Namria says Philippines has 7,500 islands!

Yes. Believe it or not, the archipelago which was once consisted of 7,107 islands, has now 400 islands more according to National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), the central mapping agency of the Philippines under the umbrella of the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR).

The discovery was made in 2013, when NAMRIA used the “Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar” (InSAR) technology. The newly discovered islands were said to be located in the southernmost major island in the Philippines which is Mindanao.

The discovery were revealed by Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje last Wednesday, February 10, 2016 during his speech at the Philippine Environment Summit at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Of the previously known 7,100 islands, only about 2,000 are inhabited and some 5,000 have no names.

For a landmass to be considered as an island, it must pass two (2) major qualifications - above sea level and high tide at any given time and able to support life (animal, plants or both). This is according to Jose Cabanayan Jr., deputy administrator of NAMRIA.

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a geodetic technique that can identify movements of the Earth's surface.

Source: 

http://www.mb.com.ph/7107-no-more-namria-discovers-400-more-islands-in-ph/

http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/positioning-navigation/geodesy/geodetic-techniques/interferometric-synthetic-aperture-radar