Yes, the Philippines was colonized by Spain and that explains why many Filipino surnames are similar to Spanish surnames like Dela Cruz, Rosario, Jimenez, Rodriguez, Perez, Garcia, Sanchez and so on. This is also why Filipino or Tagalog is very similar to Spanish and why there are provinces in the Philippines that speaks Spanish. Every Filipino actually can count in Spanish.
The first European to arrive in the Philippines was Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese navigator, in 1521. He is the one who discovered Philippines and named it in honor of King Philip ii of Spain. But after several weeks, he was killed by a bamboo spear by Lapulapu. Spanish Colonization in the Philippines started on the arrival of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi on February 13, 1565, from Mexico. The Philippines was first ruled under the Vice royalty of New Spain and after that, it was governed by Spain. Spain was defeated in the Spanish-American war in 1898, which ended the Spanish governance in the Philippines. So that's 333 years of Spanish colonization in the Philippines.
Spain wanted to spread their religion of Roman Catholicism. Spain wanted the Philippines to be included in their empire.
That is why The Philippines' culture and language are very similar to Spanish culture and language. And that is why some people consider Filipinos (Philippine natives) to be Hispanic.
Thank you for reading and if I made some mistakes, kindly comment down below. I am more than happy to entertain all comments.
Brilliant writing