 | |
 Philippines |  Spain |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Philippine Embassy, Madrid | Spanish Embassy, Manila |
| Envoy | |
| AmbassadorPhilippe Lhuillier | Ambassador Miguel Utray Delgado |
Philippines–Spain relations (Filipino:Ugnayang Pilipinas at Espanya;Spanish:Relaciones Filipinas y España) are the relations between theRepublic of the Philippines and theKingdom of Spain. Both nations are members of theAssociation of Academies of the Spanish Language and theUnited Nations.
Even before the formal Spanish conquest of the Philippines, on the islands there were already Muslims and Moors who had escaped from the recently overthrownEmirate of Granada. As Muslim Castilian speakers were recorded to have been in the area as they spread throughout the Muslim world even as far as Islamic Manila, one of them was a man named Pazeculan.[1] This Castilian speaking Moor was in the service of the Rajah of Manila and Admiral of theBrunei Sultanate,Rajah Matanda, when he encountered theMagellan expedition.[2]
Spain and the Philippines share a common history in the fact that the Philippines was part of theSpanish Empire for three hundred years and was the sole Spanish colony inAsia.Portuguese explorerFerdinand Magellan first encountered the Philippines and named the islands after KingPhilip II of Spain.[3]
In 1565, Spanish explorerMiguel López de Legazpi arrived from present-dayMexico and established a European settlement inCebu. Soon afterwards, theCaptaincy General of the Philippines was governed from theViceroyalty of New Spain, based inMexico City. For the next 300 years, the Philippines was a Spanish province. Trade and communication between Spain and the Philippines was administered by theManila galleon.
In 1896, thePhilippine Revolution began for independence from Spain. The revolution lasted through 1898 when theSpanish–American War broke out. The Spanish–American War resulted in Spain losing its domain over the Philippines and the nation was transferred over to theUnited States, thus ending the Philippine Revolution. The Philippines would be governed by the United States until 1946.
During theSpanish Civil War,Filipino volunteers fought for both sides in the war. In 1947, thePhilippines andSpain established diplomatic relations.[4] It was manifested when Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Teodomiro de Aguilar presented his credentials to then-PresidentManuel Roxas on January 30, 1947. Aguilar mentioned to Roxas that his government had decided to establish a legation in the country as a living proof of the interest of Spain in this new republic.[5]
On June 15, 1954, PresidentRamon Magsaysay's speech upon his acceptance of the credentials of Spanish Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Fermin Sanz Orio, was often heralded as the first time that a president used the national language to respond to a foreign envoy's credential speech.[6]
On July 1, 1962, PresidentDiosdado Macapagal and his entourage was welcomed by Generalissimo and Mrs. Francisco Franco upon their arrival at Barajas International Airport in Madrid.[7]
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Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, relations between both nations have strengthened through cultural and historical similarities. In 1995, KingJuan Carlos I paid his first official visit to thePhilippines.[8] There have been several high-level visits between leaders of both nations.
King Juan Carlos I and his wife,Queen Sofia, attended the 1998 centennial celebrations inManila, commemorating 100 years of independence from Spain. The mediation of the Spanish King is said to have produced the pardon and liberation of two Philippine domestic workers sentenced to death inKuwait and theUnited Arab Emirates.[citation needed] Philippine President,Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, concluded her second state visit inSpain in July 2006, bringing back millions of dollars of Spanish investments, particularly intourism andinformation technology.
Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines, Jorge Domecq, told the reporters that the "Philippines is the only country in Asia to receive more aid and development assistance from Spain than any other Asian country". He added that the Philippines remains a priority of the Spanish aid in development efforts and partnerships with theEU, even despite budget cuts on development funding brought on by austerity measures being implemented by the Government of Spain.[9]
In July 2012, the Queen Sofia visited the Philippines for a fourth time. She inspected several development projects around the former Spanish colony that her country's government is funding via theAECID. She visited theNational Library,National Museum and theUniversity of Santo Tomas. She also met with Spanish nationals residing in the Philippines, and attend a reception at the Spanish Embassy. She also attended a state dinner in her honour atMalacañang Palace hosted by PresidentBenigno Aquino III.[10][11] Also during her visit in the former colony of her country, Queen Sofia expressed appreciation to Aquino for the country's effort to reintroduce theSpanish language in the Philippine public education system.[12]
Filipinos are one of the largest Asian communities in Spain, with a number of individuals obtaining Spanish citizenship. Most Filipinos in Spain work in various jobs and companies such as domestic and healthcare services, some individuals also work in education and government institutions.[13]
In 2017, both nations celebrated 70 year of diplomatic relations.[4] However, in 2019, the Philippine president,Rodrigo Duterte, dictated that he wanted to change the name of the country "Philippines" to "erase the Spanish historical trail", something he failed to do.[14] On September 5 of the same year, the Spanish frigateMéndez Núñez made the historic port-visit, making it the firstSpanish Navy vessel in the Philippines, since theBattle of Manila Bay during theSpanish–American War in 1898.[15]
Currently, diplomatic relations between Spain and the Philippines are considerably weaker unlike the priorities that Spain has with otherASEAN countries, such asCambodia,Indonesia,Singapore,Thailand, andVietnam.[16] However, their relations have continued to be maintained, based on a shared history and culture.[17] Likewise, in 2022, both countries celebrated the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.[18]
Both countries have tried to rescue their historical ties.[19] Since 2002, thePhilippine–Spanish Friendship Day is celebrated every June 30, promoted with the aim of strengthening the relationship between both nations that sharehistory,values, andtraditions.[20][21]
In 2009, the Philippine academic and former president,Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, was awarded the Don Quixote International Prize, which recognized the Philippine educational initiative to introduce theSpanish language in the Philippines.[22] In this sense, on February 23, 2010, during the V Spain-Philippines Tribune, an agreement was reached between the Ministries of Education of Spain and the Philippines, theInstituto Cervantes, and theAECID, by which all secondary school students in the Philippines have the option to study Spanish since 2012.[23]
Both nations have signed several bilateral agreements such as a Treaty on civil rights and consular powers (1948); Treaty on the validity of academic degrees and the exercise of professions (1949); Air transportation agreement (1951); Agreement on the suppression of visas for diplomatic and official passport holders (1962); Agreement on technical cooperation in tourism (1971); Agreement on social security (1988); Agreement on economic and industrial cooperation (1988); Agreement to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion of income taxes (1989); Agreement for the promotion and reciprocal protection of investments (1992); Extradition treaty (2004); Memorandum of Understanding on Technical Cooperation in Matters of tourism (2007); Memorandum of Understanding of Cooperation in the field of Renewable Energies and Biofuels (2007); Agreement on Cultural, Sports and Educational Cooperation (2007); Treaty on transfer of convicted persons (2007) and an Agreement on cooperation in the fight againsttransnational crime (2015).[8]
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