Maria-Clara de la Cruz

Philippines is a fanmade character for the anime and web comic, Hetalia Axis Powers. She represents the Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. Her human name is Maria Clara de la Cruz or Maria for short.

Appearance
Maria has dark gold eyes and long, black, wavy hair. She is often seen in a traditional Baro't Saya or occasionally in a Maria Clara. She has the physical features of an Asian and a little bit of Latin (result of Spain's 300-year colonialization). Together, she has a small frame, but is curvy. She is a little bit shorter than Honda Kiku (Japan).

When she was a child she was mistaken for a boy by Spain until she hit puberty. She started to have some feminine features which was reported by Mexico while helping Philippines change into her (boy) clothes. From that day on she started to wear a a dress, as instructed by Spain.



Personality and Interests
Maria is outspoken, can be very stubborn sometimes and is known for her love of mangoes, hospitality, and her violent edge. She is said to be rather tsundere, as commented by Kiku. Whenever a country betrays her, she starts to have extreme backpains (reference to backstabbing). It is thought that she appears to be very frightening when mad. She has been trained in many things that allow her a great advantage against her opponent. Even so, she tends to be very gullible and fails to read the atmosphere, which is why other countries bully her. Maria is very fond of food, especially Filipino dishes. She loves making all the food so she could give it to others. Food also seems to be one of the things that can cheer her up when she is depressed or calm her down when she's angry.She loves waking up early in the Morning to start work and she tends to sleep in the afternoon because of this. Although she appears happy-go-lucky around other countries, she can be quite serious when she's alone, often thinking about her economy and politics.

Maria is deathly afraid of spiders. She also has a deep fear of Duwendes (mythical Philippine dwarves). At first, she did not belive in them, until one day she accidentally destroyed a Duwende's home. Because of that she ended up having terrible luck that lasted for a long while. Note: Arthur can see these little dwarves and finds them quite interesting.

China (Wang Yao)
Main Article: China

Yao was the earliest of Maria's friends and traded with him back in the days. Yao took a liking to Maria and tried teaching her about the Chinese way. Then Antonio discovered her and swept her away from him. Yao tried to fight back but failed miserably due to lack of resources. But Maria still carries a lot of his teachings to this day and still greatly cares for him. She still enjoys visiting him, and because of frequent visiting, has developed a crush on him but got over it in a matter of time. Despite their closeness, they tend to argue about the ownership of Spratly's.

In the Early days before Spain, China had the tendency to call Philippines, "Ma-I" or "Maniolas" meaning "Beautiful Islands". Also she earned the name "The Golden Isles" from both China and Spain, due to the abundant gold being found around her Islands.There were rumours between Philippines and China where she once traded a big rock of gold to China for some herbs.

Spain (Antonio Fernandez Carriedo)
Main Article: Spain

Maria was raised by Spain for a long time which resulted in her inhereting a lot of traits from him, such as her guitar skills and love of fiestas. Spain's eternal legacy, however, would be Catholicism. At the beginning, she was quite bitter about Antonio taking her, but warmed up to him. Antonio was slightly overprotective when it came to the other nations trying to conquer her (note: Netherlands once tried to take her away from Spain, which resulted in war between him and Spain). In turn, she is fairly affectionate toward him, and thinks of him as a fatherly figure. Nowadays, they maintain a platonic relationship.

When Philippines Celebrated her 100th birthday Spain Visited her and (reluctantly) congratulated her for her 100th year independence from Spain. Spain even tried convincing her of making Spanish her official language again.

Mexico (Alejandro Fernandez[?])
Alejandro was introduced by Antonio to Maria as his "Little Sister" when she was discovered. He did fair trade with Maria in her early Spanish-colonial days as she was an important strategy point for good business. He and Maria liked to spend a lot of time with each other, exchanging more than just objects. They shared ideas and dreams. It was because of her that inspired him to try to break off Antonio and declare himself an independent country. Even after all that, they still maintain a close "sibling" bond in modern day.

Alejandro and Maria tend to be very close when they were under Spain. It even occur that Mexico planned to help The Philippines to gain independence from Spain, but failed because of Spain's tight hold on her after his independence. After numerous failed attempts on his plans to help The Philippines to gain Independence Mexico's people quoted "The Philippine people are very strong, let's not underestimate them. Let us just pray for their future successful Independence".

''Note: Mexico's human name is unconfirmed, but the above is commonly used. Others include: Alfonso Hernandez''

United States of America (Alfred F. Jones)
Main Article: America 

America took Philippines away from the Spanish house and taught her his ways. Maria used to idolize America so much to the fact that she adapted some of his culture, such as eating hamburgers and drinking pop. Alfred is her best trading partner and a lot of stuff in her house are from America. She doesn't like to admit it but it's quite obvious that she still relies on him a lot. Maria thinks that she somehow eternally indebted to Alfred because of everything he has done for her, such as helping her gain independence. So whenever he visits, she welcomes him joyfully. Even though he tends to exploit her kindness, she looks forward to his visits. She doesn't want to admit it, but she has a "little" crush on Alfred. She highly respects him and tends to call him "Kuya" (meaning older brother).

