Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day is observed every June 30, commemorating the unique bond between the Philippines and Spain. This day recognizes a complex shared history, particularly the heroic ‘Last Spanish’ soldiers of Baler. Join in celebrating the cultural exchange and diplomatic ties that continue to strengthen this friendship.
For the past 24 years, June 30th has been celebrated as the Day of Hispanic-Philippine Friendship, a date that was not chosen at random.
On June 30, 1899, Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of the Philippines, issued a decree praising the Spaniards who fought in the Siege of Baler between 1898 and 1899, describing their heroic defense of the Church of San Luis as "an epic so glorious and so characteristic of the legendary valor of the sons of El Cid and Pelayo". In the text of that decree, Aguinaldo ordered: "The individuals comprising the aforementioned forces shall not be considered prisoners, but rather friends, and consequently, the Captaincy General shall provide them with the necessary passes so that they may return to their country."
Thus culminated one of the most memorable feats in Spanish military history: 55 Spanish soldiers and 3 friars resisted the attacks of Filipino insurgents for 337 days, between 1898 and 1899. Isolated from the outside world, the defenders of Baler were unaware that Spain had been defeated by the United States in the war that pitted the two countries against each other between April 25 and August 13, 1898, and which resulted in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines ceasing to be Spanish territories. The defenders of Baler left the Church of San Luis on June 7, 1899, and they did so with honor. In recognition of their courage, the Filipino insurgents allowed them to leave armed and in formation.
Since 2007, the town of Baler has hosted an annual civil and military tribute to the last Spanish soldiers in the Philippines. This year, the event was held again, during which the Philippine town was filled with Spanish flags in remembrance of a shared past that lasted 333 years: from 1565, when Miguel López de Legazpi established the first permanent Spanish settlement in the Philippines, until the Spanish defeat of 1898, when the country passed into the hands of the United States, under whose control it remained until 1946, with the exception of the Japanese military occupation during World War II. Last Sunday, the Baler Municipal Tourism Office posted these photos of the town, decorated with Spanish and Philippine flags to celebrate Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day.
This Tuesday, the ceremony honoring the heroes of Baler was held, with the attendance of Miguel Utray Delgado (third from the right in the photo below), Spanish ambassador to the Philippines, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau, and the military attaché of the Spanish Embassy in Manila, Colonel Santiago Martín Sanz (on the left in the photo), of the Spanish Army. The event was presided over by José Francisco "Kiko" Benítez, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture of the Philippine government, as well as civil and military authorities of the country.
Despite the rainy weather, the event was well attended by people carrying Spanish and Philippine flags.
NHCP chief: Filipinos must relearn Spanish to understand their history
Philippine history 'can't be fully understood' without Spanish, says NHCP head and former UST archivist Regalado “Ricky” Trota Jose
Chairman Regalado Trota Jose Jr. of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) urged Filipinos to relearn Spanish, saying the country’s history and heritage cannot be fully understood without the language in which much of its historical record was written.
Speaking to the Varsitarian ahead of the June 30 observance of Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day, Jose lamented that even history programs in higher education would struggle to produce meaningful scholarship unless they overcame what he described as a “fear” of Spanish.
“Karamihan sa mga historical sources tungkol sa pamumuhay sa Pilipinas ay nakasulat sa Kastila, not only by the Spanish people, but also by Filipinos like Jose Rizal, who wrote in Spanish,” Jose said. “So a lot of the documents on administration, management, economics, recipes, and accounts were written in Spanish.”
The lack of proficiency in Spanish has become more apparent every June, when the country commemorates both Independence Day on June 12 and Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day on June 30, occasions that highlight the nation’s shared history with Spain.
The former UST archivist said even scholars often possess only limited knowledge of Spanish.
“Walang common group of students who can speak in Spanish, except those who are really taking up foreign languages or special courses in history,” he said. “Kulang-kulang ang pagtuturo, pagbasa at pagsasalita sa Kastila.”
“In the Philippine context, we have to learn Spanish,” Jose said. “How to read the Spanish documents, to find out how we became this way. There are so many stories of the provinces, towns, and how a church was constructed. Nobody will ever dig them up if you do not develop the interest to transcend your fear of Spanish.”
Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day commemorates the longstanding diplomatic and cultural ties between the Philippines and Spain. It traces its origins to an 1899 decree issued by President Emilio Aguinaldo recognizing the Spanish soldiers who survived the Siege of Baler as friends and guaranteeing their safe return to Spain.
Jose said tracing the country’s cultural roots through the Spanish language enables Filipinos to gain a deeper understanding of their history and heritage. Despite the enduring influence of Spain on Philippine culture, however, interest in learning Spanish has steadily declined.
He also acknowledged that technological advances, particularly artificial intelligence, have transformed language learning and translation, but stressed that AI cannot replace the historian’s role in interpreting historical sources.
“There are many ways of studying Spanish and even the old languages,” Jose said. “Sa tulong ng AI, puwede mag-decipher ng mga differences, but it is always better for human knowledge to work on the document itself.”
As an example, Jose distinguished between handwritten and printed historical documents, noting that handwriting styles evolved across centuries and require historical expertise and contextual knowledge to interpret accurately.
He likewise underscored the importance of digitization in preserving historical archives, citing the UST Heritage Library’s conservation technologies, including a leaf-casting machine used to restore fragile documents. He added, however, that UST’s greatest contribution to the Spanish cultural history of the Philippines was the propagation of knowledge through the Spanish language, which served as a medium for educating generations of Filipinos.
Jose urged Filipinos to revisit the Philippines’ historic and cultural ties with Spain through the study of Spanish, saying it offers a deeper understanding of the nation’s history, heritage, and cultural identity.
To mark the 24th Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day, the NHCP will hold a series of commemorative activities throughout June, with additional events scheduled in September and October.
