By Rodel Rodis
Philippine Daily Inquirer
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 no other country in the world 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? = To read more,
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