shoreline Sama" or "littoral Sama". These are the Sama-Bajau which traditionally lived instilt houses in shallows and coastal areas. An example is the Sama Simunul. They are originally from the larger islands ofTawi-Tawi. They have a more flexible lifestyle than the Sama-Gimba (Sama Dilaut Origin), and will farm when there is available land. They usually act as middlemen in trade between the Sama Dilaut and other land-based peoples.

TheSama Dilaut (Bajau) are part of theSama-Bajau peoples and are the dominant ethnic group of the islands ofTawi-Tawi in thePhilippines. They are known as the "sea Sama" or "ocean Sama". In the Philippines, they are more popularly known as the Bajau or Badjao / Bajaw, but their preferred ethnonym is Sama Dilaut or Sama Mandilaut / Sama Pala'u; while in Malaysia, they usually identify as Bajau Laut. This subgroup originally lived exclusively on elaborately crafted houseboats calledlepa, but almost all have taken to living on land in the Philippines. Their home islands includeSitangkai andBongao. They sometimes call themselves the "Sama To'ongan" (literally "true Sama" or "real Sama"), to distinguish themselves from the land-dwelling Sama-Bajau subgroups. They are also found in other islands of theSulu Archipelago, coastal areas ofMindanao, northern and easternBorneo,Sulawesi, and throughout easternIndonesian islands. Within the last fifty years, many of the Filipino Sama-Bajau have migrated to neighbouringMalaysia and the northern islands of the Philippines, due to theconflict in Mindanao. A genetic study published in PNAS show that the Dilaut people of the Philippines haveSouth Asian or Indian descent.^[65] As of 2010, they were the second-largest ethnic group in theMalaysian state ofSabah.

Sama-Bajau have sometimes been called the "Sea Gypsies" or "Sea Nomads". They usually live a seaborne lifestyle, and use small wooden sailing vessels such as theperahu (layag inMeranau),djenging,balutu,lepa,pilang, andvinta (orlepa-lepa).

Arab traders first visited the Philippines during the precolonial era. They sailed through Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, for trade and commerce on their way to trade with China, just like Persian and Indian traders. These early Arab traders followed the pre-Islamic religions of ArabianChristianity, Paganism andSabeanism. After the advent ofIslam, in 1380,Karim ul' Makhdum, the firstIslamic missionary to reach theSulu Archipelago, brought Islam to what is now the Philippines, first arriving inJolo. Subsequent visits of Arab Muslim missionaries strengthened the Islamic faith in the Philippines, concentrating in the south and reaching as far north asManila. Starting with the conquest ofMalaysia by thePortuguese andIndonesia by theDutch, the Philippines began to receive a number of Malaysian-Arab refugees including several Malaysian princes and displaced court advisors. Soon, vastsultanates were established overlapping the existing indigenous Filipino barangay (village) governing system and Indianized royalty. The two largest were theSultanate of Maguindanao, which loosely governed most of southernMindanao and theSultanate of Sulu, which includedBasilan,Jolo, and parts ofBorneo. Several other smaller but famous sultanates were also established such as thesultanates of Lanao in Mindanao, which was later conquered by the Spanish in the 16th century. The ties between the sultanates in Mindanao remained economically and culturally close toIndonesia,Brunei, andMalaysia until the end of the 19th century when the sultanates were weakened by the Spanish and later the American military during the Spanish and American colonial period. Today, there are numerous Arab-descended Filipino families, especially royal or nobleMuslim families in Mindanao. In modern times, there has also been immigration fromArab countries in theMiddle East, especially those recently devastated by war in the recent decades likeLebanon andSyria.

TheIgorot people, also referred to as Cordilleran peoples, are an indigenous ethnic group in the Philippines primarily inhabiting theCordillera Mountain Range, as well as parts of theCaraballo Mountains andSierra Madre inNorthern Luzon.^[66] They are predominantly found in theCordillera Administrative Region (CAR), with communities also present inIlocos andCagayan Valley regions.^[67] As of the early 21st century, their population is estimated to be around 1.8 million.^[68]

The Igorot people are composed of nine mainethnolinguistic groups, whose languages belong to theNorthern Luzon subgroup of theAustronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) language family. The termIgorot originates from the root wordgolot, meaning "mountain," withIgolot referring to"people from the mountains."^[69] Historically, the Igorots have been distinguished by theirrice terrace farming traditions, particularly in the south, central, and western areas, while groups in the east and north have traditionally engaged in other forms of subsistence.^[70]

TheBontoc live on the banks of theChico River in the CentralMountain Province on the island ofLuzon. They speakBontoc andIlocano. They formerly practicedhead-hunting and had distinctivebody tattoos. Present-day Bontocs are a peaceful agricultural people who have, by choice, retained most of their traditional culture despite frequent contacts with other groups. The Bontoc social structure used to be centered around village wards (ato) containing about 14 to 50 homes. Traditionally, young men and women lived in dormitories and ate meals with their families. This gradually changed with the advent ofChristianity. In general, however, it can be said that all Bontocs are very aware of their own way of life and are not overly eager to change.

TheBalangao tribe is a smaller subgroup within the Bontoc people primarily inhabiting the municipality ofNatonin,Mountain Province,Philippines. The tribe, focuses primarily on farming; which is performed either in rice terraces or from lands that were cleared by fire. At the present, many of the younger generation of the tribe have gained education and are exposed to modernization thus changing the once traditional society of the tribe. TheBalangao/Farangao/Balangao Bontoc language is used by the Balangao tribe and is confined to the tribe and other nearby tribes who have their own languages related to the language. It is spoken in the central area ofMountain Province, and intoTanudan municipality ofKalinga Province.

TheIbaloi people (Ibaloi: ivadoy, /ivaˈdoj/) are an indigenous ethnic group found inBenguet Province of the northern Philippines. Their native language isIbaloi, also known asInibaloi orNabaloi. The term Ibaloi is derived fromi-, a prefix signifying "pertaining to," andbadoy, meaning"house," together meaning"people who live in houses." The Ibaloi primarily inhabit the southeastern part of Benguet, with a population of 209,338 as of 2020. They also live in the western part ofNueva Vizcaya and the eastern part ofLa Union. The Ibaloi are distributed in the mountain valleys and settlements.Ancestral land claims by Ibaloi communities include parts ofBaguio.^[71]

The Ibaloi have a rich material culture, most notably theirmummification process,tattooing called"burik," and their rice terraces. Ibaloi society is composed of the rich (baknang) and three poor classes, the cowhands (pastol), farmhands (silbi), and non-Ibaloi slaves (bagaen). The native language of the Ibaloi people has three dialects:Bokod, Daklan, andKabayan. In addition to their native language, the Ibaloi often speakIlocano andTagalog as second languages. The Ibaloi language is closely related to thePangasinan language, which is primarily spoken in the province ofPangasinan, located southwest of Benguet.

Ifugao men in traditional wanoh (loincloth) riding handcrafted wooden scooters.

Ifugao women in traditional attire, wearing ampuyo (skirt), lamma (blouse), and ginuttu (belt).

TheIfugao (also known asAmganad, Ayangan, Kiangan, Gilipanes, Quiangan, Tuwali Ifugao, Mayoyao, Mayaoyaw) are the people inhabitingIfugao Province with 82,718 population as of 2020. The termIfugao is derived fromipugo, which means "earth people", "mortals" or "humans", as distinguished from spirits and deities. It also means "from the hill", aspugo means hill.^[72] The Ifugao are divided into subgroups based on the differences in dialects, traditions, and design/color of costumes. The main subgroups are Ayangan,Kalanguya, and Tuwali.^[72]

The country of the Ifugao in the southeastern part of theCordillera region is best known for its famousBanaue Rice Terraces, which in modern times have become one of the major tourist attractions of the Philippines. The Ifugaos also speak four distinct dialects and are known for their rich oral literary traditions ofhudhud and thealim, which were chosen as one of the 11Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. It was then formally inscribed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008.

TheIlongot (Ibilao or Bugkalot) are a tribe who inhabit the southernSierra Madre andCaraballo Mountains, on the east side ofLuzon in thePhilippines, primarily in the provinces ofNueva Vizcaya andNueva Ecija and along the mountain border between the provinces ofQuirino andAurora.^[73] An alternative name of this tribe and itslanguage is "Bugkalot". They are known as a tribe of headhunters.Presently, there are about 87,000 Ilongots. The Ilongots tend to inhabit areas close to rivers, as they provide a food source and a means for transportation. Their native language is theIlongot language, currently spoken by about 50,000 people. They also speak theIlocano &Tagalog languages, the latter is spoken in Nueva Ecija & Aurora as much as Ilocano.

TheIsinai/Isinay are a small ethnic group living in theCagayan Valley, specifically in the municipalities ofBambang,Dupax del Sur,Aritao inNueva Vizcaya, as well as aroundQuirino province, and in the northern areas of Nueva Ecija and Aurora. Their ethnic communities show a decline in population, with only around 12,600 members on record. They speak theIsinai language (also spelled Isinay), which is aNorthern Luzon language primarily spoken inNueva Vizcayaprovince in the northernPhilippines. Bylinguistic classification, it is more divergent from otherSouth-Central Cordilleran languages, such asKalinga,Itneg orIfugao andKankanaey.^[74]

Isnag from Imanllod sub-tribe in their traditional attire

Isnag from Ymandaya sub-tribe in their traditional attire

TheIsnag people (alsoIsneg orApayao) are native toApayao Province in theCordillera Administrative Region, with a population of 54,307 as of 2020.^[68]Isnag is derived from a combination of'is,' meaning'recede,' and'unag,' meaning'interior.' Thus, it translates to'people who live inland.' Their native language is Isneg (also called Isnag), although most Isnag people also speakIlocano.

Two major subgroups among the Isnag are known: the Ymandaya, mostly concentrated in the municipality of Calanasan; and the Imallod, with populations distributed among the other towns of the province. Isnag populations can also be found in the eastern part of the adjacent provinces ofIlocos Norte andCagayan.

The Isnag sub-tribes are classified based on their dialect accents. Despite the variations in accents, they are still able to understand and communicate with each other, namely: Imandaya, Imallod, Itawit, Ingahan, Isnag (Isneg) of Katablangan, Conner, Iyapayao (Ehapayao/Yapayao), and Imalawa.

Otherwise known as Itineg, meaning "people living near the Tineg River" (exonyms:Tinguian, Tinguianes, Itinek, Mandaya, Tingian), they are anAustronesian ethnic group from the upland provinces ofAbra andIlocos Sur in northwestern Luzon, Philippines. The native Itneg language is aSouth-Central Cordilleran dialect. The group has been classified into several subgroups: Adassen, Binongan, Inlaod, Masadiit, Aplai, Banao, Gubang, Maeng, Luba, and Balatok, although the latter might be aKalinga group.

As of 2020, The total population of the Itnegs are 140,944.^[68] The Inlaod Itneg population was estimated at 14,000. TheBinongan Tinguian/Itneg population was estimated at 11,000. The Adasen Tinguian/Itneg population was estimated at 6,600.^[75] In 2020, the Itneg/Tingguian population in theCordillera Administrative Region (CAR) was estimated at 100,806. There are two general groupings: the valley Tinggian, which is a homogeneous and concentrated population found in the lower reaches of Abra, thriving on wet rice cultivation, and the mountain Tinggian, which depend on dry cultivation and root crops in the higher elevations.

Traditionally, the Tinggian live in fortified villages adjacent to their swidden fields. They differ from other Philippine ethnic groups in that their traditional dress is primarily white, with women known for their heavily beaded and full lower-arm ornaments.^[76]

TheIwak people (Oak, Iguat, Iwaak, etc.) is a small ethnic group, which has a population of approximately 3,274, dispersed in small fenced-in villages which are usually enclaves in communities of surrounding major ethnic groups like theIbaloy andIkalahan. The characteristic village enclosing fences are sometimes composed in part of the houses with the front entry facing inward. Pig sties are part of the residential architecture. TheIwak are found principally in the municipalities of Boyasyas andKayapa, province ofNueva Vizcaya. The subgroups are: (1) Lallang ni I'Wak, (2) Ibomanggi, (3) Italiti, (4) Alagot, (5) Itangdalan, (6) Ialsas, (7) Iliaban, (8)Yumanggi, (9) Ayahas, and (10) Idangatan.^[77] They speak theIwaak language, which is a Pangasinic language which makes it closely related toPangasinense.

TheKalanguya (also called Ikalahan) live in theCordillera Administrative Region, but can also be found inNueva Vizcaya,Nueva Ecija, andPangasinan. As of 2020 their population is 116,882.^[68] They speak theKalanguya language or "Kallahan", which was once the most spoken language in most parts of today'sBenguet, Nueva Vizcaya,Ifugao,Mt. Province, and some parts of Nueva Ecija but is no longer due to ethnocentrism. The Kalanguya population in Nueva Vizcaya has also been identified in anthropological literature as "Ikal-lahan". Those who reside inTinoc andBuguias call themselves Kalangoya. Those who reside in Nueva Vizcaya andQuirino call themselves Ikalahans. In the past this ethnolinguistic group was known as Kalanggutan, Keley'I, Mandek'ey, Yatukka, or Kalangoya. The Kalanguya are considered a subgroup of theIfugao people.

