WHEREAS, the Philippines and Spain share indelible fraternal links through more than three centuries of historic-cultural interaction between their peoples;

WHEREAS, the Spanish language is an essential part of the historical and cultural legacy of Spain in the Philippines;

WHEREAS, the Spanish language, an official language of the United Nations, is the world ™s fourth most commonly spoken language, with over 400 million people speaking it as a native language or a second language;

WHEREAS, Spanish is the language whose usage has had the highest growth in recent years and is now the third most common language on the Internet after English and Chinese;

WHEREAS, Spanish-speaking consumers are the fastest-growing market segment in North America, including the United States of America where the buying power of the Hispanic community is expected to reach US$1.2 trillion by 2011;

WHEREAS, knowledge of a proficiency in the Spanish language hold practical advantages for Filipinos particularly in making them more competitive and opening new opportunities for Filipinos in the Philippines and abroad.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to encourage the teaching and learning of the Spanish language throughout the country.

This Memorandum Order shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 29th day of November, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Seven.


By the President:

(Sgd.) EDUARDO R. ERMITA
Executive Secretary