That is the reason, said one insider, why one place did not make the list of major sites: Maragondon in Cavite province, south of Manila.

CNN: Glancing Back

The fuel will be processed on a floating rig some 80 km northwest of Palawan island in the west, and piped 504 km to Batangas province, south of Manila.

CNN: Up from the Ocean

In 1898, in the town of Cavite El Viejo (now Kawit), south of Manila, General Emilio Aguinaldo declared his nation independent from Spain after 333 years of unbroken colonization, the first Asian state to break away from Western imperialism.

CNN: CENTURY OF LIBERATION

Mr. Rodwell was taken by helicopter chartered by the U.S. military to the U.S. Joint Special Operations Task Force facility inside a Philippine military camp in Zamboanga city, about 880 kilometers south of Manila, said regional military spokesman Col.

WSJ: Filipino Militants Free Australian Hostage

The airport, only about 8 km (5 mi) south of the center of Manila, is well-served by buses and taxis, and there is a Metrorail station about 2 km (1.2 mi) away.

CNN: ASIANOW - Travel Watch | Manila City Guide: Environment

In South-East Asia Bangkok, Manila and Ho Chi Minh City are all low-lying urban areas, yet like Jakarta they have all taken too long to react to the threat of increased flooding.

ECONOMIST: The threat grows from rising water and sinking buildings

Manila sprawls east from Manila Bay along the Pasig River, and immediately south of the river is Intramuros, the old walled Spanish town where many of the city's historical sites are found.

CNN: ASIANOW - Travel Watch | Manila City Guide: Environment

Better yet, daily early morning flights to San Jose, two hours south of Sablayan by bus or air-con minivan, mean you can leave Manila in the morning and be diving on Apo Reef the same day.

BBC: The undiscovered jewel of the Philippines