TheKalinga people, also known as"iKalinga," inhabit the drainage basin of the middleChico River inKalinga Province, with a population of 212,983 as of 2020.^[68] Some have migrated toMountain Province,Apayao,Cagayan, andAbra.^[78] The name Kalinga is an exonym derived from theIbanag andGaddang termkalinga, meaning"headhunter."^[79]

The Kalinga are subdivided into Southern and Northern groups, with the latter considered the most heavily ornamented people of northern Philippines. They practice both wet and dry rice farming and have developed an institution of peace pacts calledBodong, which has minimized traditional warfare and headhunting. This system also serves as a mechanism for the initiation, maintenance, renewal, and reinforcement of kinship and social ties. The Kalinga people speak various Kalinga tribal languages, as well asIlocano,Tagalog, andEnglish. One of the most renowned figures of the Kalinga people isApo Whang-Od, the last and oldestmambabatok (traditional tattoo artist) of theButbut tribe.^[78]

TheKankanaey people (Kankanai orKankana-ey) are native to WesternMountain Province, northernBenguet, northeasternLa Union, and southeasternIlocos Sur, with a population of 466,970 as of 2020.^[68] The Kankanaey have two distinct sub-groups: theNorthern Kankanaey, or Applai, who live inSagada andBesao in western Mountain Province and constitute a linguistic group, and the Southern Kankanaey, who live in the mountainous regions of Mountain Province and Benguet, specifically in the municipalities ofTadian,Bauko,Sabangan,Bakun,Kibungan,Buguias, andMankayan.

Like most Igorot ethnic groups, the Kankanaey built slopingterraces to maximize farm space in the rugged terrain of the Cordilleras. They speak the Kankanaey language, with differences primarily in intonation and word usage. In terms of intonation, there is a distinction between those who speak Hard Kankanaey (Applai) and Soft Kankanaey. Speakers of Hard Kankanaey come from Sagada and Besao in western Mountain Province and surrounding areas. They speak with a harder intonation, differing in some words from those who speak Soft Kankanaey. Soft-speaking Kankanaey come from northern and other parts of Benguet, as well as from the municipalities of Sabangan, Tadian, and Bauko in Mountain Province. These sub-groups also differ in certain ways of life and sometimes in culture.

TheKarao (Karaw) tribe lives in the municipality ofBokod,Benguet. The ancestors of the Karaos are the Panuy-puys (puypuys), who migrated from Palileng,Bontoc to Diyang inNueva Viscaya, and finally settled in Karao in the latter part of the nineteenth century. They speak theKarao language (also spelled Karaw). It is spoken in the Karao, Ekip, andBokod areas of westernBenguet Province, and in the southwestern corner ofIfugao Province. The language is named after the barangay of Karaw inBokod municipality,Benguet.^[80]

Mangyan woman circa 1912

Dalman, Mangyan man circa 1904

Mangyan is the generic name for the eightindigenous groups found on theisland of Mindoro, southwest of theisland of Luzon in the Philippines, each with its own tribal name, language, and customs. They occupy nearly the whole of the interior of the island of Mindoro. The total population may be around 280,000, but official statistics are difficult to determine under the conditions of remote areas, reclusive tribal groups and some having little if any outside world contact. They also speak Tagalog as their second language because of arrival of Tagalog settlers from Batangas.^[81]

TheIraya are Mangyans that live in municipalities in northernMindoro, such asPaluan,Abra de Ilog, northernMamburao, andSanta Cruz municipalities inOccidental Mindoro, andPuerto Galera andSan Teodoro municipalities inOriental Mindoro. They have also been found in Calamintao, on the northeastern boundary of Santa Cruz municipality (7 km up the Pagbahan River from the provincial highway). They speak theIraya language which is part of the North Mangyan group ofMalayo-Polynesian languages, though it shows considerable differences to Tadyawan and Alangan, the other languages in this group. There are 6,000 to 8,000 Iraya speakers, and that number is growing. The language status of Iraya is developing, meaning that this language is being put to use in a strong and healthy manner by its speakers, and it also has its own writing system (though not yet completely common nor maintainable).

TheAlangan are mangyans that primarily live in the municipalities ofNaujan andVictoria inOriental Mindoro, andSablayan inOccidental Mindoro. They speak theAlangan language and number about 2,150 people around north-central Mindoro. The Ayan Bekeg dialect spoken on the northeast slopes ofMount Halcon is understood by Alangan speakers throughout the area. They may also be found around Casague,Santa Cruz, Occidental Mindoro and Kulasisi (tributary of the Mompong River), near Barrio Arellano,Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro.

Tadyawan are mangyans that primarily live in southernLake Naujan inOriental Mindoro. They can be found in Barrio Talapaan,Socorro, Oriental Mindoro; Happy Valley,Socorro, Oriental Mindoro; and Pahilaan, Calatagan,Pola, Oriental Mindoro. They speak theTadyawan language, which has 4 dialects, namely Nauhan, East Aglubang, West Aglubang, and Pola. Nauhan and East Aglubang are close to each other. The West Aglubang is spoken farthest out and has strongAlangan influence.

The Tau-build (orTawbuid) Mangyans live in centralMindoro. They speak theTawbuid language, which is divided into eastern and western dialects. The Bangon Mangyans also speak the western dialect of Tawbuid. InOriental Mindoro, Eastern Tawbuid (also known as Bangon) is spoken by 1,130 people in the municipalities ofSocorro,Pinamalayan, andGloria.

The Mangyan group known on the east ofMindoro as Bangon may be a subgroup ofTawbuid, as they speak the 'western' dialect of that language. They also have a kind of poetry which is called theAmbahan.

TheBuhid are mangyans that primarily live in Malfalon,Calintaan,Occidental Mindoro; Bato Eli, Barrio Monte Claro,San José Pandurucan (on the southern bank of the Bugsanga (Bisanga) River) in Occidental Mindoro; Barrio Rambida,Socorro, Oriental Mindoro; and Barrio Batangan, Panaytayan,Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro. They speak theBuhid language in theisland of Mindoro, Philippines. It is divided into eastern and western dialects and uses its own uniqueBuhid script, which is encoded in theUnicode-Block Buhid (Buid) (1740–175F).

Hanunuo, or Hanunó'o, are mangyans that live in Barrio Tugtugin,San Jose, Occidental Mindoro; Naluak,Magsaysay, Occidental Mindoro (on the upper Caguray River); Bamban,Magsaysay, Occidental Mindoro (also withRatagnon and Bisayan residents); and Barrio Panaytayan,Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro (about 5 km from the highway in the mountains southwest of Mansalay). They speak theHanunó'o language and use their own uniqueHanunuo script, which is encoded in theUnicode-Block Hanunoo (1720–173F).

Ratagnon (also transliterated Datagnon or Latagnon) aremangyans of the southernmost tip ofOccidental Mindoro in theMindoro Islands along theSulu Sea. They live in the southernmost part of the municipality ofMagsaysay inOccidental Mindoro. TheRatagnon language is similar to the VisayanCuyunon language, spoken by the inhabitants ofCuyo Island inNorthern Palawan. The Ratagnon women wear a wrap-around cotton cloth from the waistline to the knees and some of the males still wear the traditional g-string. The women's breast covering is made of woven nito (vine). They also wear accessories made of beads and copper wire. The males wear a jacket with simple embroidery during gala festivities and carry flint, tinder, and other paraphernalia for making fire. Both sexes wear coils of red-dyed rattan at the waistline. Like other Mangyan tribes, they also carry betel chew and its ingredients in bamboo containers. As of 2010, only around 310 people speak theRatagnon language, which is nearlyextinct, out of an ethnic population of 2,000 people, since speakers are shifting toTagalog. They appear to also haveintermarried with lowlanders.

Theindigenous peoples of Palawan are a diverse group of both indigenous tribes and lowland groups that historically migrated to the island ofPalawan and its outlying islands. These ethnolinguistic groups are widely distributed to the long strip of mainland island literally traversingLuzon,Visayas andMindanao. Listed below are specifically the tribal groups of Palawan, as opposed to its urban lowland groups that historically settled its cities and towns. Palawan is home to many indigenous peoples whose origins date back thousands of centuries. Pre-historic discoveries reveal how abundant cultural life in Palawan survived before foreign occupiers and colonizers reached the Philippine archipelago. Today, Palawan is making its best to preserve and conserve the richness of its cultural groups. The provincial government strives to support the groups of indigenous peoples of Palawan.

TheTagbanwa/Tagbanua people (Tagbanwa: ᝦᝪᝯ), or "people of the world," are one of the oldest ethnic groups in thePhilippines, and can be mainly found in the central and northernPalawan. Research has shown that the Tagbanwa are possible descendants of theTabon Man, thus making them one of the original inhabitants of the Philippines. They are a brown-skinned, slim, and straight-haired ethnic group. They speak the Tagbanwa languages, which have their own uniqueTagbanwa script withUnicode-Block Tagbanwa (1760–177F), and can be classified into two major classifications based on the geographical location where they can be found.Central Tagbanwas are found in the western and eastern coastal areas of central Palawan. They are concentrated in the municipalities ofAborlan,Quezon, andPuerto Princesa.Calamian Tagbanwa, on the other hand, are found in Baras coast,Busuanga Island,Coron Island, Linipacan Calibangbangan, and in some parts ofEl Nido. These two Tagbanwa sub-groups speak different languages and do not exactly have the same customs. Tagbanwa live in compact villages of 45 to 500 individuals. In 1987, there were 129,691 Tagbanwas living in Palawan. At present, Tagbanwa tribe has an estimated population of over 10,000. 1,800 of these are in theCalamianes.Shifting cultivation of uplandrice is part of their cultural and economic practices. Rice is considered a divine gift and is fermented to makerice wine, which they use inPagdiwata, or rice wine ritual. Thecult of the dead is the key to the religious system of the Tagbanwa. They believe in several deities found in the natural environment. Their language and alphabet, practice ofkaingin and common belief in soul-relatives are part of their culture. This group are excellent in basketry and wood carving. They are also famous for their beautifully crafted body accessories. Their combs, bracelets, necklaces and anklets are usually made of wood, beads, brass and copper. The Central Tagbanwa language is dying out as the younger generations are learning Cuyonon and Tagalog.

ThePalawan tribal people, also known as the Palawano (only by outsiders) or Palaw'an (orPalawan, depending on sub-dialect), are an indigenous ethnic group of thePalawan group of islands in the Philippines. They traditionally hunt using soars and bamboo blowguns. They speak thePalawano language, which is divided into four ethno-linguistic subgroupings: theQuezon Palawano which is also known as the Central Palawano; theBugsuk Palawano or South Palawano;Brooke's Point Palawano; and Southwest Palawano. Palawanos are more popularly known as Palawans, which is pronounced faster than the name of the province. The Quezon Palawano subgroup are found in Southern Palawan, particularly on the western section of the municipality ofQuezon including the eastern part of Abo-abo of the municipality ofSofronio Espanola, going southward down to the northern section of the municipality ofRizal. A large group of Palawans can also be found in Sitios Gugnan, Kambing, Tugpa, and Kalatabog of BarangayPanitian. TheTaw't Bato of the municipality of Rizal at the foot ofMt. Matalingahan also belongs to this same Palawan tribal group although their language is 15 percent different from the Quezon Palawanos. The Palawano closely resemble theTagbanwa, and in the past, they were doubtless the same people. SomeTausug residents in Palawan call the PalawanoTraan, which means "people in scattered places". Like theYakan ofBasilan, the Palawano live in houses out of sight of each other, scattered among their plots of farm lands. Their main occupation is subsistence farming, cultivating mainly upland rice. Their religion is an old pre-Hispanic belief that mixes traditional animism with elements ofHinduism andIslamic belief. Some have embracedIslam from their southernMolbog and Palawani neighbors. A small number of them areProtestant due to recentmissionary campaigns.

TheTaaw't Bato's name means "people of the rock". They speak theTaaw't Bato language, which is 80% intelligible withPalawano. They are not actually a separate language or ethnolinguistic nation, but rather a small community of traditional S.W.Palawanos who happen to reside in the crater of an extinct volcano during certain seasons of the year, in houses built on raised floors inside caves though others have set their homes on the open slopes. They are found in the Singnapan Basin, a valley bounded byMount Mantalingajan on the east and the coast on the west. North of them is the municipality ofQuezon, Palawan and to the South are the still unexplored regions of Palawan. They are still primitive in their lifestyle, even in the way of dressing. The men still wearg-strings made of bark and cloth and the women wear a piece of cloth made into skirts to cover the lower body. Both of them are half naked but sometimes women wear a blouse that is not indigenous but obtained through commercial markets. They mainly produce and consumecassava, but also producesweet potato,sugarcane,malunggay,garlic,pepper,string beans,squash,tomato,pineapple, etc. Throughout the year, hunting and foraging is pursued to complement the carbohydrate diet of the people. Most of thewild pigs are caught through spring traps. They also indulge thesambi (barter) anddagang (monetary exchange). The trade is specifically for marine fish which the people of Candawaga provide in exchange for horticultural products of the Taaw't-Bato. Dagang involves forest products like thealmaciga,rattan, etc. This tribe subsists on hunting, gathering fruits and planting crops and rice near the forest. Because of their uniqueness, thePhilippine government declared their area off limits to strangers to protect them from unreasonable exploitation.

