Summary

The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic

Introduction
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic
country in Southeast Asia. It is situated in the western Pacific Ocean and consists of
around 7,641 islands that are broadly categorized under three main geographical
divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The Philippines, island
country of Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. It is an archipelago consisting
of more than 7,000 islands and islets lying about 500 miles (800 km) off the coast of
Vietnam. Manila is the capital, but nearby Quezon City is the country’s most-populous
city. Both are part of the National Capital Region (Metro Manila), located on Luzon, the
largest island. The second largest island of the Philippines is Mindanao, in the
southeast. The Philippine Islands were discovered by Magellan in 1521, and claimed by
Spain. There have been several names of the Philippines in different cultures and at
different times, usually in reference to specific island groups within the current
archipelago.

Body
There have been several names of the Philippines in Filipino its called “Pilipinas”
and in spanish “Filipinas” which is similar to what the Philippines is in Filipino, in
different cultures and at different times, usually in reference to specific island groups
within the current archipelago. Even the name Philippines itself was originally intended
to apply only to Leyte, Samar, and nearby islands. Over the course of Spanish
colonization, the name was eventually extended to cover the entire chain. It has
survived with minor changes. The Philippine Revolution called its state the Philippine
Republic (Spanish: República Filipina). The US military and civilian occupations called
their territory the Philippine Islands (Spanish: Islas Filipinas). During the Third Philippine
Republic, the state’s official name was formally changed to the Philippines.

The name Felipinas and Islas Felipinas originally applied to only Leyte, Samar,
and their nearby islands before shifting to Islas Filipinas and spreading to the rest. This
was borrowed into English as the Philippine Islands soon after, a name which was used
throughout America’s military and civilian occupations of the archipelago.

The country has throughout Its history been known as Filipinas. The earliest
known use of Pilipinas in Tagalog was by the Katipunan in their deciphered 1892
foundational document. The scholar Lope K. Santos introduced the abakada alphabet in
1930 the “F” in Filipinas has been replaced by “P” through the time because “F” is
usually pronounced by speaker of several Philippine languages as “P”. Thus, the word
Pilipinas came into general use. The Philippines was named after Prince Philip (later
King Philip II) of Spain, by the Spanish explorer Ruy Lopez de Villalobos during his
1542-1546 expedition to the islands.
 In addition to the Philippines, there are numerous of names given based on the
history of the Philippines.
Ma-I According to the Zhao Rugua’s book Zhu Fan Zhi written around the 13 th century
during the Song Dynasty, there was a group of islands found in southern South
China Sea called Ma-i. The group of islands were later invaded and renamed and
identified by the Spanish to be the island of Mindoro. This was further proved by
Ferdinand Blumentritt in his 1882 book, Versuch einer Ethnographie der
Philippinen that Ma-I was the Chinese local name of present-day Mindoro. On
the other hand, historians claimed that Ma-I was not an island, but all the south of
South Sea islands groups and Manila itself, which was known to be an overseas
Chinese settlement which was in constant contact with the Chinese mainland as
early as the 9th century AD.
Las islas de San Lázaro also known as St. Lazarus’ Islands. Named by Ferdinand
Magellan in 1521 when he reached the islands of Homonhon in Samar on the
feast day of Saint Lazarus of Bethany.
Las islas de Poniente which is Islands to the West in English. Was another name
given by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 when he learned that the Las islas de San
Lázaro also included Cebu and Leyte islands. However, various sources claimed
that Magellan was not the one who renamed the area, but his chroniclers
instead. However, various sources claimed that Magellan was not the one who
renamed the area, but his chroniclers instead. The name came from the fact that
the islands were reached from Spain en route approaching the left part of the
globe.[5] Conversely, the Portuguese called the archipelago Ilhas do oriente
(Islands to the East) because they approached the islands from the east of
Portugal in the late 1540s.
Pearl of the Orient/Pearl of the Orient Seas is the sobriquet of the Philippines. The
term originated from the idea of Spanish Jesuit missionary Fr. Juan J. Delgado in
1751.The term originated from the idea of Spanish Jesuit missionary Fr. Juan J.
Delgado in 1751. In his last poem Mi último adiós, Dr. José Rizal referred the
country with this name. In the 1960 revision of Lupang Hinirang, the Philippine
national anthem, the Tagalog version of this phrase was included as the
translation from the original Spanish.

