More On the Term Filipino

This is my response to Pepe’s blog But Jon Royeca still has to CATEGORICALLY define what a Filipino is, which is his repudiation of my earlier blog, My Response to Pepe’s “Clarifying a misconception on the DEFINITION OF ‘Filipino’”.

 

 

Your Name Is Your Identity

 

Pepe wailed that I have yet to make a clear-cut definition of the term Filipino. Says he with a palpably suppressed vehemence:

 

“But Royeca, for FAILING to CATEGORICALLY define what a Filipino is, simply opted to beat around the bush. Nevertheless, I should not be too hard on him even if he belittled my use of poetry as a source material. After all, he has already boxed himself to the shock of encountering Fr. Chirino’s definition of Filipino. So I’ll just let him enjoy this refractory period of his.

 

“Remember, boys and girls: declaring a historical evidence to the public to point out something is not enough. It always has to be interpreted with a good amount of critical thinking. And to end this, Royeca (and his partner Nonoy Regalado) should understand that IDENTITY has to stand on what you call YOURSELF and not what others CALL YOU.”

 

I wonder where Pepe picked up this rule: “IDENTITY has to stand on what you call YOURSELF and not what others CALL YOU.”

 

Pepe must know that when it comes to identity, this is the universal rule and practice: Once a baby is born, his parents give him a name, and that name becomes his identity, even if he still does not know that it is his name and it is the name that he is supposed to call himself. This rule and practice has been with humanity since the emergence of civilization. While the rule Pepe wants to inject into our veins is a recent philosophy.

 

Let us make Pepe himself an example for this universal rule and practice. When Pepe was born, his parents gave him the name Pepe. Since then, that has already become his name, his identity, and what he is supposed to call himself. But being an infant then, Pepe was not yet aware that it was already his name, his identity, and what he was supposed to call himself.

 

Just because Pepe was not yet aware then that Pepe was his name, his identity, and what he was supposed to call himself, then Pepe was not yet his name, identity, and what he was supposed to call himself?

 

When will Pepe finally become his name, his identity, and what he is supposed to call himself? Only when he becomes aware that it is his name, his identity, and what he is supposed to call himself?

 

The Term Filipino

 

            I have already made my concrete stand on what a Filipino is and who the first Filipinos were on this blog, The Term Filipino: A Question of Identity. Let me repeat what I said on this blog about the term Filipino:

 

“The manner of using the term Filipino to refer to the natives of the Philippines is similar to the manner of giving a new-born baby his name.

 

“When a baby is born, his parents give him a name; for example, Mark. Although the baby is not yet conscious that his name is Mark and that he is thus called, that name is already his identity. It would be senseless to assert that because the baby is not yet aware of his name, his name is not yet his identity and that his name will only become his identity once he becomes aware that it is indeed his name.

 

“Only the brainless will say: ‘This baby is named Mark, but his name is not yet his identity because being a baby, he is not yet aware of his name.’”

 

An Established Fact

 

Pepe charged that I was merely making an opinion when I said that “poems belong to the ambit of creative literature; they can be purely fictional.”

 

I was not endorsing an opinion there. I was restating an established fact. Poems are really fictional creations. Even if they are written in a straightforward language, they are still not definitive material for historical research, unless the subjects of the research are the poems themselves.

 

 

Poetry: Unreliable Source

 

We, students of history, learn that poems are not primary sources; hence, they cannot be reliable material for historical research. The historian may cite them to indicate what people believed in during a particular period of history. For example:

 

“Ancient Filipinos believed that the first man and the first woman came out of reeds, and this belief is recorded in their epic poetry.”

 

The historian may write stuff like that, but no historian in his right mind would dare make an embarrassing blunder like this:

 

“The very first Filipino man and the very first Filipino woman were undeniably created out of reeds, because the epic poetry of ancient Filipinos said so.”

 

As to the poem of Luiz Rodriguez Varela, a historian may quote it and elucidate something like this:

 

“An insular from Tondo, Manila, Luis Rodriguez Varela, wrote a poem in 1812 which flagrantly declared that the first Filipinos were the peninsulares.”