This list isincomplete; you can help byadding missing items.(September 2019)

TheNegrito are severalAustralo-Melanesian groups who inhabit isolated parts ofSoutheast Asia.^[82] They all live in remote areas throughout the islands in the Philippines.

TheAeta are multiple differentNegritoindigenous people who live in scattered, isolated mountainous parts of the island ofLuzon. As Negritos, they have skin ranges from dark to very dark brown, and possess features such as a small stature and frame; hair of a curly to kinky texture and a higher frequency of naturally lighter colour (blondism) relative to the general population, small nose, and dark brown eyes.

Aeta or Agta children fromCentral Luzon holding a traditional bow

Aeta children with their carabao in theMt. Pinatubo area

They are thought to be among the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines, preceding theAustronesian migrations. The Aeta were included in the group of people named "Negrito" during theSpanish Era. Various Aeta groups in northern Luzon are namedPugut orPugot, anIlocano term that also means "goblin" or "forest spirit", and is the colloquial term for people with darker complexions. These names are mostly considered inappropriate orderogatory by fellow Aeta of northern Luzon. The Aeta speakSambalic languages, which are part of theCentral Luzon family.

TheDumagats are one of the major groups of indigenous peoples living in theSouthern Tagalog andCentral Luzon region south ofManila. The Dumagats, now numbering only about 43,143, inhabit the fertileSierra Madre Ranges onQuezon province's northern tip. A large throng of this ethnic tribe can be found in the town of General Nakar, while a few of them can be spotted in three municipalities ofPolillo island. The Dumagat has 4 distinct groups the Dumagat-Edimala, Dumagat-Remontado and Dumagat-Tagebolus. Primarily, the Dumagats depend on farming,kaingin (orchard farming or slash-and-burn agriculture), paid labor, vending logs and other forest commodities as livelihood. Secondarily, they rely on fishing, hunting animals, gathering crops and other natural bounties for survival. Loan dependence (usury) has reduced many of them to dismal poverty.^[83]

TheBatak are a group of indigenous Filipino people that resides in the northeast portion ofPalawan. There are only about 450 Batak remaining according to a 1990 census. Also calledTinitianes, the Batak are considered by anthropologists to be closely related to theAeta ofCentral Luzon. They tend to be small in stature, with dark skin and short curly or "kinky" hair, traits which originally garnered the "Negrito" groups their name.

They speak theBatak language, which is aNegrito language spoken inPalawan. It is sometimes disambiguated from theBatak languages ofIndonesia asPalawan Batak. They can be found in the communities of Babuyan, Maoyon, Tanabag, Langogan, Tagnipa, Caramay, and Buayan in Palawan. They also speak the surrounding languages includingSouthern Tagbanwa,Central Tagbanwa,Kuyonon, andAgutaynen.

TheAti are aNegrito ethnic group in theVisayas, the central portion of thePhilippine archipelago. Their small numbers are principally concentrated in the islands ofBoracay,Panay andNegros. They are genetically related to other Negrito ethnic groups in the Philippines such as theAeta ofLuzon, theBatak ofPalawan, and theMamanwa ofMindanao. The Ati speak aVisayan language known asInati. As of 1980, the speakers of Inati number about 1,500.Hiligaynon andKinaray-a are also commonly used.

TheMamanwa is aNegrito tribe often grouped together with theLumad. They come fromLeyte,Agusan del Norte, andSurigao provinces inMindanao; primarily inKitcharao andSantiago, Agusan del Norte, though they are lesser in number and more scattered and nomadic than the Manobos and Mandaya tribes who also inhabit the region. Like all Negritos, the Mamanwas are phenotypically distinct from the lowlanders and the upland living Manobos, exhibiting curly hair and much darker skin tones. These peoples are traditionally hunter-gatherers and consume a wide variety of wild plants, herbs, insects, and animals from tropical rainforest. Currently, Mamanwa populations live in sedentary settlements ("barangays") that are close to agricultural peoples and market centers. As a result, a substantial proportion of their diet includes starch-dense domesticated foods.

The Mamanwa have been exposed to many of the modernities mainstream agricultural populations possess and use such as cell phones, televisions, radio, processed foods, etc. Their contact with monotheist communities/populations has made a considerable impact on the Mamanwa's religious practices. The tribe produce excellent winnowing baskets, rattan hammocks, and other household containers.Mamanwa (also spelledMamanoa) means 'first forest dwellers', from the wordsman (first) andbanwa (forest). They speak theMamanwa language (or Minamanwa). They are genetically related to theDenisovans.

TheLumad are the un-Islamized and un-Christianized (or only recently Christianized) indigenousAustronesian peoples ofMindanao. They include several ethnolinguistic groups such as the Manobo, theTasaday, the Mamanwa, the Mandaya, theB'laan, theT'boli, and theKalagan. They primarily inhabit the eastern parts of Mindanao such as theCaraga, andDavao Regions.

Subanon or Subanu (also called Subanen or Subanun) is aSubanon word meaning "from the river." The term is derived from the rootsoba orsuba (meaning "river") and the suffix-nun or-non which indicates locality or place of origin. Subanon are also known as "Subanen" because some Subanen languages use a pepet vowel where others use o. The Subanon people are the largestlumad group (non-Muslim or non-Christian indigenous cultural community) on the island ofMindanao.^[84] This ethnic group were the aborigines of western Mindanao particularly in theZamboanga Peninsula areas which are divided into the provinces ofZamboanga del Sur,Zamboanga del Norte, andZamboanga Sibugay,Basilan,Misamis Occidental, and extended to the province ofMisamis Oriental. The Subanon people speak theSubanon language. Some also speakChavacano Zamboangueño andCebuano.

As the name implies, these people originally lived along riverbanks in the lowlands, however due to disturbances and competitions from related groups such as theMuslimMaguindanaon andChristianBisaya, these peace-loving people are now found residing in the mountains.^[85] The Subanons regularly move from one location to another to clear more forest for fields. They cultivate crops, with rice as the most important crop, but they are also known to raise livestock including pigs, chickens, cattle, and water buffaloes. Subanon houses are built along hillsides and ridges overlooking family fields. The homes are usually rectangular and raised on stilts with thatched roofs.

TheMamanwa is aNegrito tribe often grouped together with theLumad. They come fromLeyte,Agusan del Norte, andSurigao provinces inMindanao; primarily inKitcharao andSantiago, Agusan del Norte, though they are lesser in number and more scattered and nomadic than the Manobos and Mandaya tribes who also inhabit the region. Like all Negritos, the Mamanwas are phenotypically distinct from the lowlanders and the upland living Manobos, exhibiting curly hair and much darker skin tones. These peoples are traditionally hunter-gatherers and consume a wide variety of wild plants, herbs, insects, and animals from tropical rainforest. Currently, Mamanwa populations live in sedentary settlements ("barangays") that are close to agricultural peoples and market centers. As a result, a substantial proportion of their diet includes starch-dense domesticated foods. The Mamanwa have been exposed to many of the modernities mainstream agricultural populations possess and use such as cell phones, televisions, radio, processed foods, etc. Their contact with monotheist communities/populations has made a considerable impact on the Mamanwa's religious practices. The tribe produce excellent winnowing baskets, rattan hammocks, and other household containers.Mamanwa (also spelledMamanoa) means 'first forest dwellers', from the wordsman (first) andbanwa (forest). They speak theMamanwa language (or Minamanwa). They are genetically related to the Denisovans.

TheManobo are anAustronesian, indigenous agriculturalist population who neighbor theMamanwa group inSurigao del Norte andSurigao del Sur. They live in barangays like the Mamanwa; however, they are more numerous. The two groups interact frequently although the amount of interaction varies between settlements and intermarriage is common between them. The total Manobo population is not known, although they occupy core areas fromSarangani island into theMindanao mainland in the provinces of theDavao Region,Agusan del Sur,Bukidnon,Cotabato, andSouth Cotabato. The groups occupy such a wide area of distribution that localized groups have assumed the character of distinctiveness as a separate ethnic grouping such as the Bagobo or the Higaonon, and the Atta. The Manobo are genetically related to theDenisovans, much like the Mamanwa. They speak theManobo languages. A 2021 genetic study show that Manobos have ancestral affinity with theAustroasiaticMlabri andHtin peoples of mainland Southeast Asia.^[65]

TheHigaonon is located on the provinces ofBukidnon,Agusan del Sur,Misamis Oriental,Camiguin (used to be Kamiguing), Rogongon inIligan City, andLanao del Norte. The Higaonons have a rather traditional way of living. Farming is the most important economic activity.The word Higaonon is derived from the word "Higad" in the Higaonon dialect which means coastal plains and "Gaon" meaning ascend to the mountains. Taken together, Higaonon, means the people of the coastal plains that ascended to the mountains. Higaonons were formerly coastal people of the provinces as mentioned who resisted the Spanish occupation and later avoided contact with influx of seafaring settlers from Luzon and Visayas, whom they refer as Dumagats. Driven to the hills and mountains these people continued to exist and fought for the preservation of the people, heritage and culture. They speak theHigaonon language, which is partially intelligible withBinukid. However, because of the mass influx ofCebuano migrants to Mindanao, many of the Higaonons people tend to be exposed to the Cebuano language from Visayas easily enough to be able to speak it.

TheBukidnonLumad people are one of the seven tribes in theBukidnonplateau ofMindanao.Bukidnon means 'that of the mountains or highlands' (i.e., 'people of the mountains or highlands'), despite the fact that most Bukidnon tribes settle in the lowlands. They speak theBukid language, also calledBinukid orBukidnon. It is a de facto co-official language in Bukidnon province, where it is referred to asHigaonon. There are many dialects but there ismutual intelligibility. The dialect ofMalaybalay, in thePulangi area, is considered to be theprestige andstandard variety.The Bukidnon people believe in one god, Magbabaya (Ruler of All), though there are several minor gods and goddesses that they worship as well. Religious rites are presided by abaylan whose ordination is voluntary and may come from any sex. The Bukidnons have rich musical and oral traditions which are celebrated annually inMalaybalay city'sKaamulan Festival, with other tribes in Bukidnon (the Manobo tribes, the Higaonon, Matigsalug, Talaandig, Umayamnom, and the Tigwahanon).

The Bukidnon Lumad is distinct and should not be confused with a few indigenous peoples scattered in the Visayas area who are also alternatively called Bukidnon.

Talaandig are originally from the foothills ofMount Kitanglad inBukidnon, specifically in the municipalities ofTalakag andLantapan. They speak theTalaandig language, which is a dialect ofBukid language.

TheUmayamnon are originally from the Umayam River watershed and the headwaters of thePulangi River. They reside inBukidnon and are a subgroup of theManobo.

TheTigwahonon are a subgroup ofManobo originally from theTigwa River basin nearSan Fernando,Bukidnon. They speakTigwa, which is a dialect ofMatigsalug.

TheMatigsalug are theBukidnon groups who are found in theTigwa-Salug Valley inSan Fernando inBukidnon province,Philippines."Matigsalug" is a term, which means "people along theSalug River (a tributary of theDavao River)". Although often classified under theManobo ethnolinguistic group, the Matigsalug is a distinct sub-group of indigenous peoples from theManobos. The Matigsalug of Bukidnon have an approximate population of 146,500. They speak theMatigsalug language, which is aManobo language.

TheManguwangan/Manguangan/Mangguangan are found in the Cordillera Sugut mountains inMindanao, scattering up to the great lakes ofRajah Buayan,Maguindanao del Sur and in the territory between what is occupied by theManobo and theMandaya inDavao andSouth Cotabato.^[86] They speakMangguangan language, which is anAgusan Manobo language.

TheKamayo are concentrated inBislig,Lianga,Marihatag, andSan Agustin inSurigao del Sur,Mindanao. A scattered population is also found inCateel andBaganga,Davao Oriental. They speak theKamayo language, which is also called as Kinamayo, Camayo, Kadi, Kinadi, or Mandaya. It is a language widely used by theMandayas in theDavao Oriental areas. It is closely related toTandaganon and Surigaonon. Dialect variations are caused by mixed dialect communications such as theCebuano language in barangaysMangagoy & Pob. Bislig. The towns ofBarobo,Hinatuan, andLingig has a distinct version spoken.^[87]

TheKalagans are the Islamized-indigenous people in theWestern Davao gulf area. They became Muslim in the middle of the 19th century due to a combination of following factors namely, the political pressure and/or influence of theTausug migrants of Davao, extensive exposure and/or contact with the communities of theirMaguindanaon neighbors, inter-marriages of Kalagan and Maguindanaon and/or Tausug. They are predominantly found inDavao City, district of Sirawan, aroundTagum,Davao del Norte,Mati inDavao Oriental, some places inDavao del Sur and two otherDavao provinces. TheKalagan language is similar to theTagakaolo language but have increasingly incorporated someTausug andMaguindanaon words. They are renowned as agriculturalists, cultivating rice, corn, abaca, and coconut for cash crops, whereas their counterparts living along the coast, practice fishing. Some also knowCebuano,Filipino(Tagalog),English, andArabic.^[88]

The term "Mansaka" derives from "man" with literal meaning "first" and "saka" meaning "to ascend," and means "the first people to ascend mountains/upstream." The term most likely describes the origin of these people who are found today inDavao del Norte andDavao del Sur. Specifically in the Batoto River, the Manat Valley, Caragan,Maragusan, the Hijo River Valley, and the seacoasts of Kingking, Maco, Kwambog, Hijo,Tagum, Libuganon, Tuganay, Ising, andPanabo. They speak theMansaka language, which may be intelligible withMandaya.

