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Pilipinas Changed to Filipinas

The country’s language commission that the Filipino nation should reflect its history and modernization thus it moved in a recent resolution to revert to the name “Filipinas” instead of the more popular “Pilipinas” and even “Philippines” as the country’s official name.

National Artist and KWF president Virgilio Almario, a leading advocate of the change, has urged the country to also lose the name “Philippines,” a vestige of American colonialism. Others, however, point out that even “Filipinas” is rooted in Spanish colonialism, and when searched on Google yields dating sites for foreign men looking for brown-skinned wives.

First was “Filipinas,” given when the country became a Spanish colony in the 16th century, — “Islas Filipinas,” or “the islands of Philip,” after Philip II, king of Spain.

Second was “Philippines” (and “Philippine Islands”), given when the country became an American colony in 1898.

Third was “Pilipinas,” the Tagalog version of “Filipinas,” and was based on the original letters of the old alphabet.

For ‘Filipinas’

Almario’s article, entitled “Patayin ang Pilipinas” and published in the now defunct broadsheet Diyaryo Filipino, said that “Philippines” should be the first to go. “Tatak ito ng patuloy na pag-iral sa ating utak ng pananakop ng Amerikano. Hindi nila ito nagawa sa Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, Chile, at ibang dating kolonya ng Espanya. Bukod pa, may mga bansang nakapagpipilit ng kanilang sariling pangalan sa UNO sa kabila ng lningles na tawag sa kanila,” Almario said.

He argued that “Filipinas” was the original term: It was the name given to the country by Capt. Ruy Lopez de Villalobos who led the Spanish expedition in 1543, and used by Legazpi in 1565.

This was also the name by which the country was recognized for three centuries, and the name used when the nation proclaimed its independence in 1898.

“Higit nating maiintindihan ang ating kasaysayan mula sa watak-watak na pula tungo sa isang pinag-isang kapuluan sa pamamagitan ng pangalang ‘Filipinas,'” he said.

Almario also noted that “Filipino” is used to refer to the country’s language, as the modern alphabet includes the letter F. “Sagisag ng diwa ng modernisasyon at pagiging pambansa ng wika ang pagbabago ng unang titik mula sa ‘P’ tungo sa ‘F.’ Kaya’t sagisag din ng patuloy nating pagdadalawang-isip at pagbabantulot palaganapin nang puspusan ang ‘Filipino’ ang patuloy pa nating paggamit sa ‘Pilipinas,'” he said.

Replacing “Pilipinas” with “Filipinas” will also make it easier to teach the correct spelling of terms, he said, while admitting that the change will be costly, and not easy.

“Medyo makaaasiwa ring bigkasin ang magiging inisyals ng ‘University of Filipinas.’ Kaya’t dapat maging sistematiko’t unti-unti ang pagbabago,” Almario said.

Richard Gappi, editor of Angono Rizal News Online, welcomed the resolution, saying the letter “F” is endemic to Filipino culture.

“Sa una lang yan masagwa tingnan pero kapag nasanay na tayo, parang bagong tsinelas yan na magagamay, malambot sa dila, at magiging komportable tayo,” he said, adding that the proposal to use “Filipinas” does not signify a preference for Spain.

“Higit sa lahat, kinakatawan ng ‘F’ ang mapangyakap, pangkalahatan at kontra-Imperyalismong Maynila/Tagalog na pagdidikta sa nagpapanibago, modernisado, at yumayabong na wika natin. Ang pagpatay sa ‘Pilipinas’ ay pagbuhay sa wikang Filipino,” Gappi wrote.

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