The Philippine Postal Corporation will issue a stamp to commemorate the 500th birth anniversary of Fr. Andres de Urdaneta and also the Philippine - Spanish Friendship Day.
Fr. Fray de Urdaneta was a Spanish Augustinian friar, sail captain and explorer who was in the Legaspi Expedition that left Spain for the Philippines on Novembe 21, 1564 on board the ship Capitana that sailed along with the galleons San Pablo and San Pedro and the tenders of San Juan and San Lucas.
The Year 2006 marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Philippines and Japan after the ratification of the Peace Treaty and the Reparation Agreement on July 23,1956.
Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day (Ora de la Amistad Hispano-Filipina) is celebrated on the 30th of June of each year. It was declared under Republic Act No. 9187, authored by Senator Edgardo J. Angara and was enacted last February 2003, to commemorate the cultural and historical ties, friendship and cooperation between the Philippines and Spain.