 

But again, no historian whose sanity has not yet fallen towards his bottom will claim a supposition like this:

 

“It is indisputably clear that the first Filipinos were the peninsulares because Luis Rodriguez Varela, an insular from Tondo, Manila, wrote a poem in 1812 which said it so.”

 

 

Varela vs. Chirino et al.

 

For Pepe, the poem of Luis Rodriguez Varela is more authoritative than the accounts of Spanish missionaries like Fr. Pedro Chirino, Fr. Francisco Colin, Fr. Ignacio Francisco Alcina, and Fr. Juan Francisco de San Antonio.

 

Pepe must also be reminded that during Spanish rule of the Philippines, the Church and State were united to act as the government of the Philippine Islands. The act of one had the knowledge and consent of the other.

 

The accounts of Spanish missionaries were official because those missionaries were working under the Spanish colonial government of the Philippine Islands. Thus, those accounts are authoritative.

 

Varela must not have read those accounts. Hence, he wrote a poem which innocently or stupidly stated that the first Filipinos were the peninsulares. And now we have a Pepe who holds firm—with a die-hard passion—to that innocent or stupid mistake of Varela. Says Pepe:

 

“These were Miguel López de Legazpi and those peninsular Spaniards, both military and friar, who were with him, who opted to stay here and die here. In effect, they ceased to become Spaniards. They became Felipenos or those who saw King Felipe II as their sovereign (in the same vein that the vassals of Carlos XI of Sweden were called Carolinos, the vassals of King Fernando VII Fernandinos, and so on and so forth).”

 

Can Pepe show any document proving that Legazpi and the other first peninsulares in the Philippines called themselves Felipenos? If there is such a document, then that is a primary source, our discussion will be put to an end, and Pepe wins the argument. But if Pepe can only cling on to a pedestrian poem, then we are in danger of being fed with another defective theory in Philippine history.

 

 

Jose and José

 

Let me point out that the name Jose is not spelled incorrectly. Rizal usually used José, but there were instances when he also used Jose. Pepe should consult books which contain facsimiles of Rizal’s handwritten letters, manuscripts, and other writings, like the following:

 

Diarios y Memorias por Jose Rizal

Cartas Entre Rizal y los Miembros de Familia

Cartas Entre Rizal y el Professor Fernando Blumentritt

Escritos Politicos e Historicos por Jose Rizal

Facsímiles de los Escritos de Jose Rizal

 

 

Individual Opinion

 

We live in a country whose Constitution guarantees freedom of expression for the citizens. With this rock-solid civil right, everyone is entitled to his own thoughts and opinion.

 

As one person who prefers a genteel discourse and abhors mobocracy, I always respect other people’s beliefs and preferences. And so, to make Pepe gravitate towards my findings on what the term Filipino is and who the first Filipinos were, I will not lift a slab of concrete, present it before him, smash it on his head with all my might, and tell him, “Hey, this is what really happened!”

 

Let individual opinions—including shoddy opinions—stand.

 

My Response to Pepe’s “Clarifying a misconception on the definition of “‘Filipino’”

This is my response to the blog Clarifying a misconception on the definition of “Filipino” posted on August 30, 2015, by Pepe. The blog seems to be a debunking of my own blog Ang Malaking Pagkakamali ni Renato Constantino sa kanyang aklat na The Philippines: A Past Revisited, which I posted on my webpage on August 14, 2015. I will respond in English, since Pepe’s blog was written in that language. But please be sympathetic with my English, for it is not my first language and I lack mastery of it.

 

 

The Gist

 

The gist of my own blog is to point out historian Renato Constantino’s colossal blunder in his popular book The Philippines: A Past Revisited (Quezon City: Tala Publishing Services, 1975). This is what Constantino exactly exposes in the said book:

 

“There were five principal social classes in Philippine society during this period. At the top of the social pyramid were the peninsulares, Spaniards who came from Spain and who were given the choice positions in the government. Next in line were the creoles or insulares – Spaniards born in the Philippines who considered themselves sons of the country. They were the original ‘Filipinos’ (p. 124).”

