Name Change for the Philippines
When I visited Manila in January of 2006, a city councilor I knew excitedly informed me that his council had just voted to change the name of the Philippines. What? The country would no longer be named after a ruthless Spanish despot? We would finally be rid of this last vestige of colonialism? Hallelujah!
Breathlessly, I asked my friend, Councilor Cassie Sison, to pray tell me what name the good City Council of Manila had proposed.
“The Philippine Islands,” he replied.
After I recovered from my disappointment and picked up my jaw from the floor, I heard Cassie explain that Manila Mayor Lito Atienza believed that the country would draw more tourists if a more exotic name could replace the staid “Republic of the Philippines.” The proposed name, Cassie said, would conjure dreamy images of palm trees, cool breezes and sandy beaches.
While the country’s name change would be at or near the bottom of the nation’s immediate priorities, it should not be ignored because there is no other country in the world that is named after a mass murderer.
If Ceylon could be changed to Sri Lanka , Mongolia to Ulan Bator , Siam to Thailand , Leningrad to St. Petersburg , Peking to Beijing , why can’t the Philippines change its name?
When Ferdinand Magellan “discovered” the islands on March 16, 1521, he named it the Archipelago de San Lazaro. We would have been called “Lazaroans” if Magellan had survived the Battle of Mactan against LapuLapu on April 27, 1521.
Three unsuccessful Spanish expeditions followed Magellan but all failed to reach “San Lazaro.” The fourth expedition, led by Capt. Ruy Lopez de Villalobos, reached Sarangani Island off the eastern coast of Mindanao on February 2, 1543. He renamed the islands “Felipinas” after the crown prince of Spain, Felipe II, the son of Spanish King Carlos V.
Villalobos left “Las Islas Felipinas” after eight months and sailed to the Moluccas where he died. It would not be until 1572 when the Felipinas islands would become a colony of the Spanish empire.
By then, the crown prince had become King Felipe II and he was to rule Spain from 1556 to 1598. He would also rule the Netherlands and Portugal (starting in 1581) as well as the kingdoms of Milan, Naples and Sicily. In his time, Felipe II was the most powerful monarch in the world and it was said that the sun did not set on his empire.
When he became master of the Netherlands, Felipe II reenacted the Edict of 1550 which prohibited the printing, copying, keeping, buying or giving of any book written by Luther, Calvin or other “heretics” condemned by the Holy Church or the breaking or damaging of any image of the Holy Virgin or any Vatican-canonized saints. The penalty for Edict-breakers would be death by the sword for men and burning at the stake for women. Informers against suspects were to be entitled on conviction to half the property of the accused.
Before burning his opponents at the stake, this Catholic King insisted on going through an “Auto da Fe,” a religious ceremony which accompanied the sentencing of heretics by the Inquisition. Among the victims of Felipe’s inquisition were more than 10,000 Lutherans and more than 80,000 Andalucian Moriscos, Spanish Moors who had converted to Catholicism but who had violated Felipe’s edict prohibiting the speaking of the Arabic language or retaining of any of their ethnic culture.
While he was still crown prince, Felipe II married his first cousin, Princess Maria of Portugal, who provided him with a son, Don Carlos of Spain (1545-1568). Following Maria’s death in 1546, he married Catholic Queen Mary I of England in 1554 to cement an alliance with England .
After Queen Mary died in 1558, Felipe wanted to marry her successor, the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I but the plan failed. He blamed his son, Don Carlos, for the failure of the planned marriage and had him imprisoned where he later died.
Felipe then married his son’s fiance, Princess Elisabeth of Valois, daughter of Henri II of France. Elisabeth provided him with two daughters, but no son. So Felipe married Anne, daughter of the Emperor Maximilian II, who provided him with an heir, Felipe III.
While he was engaged in wars with the Dutch, Felipe II put together the largest Spanish fleet (Armada) ever assembled, more than 100 ships with more than 30,000 men, to invade England in 1588. The pretext was Queen Elizabeth’s execution of Mary, the Catholic Queen of Scots. But English guile and the “Protestant Wind” thwarted Felipe’s ambitions, and destroyed the Spanish fleet.
When Felipe died in 1598, Spain was bankrupt and in decline as a European power.
What does it mean then to be named after Felipe, to be called Felipinos (later changed to Filipinos), to be “like Felipe”, to be intolerant of other people and other religions?
Changing the name would also end all the confusion about the spelling of the country (Phillipines) or the people (Philippinos).
When Andres Bonifacio formed the Katipunan revolutionary organization against Spain in 1896, he refused to use the term “Filipinas”, preferring Tagalog or “Katagalugan” to refer to the country.
Others objected on the grounds that Pilipinas sounded too much like “Alipinas” (land of slaves). Some have proposed “Kapatiran” (brotherhood) or “Katipunan”. Others have suggested “Luzvimind” referring to the country’s three major group of islands.
