A spokesperson for the Spanish government has said that the government did not compile a list of 5,000 surnames that could make people eligible for citizenship.
It says the list, which was widely distributed online is false. However, the government still says that it plans to give Spanish citizenship to those who can prove their ancestors were Spanish Jews.
If you're of Jewish descent and always wanted to get a European Union passport to freely travel and work in Europe, this might be your chance.
Spain has announced it plans to provide a fast track to citizenship to anyone who can prove to be a descendant of Sephardi Jews, the community that lived in the Iberian peninsula and were unjustly expelled from that country in 1492.
Millions of people stand to benefit from the law, as this community numbered some 200,000 people back in the 15th century, and its descendants are now spread across dozens of countries around the world.
And of course, if you become a Spanish citizen, you can work anywhere in the European Union without having to get a visa, so the proposal has already generated lots of interest in Latin America after a list of Sephardi surnames were released in local media outlets.
The list, which was initially attribute to the Spanish government, but then rejected by a government spokesperson, includes 5,000 surnames that are carried by millions of Filipinos in the country, including very common last names like Garcia, Rodriguez, Castillo, and Jimenez.
But just having one of these 5,000 last names does not automatically get you that crimson-red Spanish passport.
Majority of the descendants of Sephardic Jews are living in Europe and America and the chances of Filipinos coming from this lineage is slim even though many carry the same last names.
"Ang mga Pilipino noon pare-pareho ang apelido. Nahihirapan silang kumuha ng buwis. Dahil dito, taong 1849 nang ipag-utos ni Gobernador Heneral na si Narciso Claveria ang pagkakaroon ng sistema sa pangalan ng mga Pilipino," explained historian, Dr. Vic Torres of the De la Salle University.
The Catalogo Alfabetico de Apellidos became the list for which Filipinos select the last names that would represent their families.
"Hindi ibig sabihin nito may kamag-anak ka na agad sa Espanya," Dr. Torres said. --Source: Fusion/ABS-CBN News