 

“The first Filipinos were the Españoles-Filipinos or creoles – Spaniards born in the Philippines. They alone were called Filipinos (p. 151).”

 

The “period” Constantino speaks about was until the middle of the 19th century.

 

For Constantino, the creoles or insulares (Spaniards born in the Philippines) were the original Filipinos, the first Filipinos, and until the middle of the 19th century the only ones called Filipinos. Were this true, then the creoles or insulares were the first people to be called Filipinos.

 

Such allegation clearly rams against the records of history.

 

In the books of Spanish priests Pedro Chirino (1604), Francisco Colin (1663), Francisco Ignacio Alcina (1668), and Juan Francisco de San Antonio (1738), the natives of the Philippines were called naturales (natives), nativos (natives), indios (Easterners), and Filipinos (native-born inhabitants of the Philippines).

 

It was Chirino—in his book which he wrote beginning in 1590 and which was published in 1604—who was the first to use the term Filipino to refer to the natives of the Philippines.

 

Hence, Constantino’s allegation that the insulares were the original Filipinos, the first Filipinos, and until the middle of the 19th century the only ones called Filipinos is a fatal error.

 

 

Las Islas Filipinas

 

On his blog, Pepe says:

 

 

“To my observation, Royeca and Regalado did not tell us the complete definition of the term Filipino. Although they did share primary sources showing how the word Filipino was defined during the early years of our country’s vassalage under the Spanish monarchy, I wonder if they even bothered to ask themselves WHY the early Filipinos were called as such. I ask WHY because the name Filipino is NOT EVEN INDIGENOUS, meaning to say, the term does not come from any native language like that of the Tagálogs, the Visayans, the Aetas, etc.

 

“To further emphasize this: the term Filipino is not a Tagálog word. The term Filipino is not a Visayan word. The term Filipino is certainly not an Aeta word. And so on and so forth. The name Filipino is Spanish, thus the impossibility of the notion that the demonym used for the indios (as the indigenous were generally referred to at that time) had some natural or indigenous etymological imprint whatsoever. Due to this, Royeca and Regalado must now categorically point out WHY Fr. Chirino called the natives as Filipinos. Certainly, there must be a reason why the good friar called them as such.”

 

The Spaniards called the natives Filipinos because they were the native inhabitants of las Islas Filipinas—the official name that the Spaniards had given to the archipelago. Since las Islas Filipinas was already the name of the archipelago, it was only natural for the Spaniards to call its natives Filipinos.

 

That the term Filipino is not indigenous is very obvious because it came from the Spanish name of the archipelago—las Islas Filipinas. Its being very obvious instantly renders useless any effort of pointing out that it is not a Tagalog, Visayan, or any other native word.

 

 

Natives: “We are Filipinos!”

 

On his blog, Pepe challenges:

 

“And, to reiterate, while both of them successfully pointed out that Fr. Chirino called Tagálogs, Visayans, Aetas, etc. as Filipinos, can they also point out any indigenous individual who called himself a Filipino during the Spanish times?”

 

Jose Rizal and his fellow natives of the Philippines called themselves Filipinos while living and studying in Spain and other countries in Europe. They were the first generation of natives of the Philippines who called themselves Filipinos. In a letter to his Austrian friend Ferdinand Blumentritt dated April 13, 1887, Rizal said:

 

“They are creole young men of Spanish descent, Chinese half-breeds, and Malayans; but we call ourselves only Filipinos” (The Rizal-Blumentritt Correspondence. Centennial Edition, Part 1, Manila: Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission, 1961, p. 72).

 

 

Insulares

 

On his blog, Pepe charges:

 

“In addition, Both Royeca and Regalado are also proven wrong when they implied, wittingly or unwittingly, that the insulares or Spaniards born in the islands were not called Filipinos at any time in our history.”

