Beer in the Philippines brewery, on September 29, 1890 at 6 Calzada de Malacañan in Manila, near the Malacañan Palace, the then-residence of the Governor-General of the Philippines. The trade-name San Miguel, originates from the local brewery of San Miguel, Barcelona, Spain. He named the company after the section of Manila in which he lived and worked. Besides the flagship brew, it also produced several brews that almost all disappeared, including Double Bock, Cerveza Negra, Foreign Stout, Gold Ribbon, Extra Stout, Imported Pilsner Type, and Super Bock. Barretto was soon joined by Pedro Pablo Roxas, who brought with him a German brewmaster, Ludwig Kiene,
Spanish language in the Philippines it might be now close to disappearing. Spanish was the language of government, education and trade throughout the three centuries (333 years) of the Philippines being part of the Spanish Empire and continued to serve as a lingua franca until the first half of the 20th century. In the last decades its use has declined. New developments in the Philippines are slowly reversing this trend. In December 2007, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed a directive in Spain that require the teaching and learning of the Spanish language in the Philippine school system starting in 2008. The presidential decision had immediate