"Mandaya" derives from "man" meaning "first," and "daya" meaning "upstream" or "upper portion of a river," and therefore means "the first people upstream". It refers to a number of groups found along the mountain ranges ofDavao Oriental, as well as to their customs, language, and beliefs. The Mandaya are also found inCompostela andNew Bataan inDavao de Oro (formerly a part ofDavao del Norte Province). They speak theMandaya language, which may be intelligible withMansaka.

TheGiangan people (also known as Bagobo, Clata, Atto, Eto, Guanga, Gulanga, Jangan) live on the eastern slopes ofMount Apo inDavao del Sur Province, as well as inDavao City. They occupy a very small territory stretching from Catalunan toCalinan within Davao City. They speak theGiangan languages of theSouth Mindanao or Bilic languages. The Lipadas River separated the traditionalTagabawa and Clata territories, while the Talomo River (Ikawayanlinan) was the boundary separating the Tagabawas, Clatas, and Obos. TheDavao River separated the traditional Bagobo and Clata territories.

Tagabawa or Bagobo-Tagabawa are an indigenous tribe in Mindanao. They speak theTagabawa language, which is aManobo language, and live inCotabato,Davao del Sur, and in the surrounding areas ofMt. Apo byDavao City. They have a culture of high respect towardsPhilippine eagles, known in their language asbanog.

TheTeduray/Tiruray people live in the municipalities ofDatu Blah T. Sinsuat,Upi, andSouth Upi in southwesternMaguindanao del Sur; and inLebak municipality, northwesternSultan Kudarat Province. They speak theTiruray language, which is related toBagobo,B'laan, andT'boli. Coastal Tirurays are mostly farmers, hunters, fishermen, and basket weavers; those living in the mountains engage in dry field agriculture, supplemented by hunting and the gathering of forest products. Tirurays are famous for their craftsmanship in weaving baskets with two-toned geometric designs. While many have adopted the cultures of neighboringMuslims andChristians people, a high percentage of their population still believe and practice their indigenous customs and rituals.^[89]

Tagakaulo is one of theLumad tribes inMindanao. Their traditional territories is inDavao del Sur andSarangani particularly in the localities ofMalalag, Lais, Talaguton Rivers, Sta. Maria, andMalita ofDavao Occidental, andMalungon of the Sarangani Province. Tagakaulo means living in mountain. The Tagakaulo tribe originally came from the western shores of the gulf ofDavao and south ofMt. Apo. a long time ago. They speak theTagakaulo language, which is a part of theKalagan languages.

TheTasaday ([tɑˈsɑdɑj]) are an indigenousLumad people ofMindanao. They attracted widespread media attention in 1971, when a journalist of the Manila Associated Press bureau chief reported their discovery, amid apparent "Stone Age" technology and in complete isolation from the rest of Philippine society. They again attracted attention in the 1980s when some accused the Tasaday living in the jungle and speaking in their dialect as being part of an elaboratehoax, and doubt was raised about their isolation and even about being a separate ethnic group. Further research has tended to support their being a tribe that was isolated until 1971 and that lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers. TheTasaday language is distinct from that of neighbouring tribes, and linguists believe it probably split from the adjacentManobo languages 200 years ago. Some also knowCebuano andTagalog.

TheBlaan people, alternatively spelled as "B'laan", are one of theindigenous peoples ofSouthern Mindanao in thePhilippines. Their name could have derived from "bla" meaning "opponent" and the suffix "an" meaning "people". Other terms used to refer to this group are Blaan, Bira-an, Baraan, Vilanes, and Bilanes. Some Blaan natives were displaced whenGeneral Santos was founded in 1939. Others settled in the city.They speak theBlaan language which is said to be the source of the name forKoronadal City, from two Blaan words –kalon meaningcogon grass andnadal ordatal meaning plain, which aptly described the place to the natives. On the other hand,Marbel, which is another name for thepoblacion, is a Blaan termMalb-el which means "murky waters" referring to a river, now calledMarbel River.

The tribe practices indigenous rituals while adapting to the way of life of modern Filipinos. Some also speakCebuano,Filipino, andEnglish. A 2021 genetic study by Maxmilian Larena shows that the Blaan people havePapuan admixture.^[65]

TheT'boli are one of the indigenous peoples ofSouth Mindanao aroundSoccsksargen andDavao Region. They are variously known as Tboli, Teboli, Tau Bilil, Tau Bulul or Tagabilil. They term themselves Tboli. Their whereabouts and identity are to some extent confused in the literature; some publications present the Teboli and the Tagabilil as distinct peoples; some locate the Tbolis to the vicinity of theBuluan Lake in theCotabato Basin or inAgusan del Norte. The Tbolis, then, reside on the mountain slopes on either side of the upperAlah Valley and the coastal area ofMaitum,Maasim andKiamba. In former times, the Tbolis also inhabited the upper Alah Valley floor. They speak theTboli language, some also knowCebuano,Hiligaynon, andTagalog.

TheSangil people (also called Sangir, Sangu, Marore, Sangirezen, or Talaoerezen) are originally from theSangihe andTalaud Islands (now part ofIndonesia) and parts ofDavao Occidental (particularly in theSarangani Islands),Davao del Norte,Davao del Sur,Sultan Kudarat,South Cotabato, andCotabato. Their populations (much like theSama-Bajau) were separated when borders were drawn between the Philippines and Indonesia during thecolonial era. The Sangil people are traditionally animistic, much like otherLumad peoples. During the colonial era, the Sangil (who usually call themselves "Sangir") in the Sangihe Islands mostly converted toProtestant Christianity due to proximity and contact with the ChristianMinahasa people ofSulawesi. In the Philippines, most Sangil converted toIslam due to the influence of the neighboringSultanate of Maguindanao. However, elements of animistic rituals still remain. The Indonesian and Filipino groups still maintain ties and bothManado Malay andCebuano are spoken in both Indonesian Sangir and Filipino Sangil, in addition to theSangirese language. Indonesian Sangir even live in the Philippines, particularly Balut Island,Davao del Sur,Davao del Norte,Davao Oriental,Sarangani,Sultan Kudarat,Cotabato,South Cotabato,General Santos andDavao City,^[63][64] because of its proximity to Indonesia; they speak Cebuano & Tagalog as second languages & are Protestant Christians by faith. The exact population of Sangil people in the Philippines is unknown, but is estimated to be around 10,000 people. A study by Larena puyblished in PNAS show that the Sangirese people also possess Papuan admixture.^[65]

The Suludnon are highlandVisayan peoples, related to the lowlandKinaray-a,Aklanon, andHiligaynon ofPanay Island,Visayas.

TheSuludnon, also known as the Tumandok, Sulod, Panay-Bukidnon, or Panayanon Sulud, are anindigenousVisayan group of people who reside in theCapiz-Lambunao mountainous area and theAntique-Iloilo mountain area of centralPanay in theVisayan islands of thePhilippines. They are one of the two only culturally indigenous group ofVisayan language-speakers in theWestern Visayas, along with the Iraynon-Bukidnon ofAntique. Although they were once culturally related to the speakers of theKinaray-a,Aklanon, andHiligaynon languages, all of whom inhabit the lowlands of Panay, their isolation fromSpanish rule resulted in the continuation of apre-Hispanic culture and beliefs. They speak theIgbok language (also known as Ligbok or Sulod language), a member of theWest Visayan subdivision of the Visayan languages under theAustronesian language family. They are the largest indigenous people's group in Panay, with a population of some 94,000 as of 2011. They are mostly slash-and-burn farmers with bisaya rice as the main crop. The Tumandok also engage in hunting, fishing, and foraging for fruits and root crops.^[90]

About 86-87% of the Philippine population belong to the majority ethnolinguistic groups who are classified as neither indigenous nor Moro.^[1]: 6 These groups are sometimes collectively referred to as "LowlandChristianized groups", to distinguish them from indigenous ("upland") groups and Moro peoples.^[10] These ethnic groups were annexed by the Spanish Empire and had created a distinctly united culture characterized by the mixture of cultures of Austronesian, Spanish, East-Asian and cultures from the Americas.

An Ivatan man wearing a 'Kanay-i,' a traditional hat for men

An Ivatan woman wearing a 'vakul,' a traditional headdress for women

TheIvatan (also spelled as Ibatan) are the predominant ethnolinguistic group in theBatanes islands of the Philippines. They have close cultural links with theTaiwanese aborigines, especially theYami/Tao people ofOrchid Island under jurisdiction ofTaiwan. They speakIvatan language, & also Ilocano as second language. Aside from their regional homeland, Ivatans are also found in mainland Luzon and even Mindanao due to migrations, where they even speak the other languages within the environment of other ethnic groups in areas they settled and grew up in, especially Cebuano and Hiligaynon (both in Mindanao).

TheIlocano people are the third-largest ethnic group in the Philippines with 8,746,169 population as of 2020,^[91] they are a predominantly Christian group who reside within the lowlands and coastal areas of northwesternLuzon mainly theIlocos Region.^[92] Other Ilocanos are also found inCordillera Administrative Region andCagayan Valley, as well as in west and east Pangasinan. Minor pockets of Ilocanos are also found in scattered parts ofCentral Luzon, such asZambales,Tarlac,Bataan,^[93]Nueva Ecija, andAurora,^[81][94] inMetro Manila and in some municipalities inMindanao, mainly inSultan Kudarat.^[92][95]

They speakIloco or Iloko with two distinct dialects the Amianan (Northern) and Abagatan (Southern) dialects. Ilocanos even speak other languages within the environment of other ethnic groups in areas they settled and grew up in, like Ibanag, Pangasinan, Ivatan, Kapampangan and Tagalog in Central Luzon, Chavacano, Hiligaynon, Cebuano, Butuanon, Surigaonon as well as Lumad and Moro languages in Mindanao. Their foremost folk literature isBiag ni Lam-ang (The Life of Lam-ang), anepic poem with similarities with theRamayana.

The Bago (Bago Igorot orVago) were first identified in the municipality ofPugo, located on the southeastern side ofLa Union. Historically, they are the Christianized Igorots orNuevo Cristianos, who were often referred to asVagos orBago during Spanish colonization in theIlocos Region. As of 2020, the Bago population is 101,965, withIlocos Sur having the highest population at 38,692. This is a highly acculturated group whose villages are located along major transportation routes between the lowlands and the Abatan, Benguet markets in the highlands. The major ritual practices and beliefs are somewhat related to the northernKankanay, thus the idea that the people were migrants because of trade from westernMountain Province. The Kankanay regard them as such and not as a specific ethnic group. The language is a mixture of northern Kankanay with an infusion of lowland dialects. Most of the individuals are bilingual withIlocano as the trade language. Their agricultural activities revolve around a mixture of highland root crops like sweet potatoes, yams, and taro, and lowland vegetables and fruits.^[96]

TheIbanags are a predominantly Christian lowland ethnic group numbering around half a million people and who primarily inhabit the provinces ofCagayan andIsabela in theCagayan Valley ofnorthern Luzon. They speak theIbanag language, which is distantly related toIlocano, which they speak as second language.

TheItawes/Itawis/Itawit are among the earliest inhabitants of theCagayan Valley in northernLuzon. Their name is derived from theItawesprefixi- meaning "people of" andtawid or "across the river". As well as their ownItawis language, they speakIbanag andIlocano. The contemporary Itawes are charming, friendly, and sociable. They are not very different from other lowlandChristianized Filipino ethnic groups in terms of livelihood, housing, and traditions. Their traditional dresses are colorful with red being the dominant color. Farming is a leading source of livelihood. The average families are education-conscious.

TheMalaweg are located in sections ofCagayan Valley andKalinga-Apayao provinces and in the town ofRizal. Their main crops are lowland rice and corn. Tobacco was raised as a cash crop on a foothill west ofPiat on theMatalag river near the southeast border of Kalinga-Apayao province, drawingIbanags from the east. Culturally, they are similar to the neighbor groups: Ibanag andItawis. Linguistically, they speak a dialect ofItawis.^[97]

TheGaddang number about 25,000. They are known to have inhabited the upperCagayan Valley and theMagat valley below Aritao inNueva Vizcaya and inIsabela since before the Spanish arrived. Main centers of their language are found inIlagan,Santiago,Cauayan,Solano,Bagabag, andBayombong, as well as surrounding towns. Speakers from each municipality have significantly characteristic vocabulary, usage, and pronunciation, although they understand each other well. Theirlanguage is related toIbanag andItawis; it is also spoken by ethnically related highlandGa'dang in the provinces ofIfugao Province,Kalinga Province, andMountain Province.