 

I have not indirectly or directly made it appear that the insulares were never called Filipinos. I was disputing Constantino’s claim that the insulares were the first, the original, and until the 1850’s the only ones called Filipinos.

 

 

Peninsulares: The First Filipinos?

 

In blatantly claiming on his blog that the peninsulares were the first Filipinos, Pepe relied entirely on a poem written by an insular, Luis Rodríguez Varela of Tondo, Manila, in 1812.

 

Varela’s edict that the first Filipinos were the vassals of Spain is frighteningly incorrect. He must not have read the accounts of Spanish missionaries, which categorically proved that the natives of the Philippines were the first people to be called Filipinos.

 

Poems belong to the ambit of creative literature. They can be purely fictional. And so utilizing them as a source for one bold historical claim—like the peninsulares were the original Filipinos—is an amateurish and slapdash crack at historiography.

 

I have a little more to say about this matter on my other blog, The Term Filipino: A Question of Identity.

The Term Filipino: A Question of Identity

The term Filipino was first used in the 1590’s, and the first time it was used it referred to the Tagalogs, Visayans, Aetas, and other natives of the Philippines. Thus, it is safe to state that the natives of the Philippines themselves, being the first people to be called Filipinos, were the first Filipinos and the original Filipinos.

The first usage of the term can be found in the book Relación de las Islas Filipinas, which the Spanish Jesuit missionary Fr. Pedro Chirino wrote beginning in 1590 and which was published in Rome, Italy, in 1604.

The other books that also used the term to refer to the natives of the Philippines were Labor Evangelica (Madrid, 1663) by Fr. Francisco Colin; Historia de las islas e indios de Bisayas … 1668 (Samar, 1668) by Fr. Ignacio Francisco Alcina; and Descripción de las islas Philipinas (Manila, 1738) by Fr. Juan Francisco de San Antonio. The missionaries also called, aside from Filipino,  the natives naturales (natives), nativos (natives), and indios (Easterners). Those terms became the unifying identities of the natives.

However, since the Spaniards were bigots, most of them preferred the term indio to refer to the natives during their rule of the Philippines (1565-1898). They used it to demean the natives by giving it bad connotations like “monkeys,” “uneducated,” and “undeserving of civilization.”

A Question of Identity

The manner of using the term Filipino to refer to the natives of the Philippines is similar to the manner of giving a new-born baby his name.

When a baby is born, his parents give him a name; for example, Mark. Although the baby is not yet conscious that his name is Mark and that he is thus called, that name is already his identity. It would be senseless to assert that because the baby is not yet aware of his name, his name is not yet his identity and that his name will only become his identity once he becomes aware that it is indeed his name.

Only the brainless will say: “This baby is named Mark, but his name is not yet his identity because being a baby, he is not yet aware of his name.”

When the Spaniards called the natives of the Philippines Filipinos during the early decades of their rule, the term Filipinos became one of the identities of the natives, even if the natives were not yet aware that they were already called thus and that it was already one of their new collective names as one people.

The Baby Has Grown: “We are Filipinos!”

In the 1880’s, Jose Rizal and his fellow natives of the Philippines living and studying in Spain and other countries in Europe called themselves Filipinos. In a letter to his Austrian friend Ferdinand Blumentritt dated April 13, 1887, Rizal said:

“They are creole young men of Spanish descent, Chinese half-breeds, and Malayans; but we call ourselves only Filipinos” (The Rizal-Blumentritt Correspondence. Centennial Edition, Part 1, Manila: Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission, 1961, p. 72).

Being the first generation of enlightened Filipinos, Rizal and his fellow natives of the Philippines staying in Europe felt that they needed a common identity to refer to themselves; thus, they called themselves Filipinos. The term evidently meant “natives of the Philippines.” They were the first natives of the Philippines to call themselves thus.

It was only in the 1880’s that the natives had become conscious that the term Filipinos was their common identity and that they should call themselves thus.

The baby had grown and finally become aware of his identity.

