I used to work with a Filipino who was retired from the Navy. One day we were discussing the college he attended in the Philippines.
He said the college had actually been founded by Portuguese earlier than the Philippines had officially been discovered.
I believe Magellan’s ships were the first westerners who reached the Phillipines. Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who was in the employ of Charles I of Spain. He never got to enjoy the fruits of his labors. He was killed at the battle of Mactan by natives.