Philippines to ‘Maharlika’ not an easy name change

Manila: The palace has said that while it favours a change in the country’s name to something less indicative of its colonial past, such an undertaking may require a far-reaching overhaul.

“The name ‘Philippines’ is specifically mentioned in the country’s Constitution so it might be necessary to have the Constitution changed before the country can rename itself,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said on Tuesday in a televised palace press briefing.

Panelo was following through on a statement made by President Rodrigo Duterte in Buluan Maguindanao on Monday where the Philippine leader said while he favours a change in the name of the Philippines to ‘Maharlika’ he could not do so easily even if he is the president.

“The Philippines [was named so] because it was discovered by [Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan using the money of King Philip II]. So we are at the moment stuck with that name, but it is okay because one day we will change the country’s name,” Duterte said.

Like other islands in the Pacific or other parts of the world, the name of the country is derived from that of the person who “discovered” it. In the case of the Philippines, it was King Philip II of Spain.

The Philippines was discovered in 1521 during Magellan’s expedition in the Pacific. In the same voyage by the Portuguese explorer, he also founded a group of Pacific Islands that he named in honour of the Spanish Queen Mariana of Austria. That island group is now known as the “Marianas.”

Panelo said that changing the country’s name from the Philippines will be a tedious affair, but “let’s see how this matter evolves,” after all he said, “The President was just expressing an idea.”

“It will not be easy,” the palace official, who is also Presidential Legal Counsel, said, adding a mere legislation or an executive order may not be enough.

“We are studying how the name “Philippines” evolved to be,” he adds.

He said citizens of the Philippines may call themselves ‘Maharlikanos’ instead of Filipinos.

‘Nobly created’

According to the Philippines’ National Historical Commission (NHCP), the term Maharlika means “nobly created”.

“Maha is Sanskrit for noble or great while Likha is our own word for create, thus, Maharlika means nobly created,” the NHCP said.

There had been several attempts in the past to rename the country. Among the earliest was that undertaken by then Senator Eddie Ilarde in 1978 when the administration of then President Ferdinand Marcos was trying to carve an identity for Filipinos to do away with the country’s mind set as a former colony.

According to Ilarde’s Parliamentary Bill 195, the concept of Maharlika is ingrained in the country’s heritage long before Western colonialists set foot on the country’s shores.