An Outlandish Language

When the Spanish colonial officials called the archipelago las Islas Filipinas, that designation became the name of the archipelago. If someone will claim that “the Spaniards already called the archipelago las Islas Filipinas, but it was not yet the name of the archipelago,” then he is banging his head against a thick, concrete wall.

One would be speaking a nebulous language, if he stubbornly insists on erecting the following inutile claims:

“The natives were already called Filipinos, but they were not yet called Filipinos.”

“The natives were already called Filipinos in the early decades of Spanish rule, but they must only be called Filipinos beginning in the 1880’s—when they finally became conscious that their identity was Filipinos.”

Ang Sinaunang Pilipinas (a book in-progress and looking for a sponsor)

As a student of Philippine history, my area of concentration is on ancient history of the Philippines.

I have a book-in-progress on ancient Philippines, temporarily titled Ang Sinaunang Pilipinas (Ancient Philippines). Written in the Filipino language, half of it is already done and has been published in the weekly Liwayway magazine from August 2012 to February 2013.

Right now, I am looking for a sponsor who would finance the remaining research for the book. I am in dire need of money for the research.

Anyone interested may send me a message.

Below are some of the published parts of the book:

Sino ang mga Orihinal na Pilipino?

Sanaysay Ni Jon E. Royeca
Nalathala sa Liwayway (Dis. 3, 2012)
For an English version of this essay, please click here.

MATAGAL nang nakatubog ang akademya ng Pilipinas sa teorya o haka na ang mga unang tao raw na tinawag na Pilipino ay hindi ang mga sinaunang katutubo ng Pilipinas kundi ang mga Espanyol na isinilang sa Pilipinas noong panahon ng pananakop ng Espanya sa bansa (1565-1898). Kayâ, ang mga Espanyol na iyon daw ang mga orihinal na Pilipino, at hindi ang mga sinaunang katutubo. Ang mga katutubo naman daw ay sinimulang ituring ang kanilang mga sarili bílang mga Pilipino noon lámang 1898, nang naghihimagsik na sila laban sa Espanya.

Taliwas sa mga talâ ng kasaysayan ang teoryang ito.

 

Ang mga Katutubo

Ang mga sinaunang katutubo ng Pilipinas ay hindi nagmula sa iisang bansa. May kanya-kanya silang lahi at wika, at ang bawat lahi ay tinatawag ang kanilang sarili batay sa kung ano ang kanilang wika. Ang pagkakakilala at tawag ng mga sinauna sa kani-kanilang mga sarili ay gaya ng mga ito:

“Iluko ako.”

“Ibanag ako.”

“Ipugaw ako.”

“Kapampangan ako.”

“Panggalatok ako.”

“Tagalog ako.”

“Bikol ako.”

“Waray ako.”

“Sugbuanon ako.”

“Hiligaynon ako.”

“Bukidnon ako.”

“Maranaw ako.”

“Magindanawon ako.”

“Tausog ako.”

 

Felipinas

Noong 1543, nakarating sa mga pulo ng Samar ang ekspedisyong Espanyol na nása pamumunò ni Ruy Lopez de Villalobos. Pinangalanan nila ang mga pulong iyon ng Felipinas bílang parangal kay Prinsipe Felipe, ang tagapagmana ng trono ng kaharian ng Espanya. Sa kalaunan, iyon na rin ang naging pangalan ng kapuluang tinatawag na ngayong Pilipinas. Naluklok si Felipe sa trono ng Espanya bílang si Haring Felipe II noong 1556. Pagkaraan ng tatlong taon, nagpalabas ito ng utos na ganap nang sakupin ng Espanya ang Felipinas.

 

Las Islas Filipinas

Ang Felipinas ay isinusulat din nang Phelipinas o Philipinas, ngunit Filipinas ang naging opisyal nang baybay sa kalaunan. Dahil ang Filipinas ay pangalan nga ng isang kapuluan (isang pook na binubuo ng maraming pulo), kailangang dagdagan iyon ng las (ang mga) at islas (mga pulo). Kayâ, ang Filipinas ay naging las Islas Filipinas (Kapuluang Pilipinas).

