Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has called for the island nation to be renamed to shed its colonial heritage.
Speaking at a ceremony in the province of Maguindanao yesterday, Duterte said that the country should ditch the name “Philippines”, which was given by 16th century Spanish explorers in honour of King Philip II, in favour of an indigenous term.
“One day, we will change it,” he said, according to reports in the Philippine Star.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Duterte suggested the country should become Maharlika, the term for the warrior class who held an honoured status in the archipelago’s indigenous Tagalog society prior to Spanish colonisation.
According to an article posted on the National Historical Commission of the Philippines' website, the word derives from a Sanskrit root meaning “nobly created” - although this etymology is disputed.
However, the leader of the Senate, Tito Sotto, “seemed cool to Duterte’s idea” which he said would “entail rewriting the Constitution identifying the Philippines as the country’s name”, the South China Morning Post reports.
The idea of renaming the islands Maharlika was first proposed during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos, the military dictator who ruled the country from 1965 to 1986, as a way to encourage nationalist sentiment.
“Marcos was right,” Duterte told the audience, and “lamented that the proposal was overshadowed by allegations that Marcos was a dictator”, says the Star.
Filipino news website Interaksyon says that the idea was actually the brainchild of then-senator Eddie Ilarde, who proposed the name change in 1978.
However, “a hall in the presidential palace, the government-owned broadcast network and the present Pan-Philippine Highway” were all christened “Maharlika” by Marcos, the site adds.
Marcos also used the term Maharlika “in faking his military records”, ABS-CBN reports. He claimed to have spent the Second World War commanding a group of guerillas known as the Maharlika Unit, but US army investigators finally concluded the unit was “a fictitious creation”.
-
President Trump: ‘waging war’ on ChicagoTalking Point Federal agents are carrying out ‘increasingly aggressive’ immigration raids – but have sanctuary cities like Chicago brought it on themselves?
-
Crossword: October 18, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Sudoku hard: October 18, 2025The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
