The standard Philippines abbreviation is PH, the two letter country code you will find on parcel labels, web checkout pages and in the country's internet domain. The three letter code is PHL, and in ordinary writing people shorten the name to Phil. or Phils. with a period.
You may also meet RP, short for Republic of the Philippines, in older news writing and government papers, and PHI on sports scoreboards. Pick by purpose: a parcel form, a passport and a sports table each want a different code, as the sections below show.
Quick facts
Two letter code
PHThree letter code
PHLIn writing
Phil. or Phils.Older form
RP, for Republic of the PhilippinesSports code
PHIInternet domain
.phPhone code
+63Currency code
PHP, the Philippine peso
Which Philippines abbreviation to use where
Each short form has a home. Pick by the setting, not by what looks nicest.
| Form | What it is | Best used for |
|---|---|---|
| PH | Two letter international country code | Address forms, shipping, website domains, drop down menus |
| PHL | Longer international code | Passports, visas, country data sets |
| Phil. / Phils. | Traditional written abbreviation | Notes, tables and lists where space is short |
| RP | Republic of the Philippines | Older news style and some official documents |
| PHI | Sports code | Olympic and international sports results |
In a full sentence, write the name out: "She moved to the Philippines." Abbreviations belong in labels, tables and codes, not in normal prose.
The country codes: PH and PHL
The international standard for country codes gives each country a two letter code and a three letter code. For the Philippines, they are PH and PHL. You will see PH in most everyday systems: online checkout pages, shipping software and the country's web addresses, which end in .ph. PHL shows up on passports and other machine readable travel papers, and in data sets that list many countries side by side.
On a shipping form: "Country: PH. Postal code: 1000." The form wants the two letter code, and 1000 is a Manila postal code. Writing "Phil." here might not be accepted by the system.
Do not confuse PH with pH, the scale chemists use for acids and bases. The capital H and the setting make the difference clear.
The written forms: Phil., Phils. and RP
Before country codes took over, writers trimmed country names and finished them with a period. For the Philippines that gave Phil. and the plural looking Phils., which reflects the s at the end of the name. Both are still understood, and you will see them in older books, library catalogs and some newspapers.
RP stands for Republic of the Philippines, the official English name of the country, and you will meet it often in news from the Philippines and in older diplomatic writing, as in "RP and US officials met to talk trade."
A small trap: Phil. is also the short form of Philippians, a book of the Bible. If you see "Phil. 4:13," that is a Bible verse, not the country. See the abbreviation for Philippians for more.
Other codes tied to the Philippines
- +63: the international calling code. To call a number in Manila from the US, dial 011, then 63, then the local number.
- PHP: the currency code for the Philippine peso, used on exchange boards and bank forms. The peso has its own sign, a P with two lines.
- MNL: the airport code for Manila's main international airport.
- PHT or PST: Philippine Time, eight hours ahead of UTC, used all year with no daylight saving shift.
Note that PST here means Philippine Standard Time, not Pacific Standard Time, which can confuse US readers in emails. When in doubt, add the city: "9 a.m. Manila time."
Philippines, Filipino and Pilipinas
The name for the country and the words for its people are spelled differently, which trips up many writers.
- Philippines: the country, with Ph and a double p.
- Philippine: the adjective for things, as in "Philippine peso" or "Philippine Sea."
- Filipino: a person from the country, and also the national language, spelled with F and one p.
- Filipina: often used for a woman from the Philippines.
- Pilipinas: the country's name in Filipino.
For codes from other places, see the country, city and airport codes guide, which includes pages such as China and Australia.
Questions people ask
What is the abbreviation for Philippines?
The most common abbreviation for Philippines is PH, the two letter country code. In ordinary writing you can use Phil. or Phils., and the three letter code is PHL.
Is it PH or PHL?
Both are official. PH is the two letter code used on most forms and web addresses, and PHL, the three letter version, appears on passports and in spreadsheets of country data.
What does RP mean for the Philippines?
RP stands for Republic of the Philippines, the country's official name. It appears in news writing and government documents.
Why is Philippines spelled with Ph but Filipino with F?
The country's English name kept the older Ph spelling, while Filipino comes from the Spanish spelling with F. Both refer to the same place.
What is the country code to call the Philippines?
The calling code is +63. Calling from the US, start with 011, add 63 and then the local number.