Ang mga awtoridad na Espanyol sa las Islas Filipinas ay palagiang nagpapadala ng mga ulat sa hari ng Espanya tungkol sa kapuluan, at ang mga misyonerong Espanyol ay palagian ding naglalathala ng mga aklat tungkol naman sa mga pangangaral nila sa kapuluan din. Ang pangalan ng kapuluan na inilalagay nila sa pamagat ng kanilang mga ulat at aklat ay las Islas Filipinas, gaya ng mga sumusunod:

Relación de las Islas Filipinas (Cebu, [Walang petsa]) ni Miguel Lopez de Legazpi.

Relación de las Islas Filipinas (Maynila, 1576) ni Francisco Sande.

Relación de las Islas Filipinas (Roma, 1604) ni Pedro Chirino.

Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (Mexico, 1609) ni Antonio de Morga.

May mga pagkakataon na dahil marahil sa mahaba ang las Islas Filipinas, isinusulat o binibigkas ito nang las Filipinas o Filipinas na lámang.

 

Indio

Dahil ang kapuluan ay tinatawag nang las Islas Filipinas, las Filipinas, o Filipinas, ang mga katutubo nito ay dapat na ring tawaging Filipino, anuman ang lahi at wika nila.

Subalit hindi tinawag ng mga Espanyol ang mga katutubo na Filipino. Tinawag nila ang mga ito na Indio, na ang payak na kahulugan ay “táong taga-Silangan.” Ang mga katutubo nga naman ay nása silangang bahagi ng daigdig. Samantalang ang mga Espanyol ay mga taga-Europa o taga-Kanluran. Nakasulat sa mga nabanggit na ulat at aklat ng mga Espanyol ang taguring Indio.

Sa paglipas ng panahon, binigyan na ng mga Espanyol ang Indio ng masasamang kahulugan: mga táong walang saysay, tamad, pangit, unggoy, walang pinag-aralan, marurumi, at iba pang panlalait.

 

Ang mga Orihinal na Filipino

Si Pedro Chirino ay isang Heswitang Espanyol na inutusan ng kanyang Orden na magtungo sa Filipinas upang tumulong sa pagpapalaganap ng relihiyong Katoliko. Dumating siya sa bansa noong 1590.

Naging palaisipan para kay Chirino kung bakit Indio ang tawag nilang mga Espanyol sa mga katutubo. Dapat tawaging Filipino ang mga ito, dahil ang pangalan ng kapuluan ay las Islas Filipinas nga. At hindi rin lámang naman ang mga tao sa kapuluang ito ang mga Indio o taga-Silangan. Ang mga Indian, Tsino, Hapones, Indones, Malayo, Siames, Biyetnames, at iba pa ay mga Indio rin. Dapat ay may sariling pamansag ang mga Indio sa kapuluang ito.

Nang magsulat na si Chirino ng aklat tungkol sa pangangaral niya sa kapuluan, tinawag din niyang Indio ang mga katutubo sa kapuluang ito, dahil ganoon nga ang tawag nilang mga Espanyol sa mga ito. Subalit, may labindalawang pagkakataon sa kanyang aklat na tinawag niyang Filipino ang mga katutubo. Ang mga iyon ay ang mga sumusunod:

“Ginagamit ng mga Filipino ang mga [dahon ng balete] para sa kanilang pagluluto.”

“Ang mga [Ati] ay higit na barbaro at hindi pa napaaamo kaysa mga Bisaya at karamihan sa mga Filipino.”

“Tungkol sa pagpipitagan, paraan ng paggalang, at mabubuting asal ng mga Filipino. Kabanata XVI.”

“Sa kanilang mga kilos, ang mga Filipino ay hindi kasingkiyas ng mga Tsino at Hapones; subalit mayroon silang sariling mga akda ng pagkamagalang at mabubuting asal, lalo na ang mga Tagalo na kaygagalang sa salita at kilos.”