TheYogad are 15.00% christian and are one of the smallest minority groups in the region of theCagayan Valley. They once occupiedDiffun,Quirino in Cagayan Valley. Today, they are concentrated inEchague, Camarag,Angadanan,Santiago, andJones,Isabela. Yogads speak theYogad language, which is one of the five recognized dialects ofGaddang, and are identified as part of the Christianized Kalingas in western Isabela.^[98]

TheBolinao people live inBolinao andAnda,Pangasinan. They speak the Bolinao language or Binubolinao, which is the second most widely spokenSambalic language in Pangasinan (afterSambal), & is related toKapampangan. The language, which has more than 50,000 speakers, has been influenced byPangasinense,Tagalog,Spanish, andEnglish. The residents can also speak Tagalog, Pangasinense,Ilocano, and often, English as well.^[99]

ThePangasinense people are the eighth-largest ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines. They predominate in the northwestern portion ofCentral Luzon (central and eastPangasinan, northernTarlac, northernNueva Ecija and northernZambales, and selected areas of Aurora,^[100] Bataan, and Bulacan), as well as southern parts ofLa Union,Benguet and scattered parts of Mindanao. They are predominantly Christian (mainly Roman Catholic). They primarily use thePangasinan language, which is spoken by more than 1.2 million individuals, & mostly speak Ilocano as second language.

TheSambals are the inhabitants of the province ofZambales, including the independent city ofOlongapo. They are also found in the neighboring municipalities ofBolinao andAnda in northwesternPangasinan, which were under jurisdiction of Zambales and as far asPalawan, especially in Barangay Panitian inQuezon and Barangay Mandaragat inPuerto Princesa. Sambals currently make up a large proportion of the population in the Zambales municipalities of north ofIba, the provincial capital. Their language,Sambal, is related toKapampangan. They even speak Tagalog, Ilocano, Pangasinan, & Kapampangan as second languages.

TheKapampangan people are the seventh-largest ethnic group in the Philippines. They predominate in the southwestern portion ofCentral Luzon (entirePampanga, southernTarlac, southwesternNueva Ecija, southeasternZambales, westernBulacan and northeasternBataan, and in selected areas of Aurora^[100]) and have diasporas inMetro Manila andMindanao. They are predominantly Christian (mainly Roman Catholic). They primarily use theKapampangan language, which is spoken by more than 1.4 million individuals. Kapampangans even speak other languages within the environment of other ethnic groups in areas they settled and grew up in, like Sambal, Pangasinan, Ilocano, and Tagalog (all in Central Luzon) as well as Hiligaynon and Cebuano (both in Mindanao, where Kapampangans also settled). In the Spanish colonial era, Pampanga was known to be a source of valiant soldiers. There was a Kapampangan contingent in the colonial army who helped defend Manila against the Chinese PirateLimahon. They also helped in battles against theDutch, theEnglish and Muslim raiders.^[101]: 3 Kapampangans, along with the Tagalogs, played a major role in thePhilippine Revolution.^[102]

TheKasiguranin live inCasiguran inAurora Province. TheKasiguranin language descends from an earlyTagalog dialect that had borrowed heavily fromNortheastern Luzon Agta languages such asParanan Agta, and Filipino migrant languages like Ilocano, Visayan languages, Bikol languages, Kapampangan, and Paranan. It is 82% mutually intelligible with Paranan, a language in easternIsabela, since Aurora and Isabela lie in close proximity. Kasiguranin speak Ilocano & Tagalog as additional languages. They rely mainly on fishing and farming, as do other groups in Casiguran.^[103]

TheParanan or Palanan are a group that is largely concentrated on the Pacific side of the province ofIsabela aboutPalanan Bay. The population areas are in Palanan (9,933) with a total population of some 10,925 (NSO 1980). This is probably the northeasternmost extension of theTagalog language. There is, however, a considerable mixture with the culture of theNegrito from theParanan Agta language.^[104] Paranan speak Ibanag, Ilocano & Tagalog as additional languages.

TheTagalogs are the most widespread ethnic group in the Philippines. They predominate the entirety of theManila,mainland southern Luzon regions and the entirety ofMarinduque, with a plurality inCentral Luzon (mainly in its southeastern portion [Nueva Ecija,Aurora, andBulacan], as well as parts ofZambales andBataan provinces exceptPampanga andTarlac), coastal parts ofMindoro, major parts ofPalawan and even many parts ofMindanao.^{[105][106][81]} TheTagalog language was chosen as an official language of the Philippines in 1935. Today,Filipino, ade facto version of Tagalog, is taught throughout the archipelago.^[107] As of the 2019 census^[update], there were about 22.5 million speakers of Tagalog in the Philippines, 23.8 million worldwide.^[108] Tagalogs even speak other languages within the environment of other ethnic groups in areas they settled and grew up in, like Ilocano, Pangasinan, Kapampangan (all in Central Luzon) and Bicolano (in Bicol Region), as well as Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Zamboanga Chavacano, Butuanon, Surigaonon and indigenouslumad as well asMoro languages in Mindanao where they also made a significant diaspora. They speak Tagalog as a second language already outside of their native regional homeland due to assimilation to the other ethnolinguistic groups who form majority to these areas they settled and grew up in.

Caviteños live primarily inCavite City and coastalTernate,Cavite. They speak the Caviteño dialect ofChavacano, which enjoyed its widest diffusion and greatest splendor inSpanish andAmerican period of Filipino history, when newspapers and literary outputs flourished. Residents ofPaco,Ermita,Quiapo andMalate shared this common tongue with those ofSan Nicolas,Santa Cruz and Trozo. During the Spanish regime, it was prevalent forSpaniards, both peninsulares and insulares, to use the creole in their negotiations with the townfolk. Cavite Chabacano was spoken with relative ease because it was essentially a simplification ofCastillan morphology patterned afterTagalog syntax. Gradually and naturally, it acquired the sounds present in the Spanish phonological system, which had the authocthonous phonetics as core. After World War II, creole Spanish speakers within the capital and surrounding regions went in decline or vanished entirely, leaving Caviteño and Ternateño as the remaining Tagalog-based Chavacano dialects in Luzon.^[109] A great number of Mexican men had settled at Cavite, spread throughout Luzon, and integrated with the local Philippine population. Some of these Mexicans became Tulisanes (Bandits) that led peasant revolts against Spain.^[110]

TheTernateño Chavacanos are found in the municipality ofTernate inCavite. They speak a dialect ofChavacano withTagalog as itssubstrate, just likeCaviteño and the extinctErmiteño. There are an estimated 3,000 speakers of the language at present.^[111] The Merdicas (also spelled Mardicas or Mardikas) wereCatholic natives of the islands ofTernate andTidore of theMoluccas, converted during thePortuguese occupation of the islands byJesuit missionaries. The islands were later captured by theSpanish who vied for their control with theDutch. In 1663, the Spanish garrison in Ternate were forced to pull out to defendManila against an impending invasion by the Chinese ruler,Koxinga, from theKingdom of Tungning inFormosa (Taiwan) (sacrificing the Moluccas to the Dutch in doing so). A number of Merdicas volunteered to help, eventually being resettled in a sandbar near the mouth of theMaragondon river (known as theBahra de Maragondon) andTanza,Cavite.^[112] The Merdicas community eventually integrated into the local population. Today, the place is called Ternate after the island of Ternate in the Moluccas, and the descendants of the Merdicas continue to use their Spanish creole (with Portuguese and Papuan influence) which came to be known as TernateñoChabacano.^[112]

TheBicolanos are a predominantly Roman Catholic ethnic group that originates from theBicol Region in Southern Luzon. They are the fifth-largest ethnolinguistic group in thePhilippines. There are severalBikol languages of which there is a total of about 3.5 million speakers. The most widespread Bikol language isCentral Bikol comprising Naga, Legazpi, Daet and Partido dialects (Virac is sometimes considered as a separate language). They are known for their cuisine heavily usingchili peppers andcoconut milk. Bicolanos have a high percentage of Spanish introgression with a government sponsored study showing 2 out of 10 Bicolanos being of Spanish descent.^[65]

Masbateños live inMasbate province of thePhilippines. Masbate is part of theBicol Region. They number about more than 623,000. Masbateños may be considered Visayans by language but are Bicolanos by region. They speak theMasbateño language and almost all practiceRoman Catholicism. TheMasbateño language is closely related toHiligaynon andCapiznon. However, in various municipalities of the island, various other languages are spoken. In the vicinity of the towns ofCataingan,Palanas andDimasalang, most residents speakWaray-Waray. InPio Corpuz the people speakCebuano, while inPlacer and in the west coast along coast ofMandaon,Hiligaynon (Ilonggo) andCapiznon are spoken.Bicolano is also spoken by the residents.

LowlandChristianized groups of the region ofMimaropa, consisting of the islands or provinces ofMindoro,Marinduque,Romblon,Palawan, and other surrounding islands. They also speak Tagalog as their second language because of arrival of Tagalog settlers from South Luzon.^[81]

TheBantoanon or "people fromBanton (Island)" actually reside mostly inOdiongan,Corcuera,Calatrava, andConcepcion inRomblon, an archipelagic province in theMimaropa region. They speakAsi, also known as Bantoanon, aVisayan language that is lexically similar to the language ofRomblomanon. Asi is spoken along with the Romblomanon andInonhan languages and is classified under the same level asCebuano. One way to identify a Bantoanon is through his or her family name, which usually starts with the letter "f". Bantoanons value education, as most of them consider it a way to improve their lives. Their usual means of livelihood are trade, business, fishing, and agriculture.

TheInonhan people are found in southernTablas Island of theRomblon archipelago in theMimaropa Region, particularly in the municipalities ofSanta Fe,Looc,Alcantara,Santa Maria, andSan Andres. There are around 85,000 Inonhans, and they speak theOnhan language, aWestern Visayan language. It is one of the three distinct languages spoken by the natives of Romblon.

TheRomblomanon people are the indigenous inhabitants ofRomblon province. However, due to population increase, which the island province's small area could not sustain, there are also significant numbers of Romblomanons inOccidental Mindoro,Oriental Mindoro,Masbate,Aklan,Palawan,Capiz, and possible parts ofLuzon andMindanao. They speak one of three languages, theRomblomanon language,Asi language, and theOnhan language. Most areRoman Catholics. Due to its distance from Capiz and Aklan, most Romblomanons can speakHiligaynon.

Mangyan is the generic name for the eightindigenous groups found on theisland of Mindoro, around 10% have embracedChristianity, both Catholicism and Evangelical Protestantism (The New Testaments have been published in six of the Mangyan languages).southwest of theisland of Luzon in the Philippines, each with its own tribal name, language, and customs. They occupy nearly the whole of the interior of the island of Mindoro. The total population may be around 280,000, but official statistics are difficult to determine under the conditions of remote areas, reclusive tribal groups and some having little if any outside world contact. They also speak Tagalog as their second language because of arrival of Tagalog settlers from Batangas.^[81]

TheIraya are Mangyans that live in municipalities in northernMindoro, such asPaluan,Abra de Ilog, northernMamburao, andSanta Cruz municipalities inOccidental Mindoro, andPuerto Galera andSan Teodoro municipalities inOriental Mindoro. They have also been found in Calamintao, on the northeastern boundary of Santa Cruz municipality (7 km up the Pagbahan River from the provincial highway). They speak theIraya language though the younger Iraya Mangyans are slowly becoming more accustomed to using Tagalog and have now mostly discarded their animistic religion in favor of Roman Catholicism, Evangelical Christianism.

TheAlangan who are 70 percent christians, are mangyans that primarily live in the municipalities ofNaujan andVictoria inOriental Mindoro, andSablayan inOccidental Mindoro. They speak theAlangan language and number about 2,150 people around north-central Mindoro. The Ayan Bekeg dialect spoken on the northeast slopes ofMount Halcon is understood by Alangan speakers throughout the area. They may also be found around Casague,Santa Cruz, Occidental Mindoro and Kulasisi (tributary of the Mompong River), near Barrio Arellano,Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro.

Contrary to the Eastern Tawbuid, primary religion of Western Tawbuid is christianity.^[113] They speak theWestern Tawbuid dialect. The Bangon Mangyans also speak the western dialect of Tawbuid. InOccidental Mindoro, Western Tawbuid (also known as Batangan) is spoken by 6,810 people in the municipalities ofSablayan andCalintaan.