In the late 1970s, the Dictator Ferdinand Marcos (who should have been named after Felipe the despot) seriously attempted to change the name of the country to “Maharlika,” the “warrior-noble” in pre-colonial Felipinas who, like the Samurai class of Japan, rendered military service to his feudal lord. But his proposal went nowhere.
If countries like Bolivia could be named after their liberators, why can’t the Pilipinas be named after Rizal? We would all be Rizalians.
My personal preference would be to call the country “Bayanihan” and we would all be “bayanis” (heroes) bound together in the “Bayanihan” spirit of working for the common good.
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I think we should rename the Philippines to “Otot” sinced there are many slum areas and smelled like fart when we pass by so maybe it’s best to name it after it known as the “Otot land”
Ummmm i like more Maharlika which came from a derivative word “maja” which means “noble” or “dakila” in Pilipino and “lika” the root word “Likas” or “natural” in English so it means “natural noble” or “LIKAS NA DAKILA.”
Well, i’m also in favor of your proposal it sounds great
If Kapatiran – then we’re Kapatirans or Kapatiranos
If Maharlika – then we’re Maharlikanos or Maharlikanas
If Bayanihan – then we’re Bayanihans or Bayanis
Sigh
nice article you got.. it left me thinking… a very well said article.. The problem is, do all filipinos feel the same way you do? your article is an “eye-opener” to some. very good article.. i give you two thumbs up
fellow countrymen.. mabuhay tau men!
Last night Dec 5 the final jeopardy question on the popular TV program was “what Asian country named after an European king no has some movement to change the name to an indigenous name of Maharlika?
only 1 of the 2 finalist got it right.
I think “Rizal” is very good. We’d be the Rizalians. It sounds good, and we’d be honoring Jose Rizal.
=)
Felipe II fue el monarca mas poderoso de su tiempo y el dueño del imperio mas grande de la historia. Luchó contra la pirateria y contra las herejias de Cavino y Lutero que causaron miles de muertos en la hoguera en Inglaterra, Holanda, Francia y la mayor parte de los paises de Europa. Ayudo a los catolicos de Irlanda y Escocia, muchos refugiados en España escapando de la tirania de la cruel reina Elizabeth. Algunos de los mayores artistas de todos los tiempos, como Velazquez, El Greco o Tiziano, trabajaron en la corte de Felipe II.
El nombre de Filipinas es parte orgullosa de la historia de nuestro pais, nos une con nuestros hermanos hispanos de todo el mundo
I think we should change the name to LAPU LAPU and not be part of Asia or SE Asia and join micronesia or Melanesia.
For me, I think we should change the name to Spratly’s Island so that the island would be undeniably ours… hehehe..
-david
i think this is B——T!!!!!!
I agree with NKB, I think we should rename the Phillippines LAKAS ISLANDS, and NOT be part of asia or SE asia. We can do business with them, but we should join the rest of our island brothers and sisters in MICRONESIA or MELANESIA.
Allo??
May we suggest
Mindanesian Islands
or
Luzonesian Islands
after the two largest islands in
The Former Commonwealth of
The Philippines/Philippine Islands.
Thank you.
Monday, 18th of May, 2009 CE
Monday, 26th of May, 6009 XIII
@ 8:12 UTC .
I like the sound of “The Philippine Islands” or simply “P.I.” like most Americans calls it, will sounds really attractive.
I wonder if the U.S. will annex Philippines again? and make it “The 51st States of United States of America.” I don’t know if the our new generation will changes or stranded with their own past? I will leave it for people to debate.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1349175/posts
But if we do and became the 51st States, we will exposed ourselves into alot of dreams of oppurtunities.
That means:
>We can kept our own flag similar to other 50 States in the US,
>We can ran for Congress and competes among high class of US Citizens,
>Be the first filipino President of the USA,
>and so-on…
70 million Filipino-American and growing
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A…!!!
GOD BLESS THE USA
by Lee Greenwood
If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I’d worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.
I’d thank my lucky stars,
to be livin here today.
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away.
And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.
From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.
From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there’s pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.
That I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.
And I’m proud to be and American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-9_fDEsv-Q
National Anthem of the Philippines (English)
Land of the Morning (Lupang Hinirang) is the English translation commissioned by the American colonial government in the 1920s. The song was translated from the Spanish by Camilo Osias and A.L. Lane.
Land of the morning
Child of the sun returning
With fervor burning
Thee do our souls adore.
Land dear and holy,
Cradle of noble heroes,
Ne’er shall invaders
Trample thy sacred shores.
Ever within thy skies and through thy clouds
And o’er thy hills and seas;
Do we behold thy radiance, feel the throb
Of glorious liberty.
Thy banner dear to all hearts
Its sun and stars alright,
Oh, never shall its shining fields
Be dimmed by tyrants might.
Beautiful land of love, oh land of light,
In thine embrace ’tis rapture to lie;
But it is glory ever when thou art wronged
For us thy sons to suffer and die.