who is this aforementioned explorer?
He was a Spanish explorer.
Ruy López de Villalobos
was a Spanish explorer
neighboring countries of the philippines group to the west South China Sea describe its location? It is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. is it an island? No, it is a marginal sea. where is the country mentioned in the beginning situated? Southeast Asia how did the countries name originate? Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, during his expedition in 1542, named the islands of Leyte and Samar after Philip II of Spain, then the Prince of Asturias.
wiki:13324785
Ruy López de Villalobos [SEP] Introduction
Ruy López de Villalobos (; ca. 1500 – April 4, 1544) was a Spanish explorer who sailed the Pacific from Mexico to establish a permanent foothold for Spain in the East Indies, which was near the Line of Demarcation between Spain and Portugal according to the Treaty of Zaragoza in 1529. Villalobos gave the Philippines their name, after calling them "Las Islas Filipinas" in honor of Philip of Austria, the Prince of Asturias at the time, who later became Philip II of Spain. In 1542 he also discovered a Pacific group of islands, most likely Hawaii, but the Spaniard kept the discovery secret.