TheBuhid are mangyans that primarily live in Malfalon,Calintaan,Occidental Mindoro; Bato Eli, Barrio Monte Claro,San José Pandurucan (on the southern bank of the Bugsanga (Bisanga) River) in Occidental Mindoro; Barrio Rambida,Socorro, Oriental Mindoro; and Barrio Batangan, Panaytayan,Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro. They speak theBuhid language in theisland of Mindoro, Philippines. In the 1950s, evangelical missionaries introduced Christianity to the Buhid people. The missionaries encouraged the Buhid to move to the flatter areas of Batangan to establish a local congregation. Some Buhid people were receptive to this suggestion and moved to the central region of Batangan.

about 10% ofRatagnon have converted to Christianity, Ratagnon (also transliterated Datagnon or Latagnon) aremangyans of the southernmost tip ofOccidental Mindoro in theMindoro Islands along theSulu Sea. They live in the southernmost part of the municipality ofMagsaysay inOccidental Mindoro. TheRatagnon language is similar to the VisayanCuyunon language, spoken by the inhabitants ofCuyo Island inNorthern Palawan.

Theindigenous peoples of Palawan are a diverse group of both indigenous tribes and lowland groups that historically migrated to the island ofPalawan and its outlying islands. These ethnolinguistic groups are widely distributed to the long strip of mainland island literally traversingLuzon,Visayas andMindanao. Listed below are specifically the tribal groups of Palawan, as opposed to its urban lowland groups that historically settled its cities and towns. Palawan is home to many indigenous peoples whose origins date back thousands of centuries. Pre-historic discoveries reveal how abundant cultural life in Palawan survived before foreign occupiers and colonizers reached the Philippine archipelago. Today, Palawan is making its best to preserve and conserve the richness of its cultural groups. The provincial government strives to support the groups of indigenous peoples of Palawan.

Agutaynon are lowland dwellers ofAgutaya Island,Palawan that also call themselves asPalaweños, like theCuyunons, much to the amusement and distress of the original tribal groups, such as thePalawan, who are calledPalawano by outsiders. TheAgutayanons practice a simpler island lifestyle, with fishing and farming as their main source of livelihood. They speak theAgutaynen language which is spoken by about 15,000 people onAgutaya Island and six of the smallerCuyo Islands, namely Diit, Maracañao, Matarawis, Algeciras, Concepcion, andQuiniluban. AfterWorld War II, Agutaynen speakers were also moved toSan Vicente,Roxas,Brooke's Point,Balabac,Linapacan, andPuerto Princesa City onPalawan Island.

TheKagayanen are from the municipality ofCagayancillo, Palawan province. There are about 36,000 Kagayanen in the Philippines. They speak theKagayanen language, which belongs to theManobo languages found mostly inMindanao. They can also be found in coastal communities acrossPalawan, and aroundBalabac,Busuanga,Coron, and other areas around the Philippines, such asIloilo Province;Silay, Negros Occidental;Manila;Quezon andRizal areas. Some can also speak inHiligaynon,Filipino (Tagalog),Cuyonon,Kinaray-a,Cebuano, orEnglish.

Cuyunon are lowland dwellers hailing originally from the island town ofCuyo andother surrounding islands. They claim descent from theKadatuan of Taytay and have historically spread to northern and centralPalawan. They also call themselves asPalaweños, like theAgutaynon, much to the amusement and distress of the original tribal groups, such as thePalawan, who are calledPalawano by outsiders. They are considered anelite class among the hierarchy of nativePalaweños. Their conversion toChristianity has led to the merger of the animistic beliefs of the Cuyunon with the Christian elements to produce afolk Christianity which is the prevailing belief of the Cuyunon. They speak theCuyonon language, which is aVisayan language, but have recently also adoptedTagalog andHiligaynon due to an increase of Tagalog-speaking migrants fromLuzon and ethnicHiligaynons fromPanay

ThePalawan tribal people, 40.00% christian, are an indigenous ethnic group of thePalawan group of islands in the Philippines. They traditionally hunt using soars and bamboo blowguns. They speak thePalawano language, which is divided into four ethno-linguistic subgroupings: theQuezon Palawano which is also known as the Central Palawano; theBugsuk Palawano or South Palawano;Brooke's Point Palawano; and Southwest Palawano. Palawanos are more popularly known as Palawans, which is pronounced faster than the name of the province. The Quezon Palawano subgroup are found in Southern Palawan, particularly on the western section of the municipality ofQuezon including the eastern part of Abo-abo of the municipality ofSofronio Española, going southward down to the northern section of the municipality ofRizal. A large group of Palawans can also be found in Sitios Gugnan, Kambing, Tugpa, and Kalatabog of BarangayPanitian. TheTaw't Bato of the municipality of Rizal at the foot ofMt. Matalingahan also belongs to this same Palawan tribal group although their language is 15 percent different from the Quezon Palawanos. The Palawano closely resemble theTagbanwa, and in the past, they were doubtless the same people. SomeTausug residents in Palawan call the PalawanoTraan, which means "people in scattered places". Like theYakan ofBasilan, the Palawano live in houses out of sight of each other, scattered among their plots of farm lands. Their main occupation is subsistence farming, cultivating mainly upland rice. A number of them areProtestant due to recentmissionary campaigns.

LowlandChristianized groups of theVisayas archipelago. TheVisayans are ametaethnicity race native to the wholeVisayas, to the southernmost islands ofLuzon and the northern and eastern coastal parts ofMindanao. They are speakers of one or moreVisayan languages, the most widely spoken beingCebuano,Hiligaynon andWaray-Waray.^[114] Other groups speak smaller languages such asAklanon,Boholano,Butuanon,Capiznon,Eskaya,Kinaray-a,Masbateño,Porohanon,Romblomanon, andSurigaonon. If speakers of theVisayan languages are to be grouped together, they would comprise the largestethnic group in the nation, numbering at around 33 million as of 2010.

TheAbaknon (Capul Samal, Capuleño) live on the island ofCapul on the northern tip ofSamar in theSan Bernardino Straits, south of the province ofSorsogon. Although set across Central Philippines from theSulu andTawi-Tawi archipelagoes where theSama groups live, the Abaknon speak theInabaknon language, also known as Abaknon, Abaknon Sama, Capuleño, Kapul, or Capul Sinama, that is related to theSama language, and not to the languages of the peoples around them like theBikol andWaray languages, the latter is the Abaknon speak as second language. The largest concentrations of this population are innorthern Samar (8,840), and in Capul (8,735) with a total population of some 9,870 (NSO 1980). The orientation of the people is marine with the basic industry focused on fishing, with set rice farming toward the interior. The communities are highly acculturated and practically indistinguishable from the surrounding communities of mainstream ethnic groups.^[115]

TheWaray people refers to the group of people whose primary language is theWaray language (also called Lineyte-Samarnon). They are native to the islands ofSamar,Leyte andBiliran, which together comprise theEastern Visayas Region of thePhilippines. Waray people inhabit the whole island of Samar where they are called Samarnons, the northern part of the island of Leyte where they are called Leytenyos, and the island of Biliran. On Leyte island, the Waray people occupy the northern part of the island, separated from theCebuano language-speaking Leyteños by a mountain range in the middle of the island. On the island of Biliran, Waray-Waray-speaking people live on the eastern part of the island facing the island of Samar; their Waray-Waray dialect is commonly referred to asBiliranon. On the island ofTicao, which belongs to the province ofMasbate in theBicol Region, Waray-Waray-speaking people live on most parts of the island; they are commonly referred to as Ticaonon. However, the Ticaonon have more affinity with theMasbateño-speaking people of Masbate, being their province-mates. TheBicolano language has more common vocabulary with the Waray-Waray language than with other Visayan languages (i.e.Cebuano orIlonggo). They are historically known to be part of thePintados people of the Visayas encountered by the Spanish and were regarded to have an established pre-Hispanic maritime militia. They are known to have cuisine with coconut milk and meat and have a slightly sweeter palette than Visayan neighbors. Animism is still a noticeable culture among the Warays and are usually practice based and alongside dominant religions.

TheCaluyanon people are found on theCaluya Islands ofAntique Province in theWestern Visayas Region. They speak theCaluyanon language, but many speakers use eitherKiniray-a orHiligaynon as theirsecond language. According to a recent survey, around 30,000 people speak Caluyanon.^[116]

Aklanon form the majority in the province ofAklan inPanay. They are also found in other Panay provinces such asIloilo,Antique, andCapiz, as well asRomblon. Like the other Visayans, Aklanons have also found their way toMetro Manila,Mindanao, and even theUnited States. Aklanons number about 500,000. They are culturally close to theKaray-a andHiligaynons. This similarity has been shown by customs, traditions, and language. Aklanons speak theAklan languages, which includesAklanon and Malaynon.Ati andKinaray-a are also spoken to some extent. Meanwhile,Hiligaynon is used as a regional language. Aklanon and Hiligaynon are spoken by Aklanons inMetro Manila, while the official languages of the Philippines,Filipino andEnglish are taught at school.

TheCapiznons or Capizeños refer to the people who are native to or have roots inRoxas City and the province ofCapiz, located in theregion ofWestern Visayas in the central section of thePhilippines. located in theregion ofWestern Visayas in the central section of the Philippines. It is located at the northeastern portion ofPanay Island. They speak theCapiznon language, which is often confused withHiligaynon due to dialectological comprehension similarities and as high as 91% mutual intelligibility, but it has its certain unique accent and vocabulary that integratesAklanon andWaray lexicon.

TheKaray-a people speak theKaray-a language, also known as Kinaray-a. The name of this group was derived from the wordiraya, which means "upstream". TheKaray-a number about 363,000. Meanwhile,Hiligaynon,Tagalog, andEnglish are used as second languages. Most areChristians. About half areRoman Catholics, and the remaining half areProtestants. Some people belonging to theSuludnon tribe, areanimists. As of 2015, there are about 1,300,000 Karay-a speakers all over the country. About 45% fromAntique, 38% fromIloilo and 7% inMindanao specificallySultan Kudarat andCotabato.

TheHiligaynon people, often referred to as Ilonggo people (Hiligaynon:Mga Hiligaynon/Mga Ilonggo), refers to the ethnic race whose primary language is theHiligaynon language, an Austronesian language native toPanay,Guimaras, andNegros Occidental. Other Hiligaynons lived inRomblon, southernMindoro,Palawan,Masbate andSoccsksargen. Over the years, inter-migrations and intra-migrations have contributed to the diaspora of the Hiligaynons to different parts of the Philippines. Now, the Hiligaynon form the majority in the provinces ofIloilo,Negros Occidental,Guimaras,Capiz,South Cotabato,Sultan Kudarat, andCotabato. Hiligaynons also tend to speak and understand other languages within the environment they settled and grew up such asCebuano (a related Visayan language spoken within the borders of Cebuano-speaking provinces ofNegros Oriental,Bukidnon,Davao del Sur andDavao Occidental in Visayas and Mindanao respectively that has 80% mutual intelligibility with Hiligaynon),Ilocano,Maguindanaon and other languages native in Soccsksargen such as T'boli, Blaan and Teduray.

TheMagahat are also known as the Ati-Man and Bukidnon. There are concentrations of Magahat found in southwesternNegros,Santa Catalina,Bayawan, andSiaton inNegros Oriental; and inNegros Occidental. They speak theMagahat language (also called Southern Binukidnon), which is a mixture ofHiligaynon andCebuano. The Magahat practice swidden agriculture, because their settlements are in mountainous areas. They are food gatherers and good hunters as well.

Porohanon are the people ofPoro Island in theCamotes Islands,Cebu in thePhilippines. They are part of theVisayanmetaethnicity. They speak thePorohanon language, andCebuano as their second language. Interestingly, though, the Porohanon language has few similarities with Cebuano. It is closer toMasbateño and theHiligaynon languages.^[117]

TheCebuano people (Cebuano:Mga Sugbuanon) are the second most widespread ethnic group in the Philippines after the Tagalog people. They are originally native to the province ofCebu in theregion ofCentral Visayas whose primary language is theCebuano language and later spread out to other places in the Philippines, such asSiquijor,Bohol,Negros Oriental, southwesternLeyte, westernSamar,Masbate, and large parts ofMindanao. The majority of Cebuanos areRoman Catholic. Despite being one of the majority ethnicities in Mindanao as well as southwestern Leyte, western Samar and Masbate, Cebuanos also tend to speak and understand other languages within the environment they settled and grew up such asWaray,Masbateño,Hiligaynon (a related Visayan language spoken within the borders of Hiligaynon-speaking areas ofNegros Occidental andSoccsksargen in Visayas and Mindanao respectively that has 80% mutual intelligibility with Cebuano), and other languages native in Mindanao such as variousLumad languages,Zamboanga Chavacano,Maranao,Maguindanaon,Iranun,Tausug,Butuanon andSurigaonon with the latter three being related to Visayan languages.

TheBoholano people, also called Bol-anon, refers to the people who live in the island province ofBohol. They speak theBoholano dialect ofCebuano Bisaya, which is a Visayan speech variety, although it is sometimes described as a separatelanguage by some linguists and native speakers. The population ofBohol is 1,137,268 according to the 2000 census. Some also live in Southern Leyte and Mindanao (mainly in the northeastern portion). The majority of the population isRoman Catholic adherents or other Christian denominations. Others practices traditional indigenous religions.