When Philippines discovered that she wasn't completely independent she got really angry at America for breaking his promise of helping her to gain independence. It angered her even more when one of America's soldiers shot one of her soldiers which led to the Philippine-American War. This was stopped when America noticed that Philippines was badly wounded and he didn't want to hurt her any further seeing her state. When Kiku attacked her vital region (Manila City) during WWII, both of them weren't visibly prepared which forced America to leave a greatly weakened Maria but promised that he will return for her.

On modern day, America and Maria built a strong bond.

Australia (Steve Kirkland[?])
Steve has helped Maria alongside Alfred in WWII. Even though they shared a kiss during WWII, their relationship remains somewhat platonic. Maria is very grateful towards him as well and always enjoys his visits. Together, they supported Timor Leste's recognition as an independent country and as a member of ASEAN. Maria also notes (quite reluctantly) that he looks a lot like Antonio.

''Note: Australia's human name is unconfirmed. The above is a commonly used fanterm. Others include : Bruce/Cody Walters'' || Jack/Steve Kirkland

Japan (Honda Kiku)
Main Article: Japan 

After Antonio left and Alfred just about ready to give her independence, Japan conquers her. He manages to seize her vital regions then tries to drive out Alfred. Exhausted, Douglas McArthur promises "I shall return". With Maria's hope of near independence shattered by his invasion, Kiku is then faced with the prospect of a very hostile Maria. He tries to win her trust and offers her gifts, but she just throws them all away. Even though they have a rough past, they maintain a healthy friendship in modern days but Maria still remains traumatized by his katana, since the Japanese soldiers used katanas to execute or torture POWs in the most horrible of ways.

During WWII Japan granted her a republic status while still having control over her. Maria quoted "A Republic? I rather consider this a Puppet Government than a Republic". Kiku had a tight hold over her during the war which caused Taiwan to be slightly jealous of Maria since he fought hard to prevent Alfred from reclaiming her. He reluctantly surrendered her to America and because of the damages that he made, it took a long time for Maria to forgive him. The two countries weren't in good relations for many decades after the war, and Maria's boss just re-established diplomatic relations with Kiku without her agreeing. She gradually learned to forgive Kiku little by little and the latter did his part by apologizing for everything that he did to her during the war.

They have good relations on modern times with Kiku being one of Maria's biggest trading partners along with Alfred and other European countries. Even though she already forgave him, she can't help but become bitter when she's reminded of the things that Kiku did to her. Kiku and Maria are now what society considers today as "otakus".

United Kingdom (Arthur Kirkland)
Main Article: England

England endured a short stay with Maria, three years to be exact. When Antonio found out, he became outraged and fought hard to drive the British out. Arthur fought back with equal vigor but eventually gave up as he saw the losses being made. Maria may not remember very well, but she occasionally has a recollection of Arthur's time, so she acts kind towards him whenever they meet.

While Spain was still settling himself with the Philippines, England discovered the southern islands of The Philippines known as Mindanao. He even tried colonizing Mindanao but failed, due to Mindanao being over protective of his territories and last remaining kingdoms.

When England failed to fully colonize the Philippines as his own he tried to be very close to her through trade thus earning the position of the biggest trading partner of The Philippines outside of Spain in the 19th Century.

During WWII Philippines quoted,"I should have Allied myself to England instead of America", mostly because during that time America was visibly unprepared for war while England was already ready for war, and he was known to be a very strong country.

see more info at Anglo-Filipino Relations

Canada (Matthew Williams)
Main Article: Canada

Despite the fact they don't have much history together, Maria and Matthew formed a close relationship when Maria was still working in Alfred's house. She learned how to distinguish one from another, and with that Matthew became friends with her. He treats her like a sister. He is thankful for the nurses and caregivers that Maria send to his house so that his citizens get quality healthcare, thus he prefers her nurses over other nationalities. Maria enjoys his visits, and Matthew enjoys hers. But he has to keep some distance from her sometimes just so that Alfred won't get too jealous.

N. Italy (Feliciano Vargas)
Main Article: N. Italy

Maria and Feliciano grew up together, thus Feliciano calls her "sister" or "sorella". Maria has many OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) sent to Italy, majority of them being female. Feliciano likes it when she comes over to cook and always asks her to make pizza or pasta for him. He is very friendly towards her and Maria, in turn, joyfully makes any dish he wants. She never gets tired of making his recipes as she enjoys them as much as he does.