Since the official naming of the country as the Philippine Islands under American
colonial rule and even earlier as Filipinas &c. under Spanish colonial rule, the primary
reason for the country’s name-change has always been “to break away from
colonialism”.
Proposed Names
Haring Bayang Katagalugan. Andres Bonifacio’s suggested name for the Filipino
nation, intended to be governed by the 1896–1897 Republika ng Katagalugan,
although unrecognized by non-Tagalog Filipinos.
Kapatiran (“Brotherhood”), or its semi-equivalent Katipunan.
Luzviminda. A portmanteau of the first syllables of the country’s three major island
groups: Luzon; Visayas; and Mindanao.
Maharlika. In Pre-Hispanic Philippines, the mahárlika was the common Tagalog term
for freedmen, not for the royalty. The maharlika were the largest sector of
society, and included warriors, artisans, artists, and others. Unlike the rulers,
maharlika did not participate in politics. In 1978, then-president and dictator
Ferdinand Marcos supported a House Bill mandating the country’s renaming to
Mahárlika under military rule. Marcos claimed that Mahárlika was the name of the
guerilla force he allegedly led during World War II. This claim would later be
 disproven, as testified by an Army investigation which “found no foundation” for
the late dictator’s claims.
Malaysia. Filipino politicians also suggested adopting the name for the country. A bill in
the Senate was presented in 1962 to change the name of the Philippines to
Malaysia, but leaders of the nationalist movement of the modern state would
adopt the name while the bill was in Congress.
Rizalia. Named after Filipino patriot José Rizal, in a similar fashion to Bolivia being
named after Simón Bolivar.
República Rizalina (“Rizaline Republic”). While exiled in Japan, former revolutionary
general Artemio Ricarte proposed the name and had already drafted a constitution for
this attempt at a revolutionary government. The term has been pushed by many pro-
Rizal Filipinos, however, the term itself is criticized by many as Rizal was not in favor of
Philippine independence during the Philippine revolution against Spain as he believed
that the Philippines was “not yet ready” to be separated from “mother Spain”.[63]
However, historians agree through surfaced historical documents that Rizal “believed in
the supreme right of revolution” but “did not think it timely in 1896, and considered the
people and the country unprepared for it.”

The name Philippines comes from Philip II who was the king of Spain during the
th
16 century when the country became a Spanish colony. The Philippines takes its name
from Philip II, who was king of Spain during the Spanish colonization of the islands in
the 16th century. Because it was under Spanish rule and under U.S. tutelage for a
further 48 years, the Philippines has many cultural affinities with the West. The
Philippine Revolution called its state the Philippine Republic.

Conclusion
The Philippines name itself was originally intended to apply only to Leyte, Samar
and nearby islands. The name Philippines originated from Prince Philip (later King Philip
II) of Spain, given to the by the Spanish explorer Ruy Lopez de Villalobos during his
1542-1546 expedition to the islands. Prince Philip who was later King Philip II was a
member of the Habsburg dynasty. He served as king of the Spaniards from 1556 to
1598 and as king of the Portuguese (as Philip I) from 1580 to 1598. The Spanish empire
under Philip prospered: it attained its greatest power, extent, and influence. The name
“Filipinas” is a tribute to the king of Spain during that time. He was Felipe II, who reigned
from 1556 to 1598. It means that the islands are the king’s territorial property. In
English, Felipe is Philip. King Philip II did not show himself a good ruler as a king. Some
even say he was a tyrant. Furthermore, Philip is a Greek word meaning Lover of
Horses; and we don’t have anything about loving horses. It’s even very rare that people
make horses their pets When it was changed by removing the word “Islands”, why was
the article “The” retained? If it is only “Philippines”, it should have become a proper
noun, like Japan, China or Spain. But the article “The” being there may mean that the
name “The Philippines” is still the property of King Philip II, and therefore remains a
colonial name.