TheEskaya, less commonly known as the Visayan-Eskaya, are the members of aculturalminority found inBohol,Philippines, which is distinguished by its cultural heritage, particularly its literature, language, dress and religious observances. The uniqueEskayan language and writing system in particular has been a source of fascination and controversy. Today, the Eskaya are officially classified as anIndigenous Cultural Community under The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 (Republic Act No. 8371).

LowlandChristianized groups of the island ofMindanao.

Surigaonons populate the eastern coastal plain ofMindanao, particularly the provinces ofSurigao del Norte,Surigao del Sur andDinagat Islands. They are also present in the provinces ofAgusan del Norte,Agusan del Sur, and inDavao Oriental. They speak theSurigaonon language which closely resemblesCebuano, albeit with some local words and phrases. Because of the mass influx ofCebuano settlers to Mindanao, they also speakCebuano as second language since Surigaonon is aVisayan language, other languages areTagalog, andEnglish as third languages. The vast majority of Surigaonons areRoman Catholics, very few areMuslims in contrast to its very closely relatedTausug brothers which are predominantlyMuslims.

TheKamiguin/Kamigin people inhabit the oldest town of the island ofCamiguin—Guinsiliban—just off the northern coast ofMindanao. They spoke theKamigin/Kinamigin language (Quinamiguin, Camiguinon) that is derived fromManobo with an admixture ofBoholano.Sagay is the only other municipality where this is spoken. The total population is 531 (NSO 1990).Boholano predominates in the rest of the island. The culture of the Kamiguin has been subsumed within the context ofBoholano orVisayan culture. The people wereChristianized as early as 1596. The major agricultural products are abaca, cacao, coffee, banana, rice, corn, and coconut. The production of hemp is the major industry of the people since abaca thrives very well in the volcanic soil of the island. The plant was introduced in Bagacay, a northern town of Mindanao, but it is no longer planted there. Small-scale trade carried out with adjoining islands likeCebu,Bohol, and Mindanao.^[118] Nowadays, the language is declining as most inhabitants have shifted toCebuano.

TheButuanon are an ethnic group descended from Visayans. As with theSurigaonons, the Butuanons are also previously considered as Cebuanos. They live in the provinces ofAgusan del Norte andAgusan del Sur. Some live inMisamis Oriental or inSurigao del Norte, all of which are in the northeastern corner ofMindanao. They number about 1,420,000 and speak theButuanon language, but most Butuanon nowadays primarily speak theCebuano language, because of the mass influx ofCebuano settlers to Mindanao, andFilipino,English as second languages. Most areRoman Catholics, while some areProtestants.

TheZamboangueño people (Chavacano/Spanish:Pueblo Zamboangueño) are acreole ethnic group of mixedSpanish and nativeAustronesian descent that mostly speakChavacano, aSpanish-based creole. They originate from theZamboanga Peninsula, especially inZamboanga City. Spanish censuses record that as much as one third of the inhabitants of thecity ofZamboanga possess varying degrees ofSpanish andHispano-American admixture.^[119] The Zamboangueño constitute an authentic and distinct ethnic identity because of their coherent cultural and historical heritage, most notably the Old Castilian-based creole language "Chavacano" language, that distinguishes them from neighbouring ethnic groups. The region historically received immigrants from Mexico andPeru.^[120] Chavacanos are the Philippine native ethnic group which holds the most Spanish descent, a government sponsored genetic study discovered that 4 out of 10 Chavacanos or 40% of the population, are in fact Spanish in descent.^{[65]: Appendix page 35}

Cotabateños live inCotabato,Mindanao. They speak the Cotabateño dialect ofChavacano, just like Zamboangueño and Chavacano Davaoeño, which are recognized as the Mindanao-based Spanish creoles, withCebuano as theirsubstrate language. Cotabateño is a derivative of the extinct Zamboangueño dialect ofChavacano due to the large shared vocabulary derived fromHiligaynon, aCentral Visayan language. The ancestors of the present Zamboangueño-speaking population were in contact with theHiligaynons at the time of the creole's formation. Cotabateño has also borrowed words from theMaguindanao andTiruray languages.^[121]

ThePhilippines consists of a wide number of settlers that form part of the national population. They historically immigrated or descended from various countries or lands throughout thehistory of the Philippines, from as early as theprecolonial period, theSpanish colonial period, theAmerican colonial period,Japanese occupation, andmodern era. Historically in the context of modern countries, they most notably came fromSpain,Mexico,China, theUnited States,Japan, andIndia. Much of these immigrant peoples throughout the centuries eventually integrated or assimilated into the country's population, producing new groups of intermixed people that many identify as part of their Filipino identity.

Across thePhilippines for the past centuries especially since theSpanish Colonial Era, the main historical migrant heritage groups are also theChinese Filipinos andSpanish Filipinos who inSpanish Colonial Times later intermixed with the above lowland native Filipino ethnic groups, which produced theMestizo deSangley (ChineseMestizo) andMestizo de Español (SpanishMestizo) respectively. A Spanish groups known asInsulares or Criollos are so integrated to the lowlanders that they identified with this culture calling themselvesLos hijos del país (lit. "sons of the country") and identifying the Philippines as their motherland.^{[122][123][124]} One eye witness of this integration was an English engineer, Frederic H. Sawyer, who had spent most of his life in different parts of Asia and lived in Luzon for fourteen years quoted.

... Spaniards and natives lived together in great harmony, and do not know where I could find a colony in which Europeans mixes as much socially with the natives. Not in Java, where a native of position must dismount to salute the humblest Dutchman. Not in British India, where the Englishwoman has now made the gulf between British and native into a bottomless pit.^[125]

SirJohn Bowring, Governor General of British Hong Kong who is also a witnessed to this phenomenon in the Philippines concluded:

"...There is no doubt that having one Religion forms great bonding. And more so to the eyes of one that has been observing the repulsion and differences due to race in many parts of Asia.^[126]

There was also the mix ofTornatrás during theSpanish Colonial Era, who were either the mix of both theSpanish andChinese (Sangley) inSpanish Colonial Philippines or the mix of theChinesemestizo andSpanishmestizo, resulting in carrying all three ancestries from Spanish, Chinese, and native Filipino ancestry. Historically though, it was theMestizo deSangley (ChineseMestizo) that numbered the most amongmestizos.^[127] ManyFilipinos today associate the term "mestizo" with Spanish mestizos. Most descendants of theMestizo deSangley (ChineseMestizo), despite assuming many of the important roles in the economic, social, and political life of the nation, also later readily assimilated into the fabric of Philippine society.^[11]

These groups are the historical foreign migrant peoples and the intermixed peoples they produced with the lowland peoples of the Philippines.

Spanish Filipinos (Español/Espanyol/Kastila/Tisoy/Conyo) are any citizen or resident of the Philippines who is of pure or mostly Spanish origin. While there are Spanish Filipinos ofAndalusian andCatalan descent, majority of the Filipinos of Spanish descent are ofBasque descent.^[128] Historically, they first settled in the Philippines, as soon as, Spanish colonization commenced in the disunited archipelago of the time. They have historically composed the ruling upper class of theSpanish colonial era and their legacy includes theMestizos de Español andTornatrás, which combined with them, are represented in all levels of Philippine society and are integrated politically and economically, in the private and government sector. In the Spanish colonial era, they used to also be classified as eitherPeninsulares (pureSpanish descent born inSpain or theIberian Peninsula),Americano (Criollo,Castizo, orMestizo descent born inSpanish America), orFilipino/Insulares (pureSpanish descent born in the Philippines). Currently, they mostly speak and can code-switch betweenEnglish andFilipino (Tagalog) or otherPhilippine languages, just like other Filipinos, but some families can still speakPhilippine Spanish, the historicalSpanish dialect of the Philippines, mostly as second or third language. They historically brought Philippine Spanish into the Philippines, which is very similar toMexican Spanish, because of Mexican emigration to theSpanish East Indies (Philippines) over the years. It is spoken mostly among Spanish Filipinos and was theprestige language during the Spanish colonial period. This Spanish dialect went into decline and has largely been taken out of the mainstream languages of the Philippines during theAmerican colonial era, but it has left a large linguistic imprint into most if not allPhilippine languages. Some parts of the country with a larger Spanish Filipino influence produced a Spanish-based creole calledChavacano, that is still spoken inZamboanga,Cavite city, andTernate. Some of the richest Spanish Filipino families are families that have inherited the fortunes of their family owned companies or conglomerates. According to an 1818 study by the renowned GermanethnologistFëdor Jagor entitledThe Former Philippines thru Foreign Eyes, not less than one third of the inhabitants of the island of Luzon were descendants of Spaniards, mixed with varying degrees of South American, Chinese, and Indian ancestry and the vast majority of military personnel then had Pan-American origins.^[129] According to the tribute-census in the 1700s, 5% of the population were Spanish-Filipinos.^[41][42]

Mexicanimmigration to the Philippines mainly occurred during theHispanic period. Between 1565-1821, the Philippines were in fact administered from theViceroyalty of New Spain's capital,Mexico City. During this period trans-Pacific trade brought many Mexicans and Spaniards to the Philippines as sailors, crew, prisoners, slaves, adventurers and soldiers^[130] in theManila-Acapulco Galleons which was the main form of communication between the two Spanish territories. Similarly the route brought various differentFilipinos, such as native Filipinos,Spanish Filipinos (Philippine-bornInsulares),Chinese Filipinos (SeeChinese immigration to Mexico), and otherAsian groups to Mexico.According to Stephanie Mawson in her M.Phil thesis entitledBetween Loyalty and Disobedience: The Limits of Spanish Domination in the Seventeenth Century Pacific, in the 1600s there were thousands of Latin American settlers sent to the Philippines by the Spaniards per year and around that time frame the Spaniards had cumulatively sent 15,600 settlers from Peru and Mexico^[131] while there were only 600 Spaniards from Spain,^[132] that supplemented a Philippine population of only 667,612 people.^[133] Due to the initial low population count, people of Latin American and Hispanic descent quickly spread across the territory.^[134] Several hundredTlaxcalan soldiers sailed to the islands in the 16th century, with some settling permanently and contributing numerousNahuatl words to the Filipino languages.^[135] It was royal policy to use Peruvian and Mexican soldiers as colonists to the Philippines.^[136]

The bookIntercolonial Intimacies Relinking Latin/o America to the Philippines, 1898–1964 by Paula C. Park cites "Forzados y reclutas: los criollos novohispanos en Asia (1756-1808)" gave a higher number of later Mexican soldier-immigrants to the Philippines, pegging the number at 35,000 immigrants in the 1700s,^[137] in a Philippine population which was only around 1.5 Million,^[138] thus forming 2.33% of the population.^[139]

Chinese Filipinos (Intsik/Tsinoy/Chinito/Chinita/Pilipinong Tsino/Lannang) are Filipinos ofChinese descent, mostly born and raised in thePhilippines. Most migrations of Chinese to the Philippines started even before the Spanish colonial period, when foreign trade with other countries were opened to the Philippines.^{[140][141][142]} Ethnic Chinese sailed around the Philippine Islands from the 9th century onward and frequently interacted with the local Filipinos. Somedatus,rajahs, andlakans (indigenous rulers) in the Philippines were themselves a product of the intermarriage between the Chinese merchant-settlers and the local Filipinos.^{[140][141][142]} Chinese Filipinos are one of the largestoverseas Chinese communities inSoutheast Asia. There are approximately at least 1.35 million Filipinos or more with Chinese ancestry, which is at least 1.3% of the population. In addition,Mestizos de Sangley—Filipinos with at least some Chinese ancestry—comprise a substantial proportion of the Philippine population, although the actual figures are not known, however there are some statistics published by the Philippine Senate, showing how 20% of the population was part Chinese.^[12][143] The majority of the Filipinos of Chinese descent are ofHokkien origin, while a small minority areCantonese orTeochew descents. Chinese Filipinos of Hokkien descent mostly trace roots fromFujian province, specifically mostly fromQuanzhou andXiamen and to a lesser extent fromZhangzhou, thus thePhilippine Hokkien dialect mostly takes from theQuanzhou dialect with influences from theXiamen (Amoy) dialect and theZhangzhou dialect. Some Hokkien Chinese Filipinos before moving to the Philippines also initially moved fromHong Kong, despite originally being from Fujian province, thus many carry family names spelled in the Cantonese style despite being Hokkien themselves. Meanwhile, the Chinese Filipinos of Cantonese descent mostly trace roots fromGuangdong province, specificallyTaishan,Guangzhou, andMacau, thus many speak theTaishanese or mainstreamCantonese. Lastly, Chinese Filipinos of Teochew descent are a rare minority, where not much is known about them except that they are frequently confused with those of Hokkien ancestry but may instead haveTeochew asheritage language. Historically, the Chinese have been trading and settling with the peoples of the Philippines even during the precolonial era, ever since theTang dynasty era inChina, but it was during the first few centuries of the early Spanish colonial period, when they settled in larger numbers. In Spanish colonial times, Chinese immigrants used to be called "Sangley" which in Hokkien means "business", but centuries later, they eventually intermixed with natives and Spanish Filipinos, producingMestizo de Sangley andTornatrás Filipinos. Over the centuries, generations have both been gradually assimilated and replenished from occasional fresh immigration from family or village contacts in their Hokkien home province ofFujian inChina orTaiwan, so they are still well represented in all levels of Filipino society, while leaving many historical contributions to Philippine society. Many Chinese Filipinos also play an important role in the Philippine business sector. Many of the richest families in the country are from Chinese Filipino families that run big conglomerate companies. Currently, they mostly speak and can code-switch betweenEnglish andFilipino (Tagalog) or otherPhilippine languages, just like other Filipinos, but some families can still speakPhilippine Hokkien, the historicalHokkien dialect of the Philippines. Some have also studiedMandarin, but currently, the youth are usually not fluent due to lack of practical exposure. Philippine Hokkien has vocabulary with that shares similarities with other Southeast Asian Hokkien dialects to its south, likeSingaporean Hokkien,Penang Hokkien, andMedan Hokkien, and to its north, likeTaiwanese Hokkien. Philippine Hokkien has preserved vocabulary that most Hokkien speakers in China would regard as old-fashioned.

These are the mixed descendants of the native peoples of the Philippines with the native Spanish or the Spanish diaspora in the Americas settlers who settled in theSpanish East Indies (Philippines) during theSpanish Era. Most were of either Spanish ancestry or Amerindian-Spanish ancestry (The term 'Mestizo' originated in Spanish American colonies). The first groups of Spaniards sailed in 1565 withMiguel López de Legazpi fromNew Spain, in what is nowJalisco state,Mexico to colonize the Philippines. In addition to this, select cities such asManila,Vigan,Bauang,Naga,Iriga,Iloílo,Bacólod,Cebú andZamboanga, which were home to military fortifications or commercial ports during theSpanish era, also hold sizablemestizo communities.^[144]

Mestizo de sangley are the mixed descendants of the native peoples of the Philippines with theSangley (Chinese) and sometimes Japanese migrants who settled in theSpanish East Indies (Philippines) during theSpanish Era. Most were ofHokkien ancestry, with a few being ofCantonese,Taishanese orJapanese ancestry.Sangley is a Hokkien word from sng-lí (生理) meaning "business",

Torna atrás are the mixed descendants of the aboveSpanish Filipinos andMestizos de Español withChinese Filipinos andMestizos de Sangley, who settled in theSpanish East Indies (Philippines) during theSpanish Era. Most now have native ancestry along withHokkien or other Han Chinese/Japanese ancestry as well asSpanish ancestry.

Americans (Amerikano/Kano) usually consist of various ethnicities such as whites (mostly descendants of European immigrants from Great Britain and Ireland), native Americans (aboriginal Americans who existed prior to European colonization) and black Americans (who descended from African slaves brought to America during the 1700s). American settlement in the Philippines began during theSpanish colonial period, when Americans came to the islands primarily to conduct business and trade. They owned many businesses in thesugar industry. There was not much American inflow to the Philippines until after thePhilippine–American War. After theUSA won the war andcolonized the Philippines, thousands of Americans settled there temporarily or permanently. Most were either members of theU.S. military orChristian missionaries. After independence in 1946, many Americans chose to remain in the Philippines while maintaining relations with relatives in the US. Most of them were professionals, but missionaries continued to settle the country. In 2015, the U.S. State Department estimated that there were more than 220,000U.S. citizens living in the Philippines, with a significant mixed population ofAmerasians and descendants from the colonial era as well. Since 1898, when the United Statesannexed the Philippines from Spain, there were as many as 21 U.S. bases and 100,000 U.S. military personnel stationed there. The bases closed in 1992 leaving behind thousands of Amerasian children. There are an estimated 52,000 Amerasians in the Philippines, but an academic research paper presented in the U.S. (in 2012) by an Angeles, Pampanga, Philippines Amerasian college research study unit suggests that the number could be a lot more, possibly reaching 250,000 and thus forming 0.25% of the population.^[145] This is also partially due to the fact that almost all Amerasian intermarried with other Amerasian and Filipino natives. This group also includesFilipino American (Fil-Am), and sometimesFilipino Canadian, returnee migrants from the United States andCanada. During year 2025, there were a recorded number of 750,000American citizens living in the Philippines, forming 0.75% of the population and when this is combined with the 0.25% of the population who areAmerasians, 1% of the Philippine population has American descent.^[54]

The Philippines has had historical connections withIndianized kingdoms, most notably withSrivijaya from the 7th century, but also in earlier eras. Indian culture, language, scripture, food, belief, arts, martial arts, and epics have had a profound impact on thepre-Spanish Philippines which is still visible today. They have contributed to the unique blend of cultures in the Philippines. One source has estimated the size of the Indian community in the Philippines at 150,000 persons in 2008 .^[146] Most Indians in the Philippines belong to eitherSindhi orPunjabi ethnic groups, and are largely businessmen and traders. A smaller population of Indians belonging to theMarathi ethnic group form part of the clergy of Roman Catholic dioceses in the country.^[147][148] Besides age old indianized influences from indianized history of precolonial states inherited from neighboringIndonesia andMalaysia,Indian Filipinos (Bombay orTurko [Cebuano-speaking reference to Indian residents of Cebuano-speaking areas, probably mistaken forTurkic people especially fromTurkey]) orMestizo deBombay are the mixed colonial descendants of the native peoples of the Philippines with the Indian orBumbay migrants from Bombay (nowMumbai,Maharashtra)or Sepoy soldiers from Madras (nowChennai,Tamil Nadu) who settled in theSpanish East Indies (Philippines) during theSpanish Era, especially during theBritish occupation of Manila in theSeven Years' War. Many settled in what isCainta, in what was then the Province ofManila (currently part ofRizal Province). As of 2006, between 70 and 75 percent of Indians in the Philippines lived in Metro Manila, with the largest community outside of Manila being inIsabela province. The region in and around Cainta still has many Sepoy descendants. However, Indian business people started to arrive in larger numbers in The Philippines during theAmerican colonial period (1898–1930s) – especially during the 1930s and 1940s, when many Indians and Indian Filipinos lived in Filipino provinces, includingDavao. The longest servingMayor of Manila,Ramon Bagatsing, was of Indian-Punjabi descent, having moved toManila fromFabrica,Negros Occidental before the second world war. A second surge of Indian businessmen, especially Sindhis arrived in the Philippines during the1947 India-Pakistan partition. In the present day, most of the Indians and Indian Filipinos in the Philippines areSindhi andPunjabi with a largeTamil population also existing. Many are fluent inFilipino (Tagalog) andEnglish as well as other local languages of the provinces and islands. Many are prosperous middle-class citizens, with their main occupations being inclothing sales and marketing.Sikhs are involved largely infinance, money lending (locally calledfive-six),sales and marketing.

Japanese people have been settling in the Philippines for centuries even before World War II, therefore there has been much cultural and genetic blending. TheRyukyu Kingdom (located in modern-dayOkinawa Prefecture) also had heavy trade and mixing in the Philippines, particularly in NorthernLuzon, as depicted in theBoxer Codex.^{[149][unreliable source][150][failed verification]}

Japanese Filipinos (Nikkei / Nikkeijin / Hapones / Haponesa / Japino) have an extensive history in the Philippines, such as trading duringprecolonial times like the extensiveRusun jar trade, the Japanese settlements found in Northern Luzon, and the Catholic Christiankirishitan exiles during theEdo period, but throughout the centuries, their numbers have dwindled as generations assimilated without much replenishment fromJapan. InSpanish colonial times, they were calledIapon/Japon/Hapon orXaponese/Japonés/Hapones^[151] or were sometimes also confused withSangleys (Chinese mestizos), so their children too would sometimes be regarded asMestizos de Sangley orTornatrás. During theAmerican colonial era, Japanese laborers were brought in to build the Benguet Road (Kennon Road) toBaguio, but eventually after the project, many moved to work inabaca plantations inDavao, where Davao soon became dubbed asDavaokuo (in Philippine and American media) or (inJapanese:小日本國「こにっぽんこく」,romanized: Ko Nippon Koku,lit. 'Little Japan') with a Japanese school, aShinto shrine and a diplomatic mission from Japan. The place that used to be "Little Tokyo" inDavao was Mintal.^[152] Many have roots from eitherOkinawa (Ryukyu) orMainland Japan. WhenWorld War II broke out, many were killed or expelled because of their unwilling or willingfifth column collaboration with theJapanese Imperial Army (mostly as translators). This led to many Japanese mestizos who tended to deny their Japanese heritage and changed their family names in order to avoid discrimination. Eventually, many either intermarried and assimilated into the Filipino populace, such as those in Davao who intermarried with theBagobo, and those in Baguio with theIgorot.^[153] Many eventually completely lost their Japanese identity while others have immigrated to the US or "returned" to Japan, the homeland of their forebears. Most Japanese Filipinos in the modern times (colloquially calledJapino) are now fresh new immigrants from Japanese businessmen who went with femaleOFW entertainers in Japan. The Filipina mothers usually return to the Philippines with their children along with them. Other Japanese who stayed in the country initially came to the Philippines to learn English or set up businesses. These days, most Japanese Filipinos can be found aroundDavao,Baguio,Iloilo orCebu, as well other cities and towns, with only a few aroundMetro Manila, though historically there were many around Manila, such asPlaza Dilao inPaco, Manila.^[154][155]

TheSangil people (also called Sangir, Sangu, Marore, Sangirezen, or Talaoerezen) are originally from theSangihe andTalaud Islands (now part ofIndonesia) and parts ofDavao Occidental (particularly in theSarangani Islands),Davao del Norte,Davao del Sur,Sultan Kudarat,South Cotabato, andCotabato. Their populations (much like theSama-Bajau) were separated when borders were drawn between the Philippines and Indonesia during thecolonial era. The Sangil people are traditionally animistic, much like otherLumad peoples. During the colonial era, the Sangil (who usually call themselves "Sangir") in the Sangihe Islands mostly converted toProtestant Christianity due to proximity and contact with the ChristianMinahasa people ofSulawesi. In the Philippines, most Sangil converted toIslam due to the influence of the neighboringSultanate of Maguindanao. However, elements of animistic rituals still remain. The Indonesian and Filipino groups still maintain ties and bothManado Malay andCebuano are spoken in both Indonesian Sangir and Filipino Sangil, in addition to theSangirese language. Indonesian Sangir even live in the Philippines, particularly Balut Island,Davao del Sur,Davao del Norte,Davao Oriental,Sarangani,Sultan Kudarat,Cotabato,South Cotabato,General Santos andDavao City,^[63][64] because of its proximity to Indonesia; they speak Cebuano & Tagalog as second languages & are Protestant Christians by faith. The exact population of Sangil people in the Philippines is unknown, but is estimated to be around 10,000 people.

As of 2005^[update], Filipino Jews numbered at the most 500 people.^[156] Other estimates^{[citation needed]} range between 100 and 18,500 people (0.000001% and 0.005% of the country's total population). As of 2011^[update],Metro Manila has the largest Jewish community in the Philippines, which consists of roughly seventy families. The country's only synagogue, Beth Yaacov, is located inMakati, as is theChabad House.^{[citation needed]} There are, of course, other Jews elsewhere in the country, like the Bagelboys of Subic and Angeles City^[156] but these are obviously fewer and almost all transients,^[157] eitherdiplomats or business envoys, and their existence is almost totally unknown in mainstream society. There are a fewIsraelis in Manila working at call centers and a few other executives. There are also a number of converts to Judaism.^{[citation needed]}

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These migrant groups are relatively recent immigrants and expatriate groups that mostly immigrated in the modern era, specifically around the 20th century especially from post-WW2Philippine independence to the present era. Recent modern immigrants, expatriates, foreign students, foreign citizens with work permits and resident aliens are all included. Common reasons for modern immigration into the Philippines include employment, education, tourism, marriage migration counter flow from returningoverseas Filipino workers and emigrants, etc. According to a 2013 country migration report, the recent most notable nationalities of foreign aliens with work permits includeKoreans,Chinese,Japanese,Americans,Germans andBritish (eitherBritish citizen orBritish National (Overseas) – fromBritish Hong Kong). Most of these foreign aliens with work permits are based in theNational Capital Region (Metro Manila), followed byCalabarzon (Southern Tagalog), andCentral Visayas, representing the more developed regions of the country. Most of them are employed in the manufacturing sector, although they tend to be involved in other sectors as well. The majority work in administrative, executive and managerial positions. The top three nationalities of registered aliens areChinese (59,000),Koreans (39,000) andAmericans (26,000).^[158] According to the 2010 Census of Population and Housing, the top five countries of origin of foreign citizens were: theUnited States of America (29,959),China, (28,750),Japan (11,583), andIndia (8,963) (NSO, 2012).^[159] Europeans, Africans, or those from other American countries are often confused with Americans in the Philippines, leading to many being referred to asKano (short forAmerikano).

• Demographics of the Philippines
• List of sovereign state leaders in the Philippines
• Indigenous peoples of the Philippines
• Philippine population by country of citizenship