“Ang mga Titik [Alpabeto] ng mga Filipino. Kabanata XVII.”

“Tungkol sa mga huwad na paganong relihiyon, idolatriya, at pamahiin ng mga Filipino. Kabanata XXI.”

“Tungkol sa pag-aasawa, bigaykáya, at diborsiyo ng mga Filipino. Kabanata XXX.”

“Ang una at huling paraan ng paglutas ng mga Filipino sa mga suliranin ng pagkakasakit ay, gaya ng atin nang nabanggit, ang paghahandog ng mga alay sa kanilang mga anito o divata, na siyang mga panginoon nila.”

“Tungkol sa mga kasiyahan at paglalasing ng mga Filipino. Kabanata XXXIV.”

“Tungkol sa pagpapautang at pang-aalipin ng mga Filipino. Kabanata XXXXVI.”

“Hindi kailanman nagkaroon ang mga Filipino … .”

“Ang mga paraan ng pagbibigay ng pangalan ng mga Filipino. Kabanata LXXX.”

Para kay Chirino, ang mga Tagalog, Bisaya, Ati, at lahat ng iba pang katutubo sa kapuluan ay dapat ding tawaging Filipino, hindi lámang Indio.

Ang aklat na iyon ni Chirino, na pinamagatang Relación de las Islas Filipinas (Tungkol sa Kapuluang Pilipinas), ay natapos niya noong 1602 at nalathala sa Roma, Italya, noong 1604. Naitalâ sa aklat na iyon na ang isang pangkat ng mga tao ay tinawag na Filipino sa unang pagkakataon, at ang mga táong iyon ay mga katutubo ng Filipinas. Kayâ, malinaw na ang mga orihinal na Filipino—o ang mga táong unang tinawag na Filipino—ay walang iba kundi ang mga katutubo ng Filipinas.

Ang iba pang Espanyol na tumawag sa mga katutubo hindi lámang ng Indio kundi ng Filipino rin ay si Francisco Colin, isa pang Heswita, sa kanyang aklat na Labor Evangelica (Banal na Gawain) na nalathala sa Madrid, Espanya, noong 1663; at ang Pransiskanong si Juan Francisco de San Antonio, sa kanyang Descripción de las islas Philipinas (Paglalarawan sa Kapuluang Pilipinas) na inakda sa Maynila noong 1738.

Subalit dahil talagang mapanlait ang mga Espanyol, higit nilang pinili na tawaging Indio ang mga Filipino sa loob ng 333 taóng pananakop nila. Hindi naman matawag ng mga katutubo ang kanilang mga sarili na Indio, dahil nga sa masasangsang na kahulugan nito. Tinawag na lámang nila ang mga sarili batay pa rin sa kung ano ang kani-kanilang lahi at wika.

 

Españoles Filipinos

Bukod sa Filipinas, sinakop din ng mga Espanyol ang maraming bansa sa gitna at timog Amerika at ilang teritoryo sa Aprika. Maraming Espanyol ang isinisilang sa mga kolonyang iyon. Upang magkaroon ng wastong pagkakakilanlan ang mga Espanyol, gumamit sila ng kanya-kanyang mga pamansag batay sa mga sinilangan nilang pook. Ang ilan sa mga pamansag na iyon ay ang mga sumusunod:

Peninsulares o mga taga-peninsula—ang mga Espanyol na isinilang sa Espanya. Ang Espanya ay isang peninsula o lupain na nakausli papuntang dagat.

Insulares o mga taga-kapuluan—ang mga Espanyol na isinilang sa Filipinas. Ang Filipinas ay isang insular o kapuluan.

Españoles Filipinos o mga Espanyol na isinilang sa Filipinas—ang isa pang tawag sa mga insulares.

Españoles Americanos—ang mga Espanyol na isinilang sa gitna o timog Amerika.

 

“Mga Filipino Kami!”

Simula naman noong dekada 1880, marami nang mayayamang katutubong pamilya ang nagpapadala ng kanilang mga anak sa Espanya upang doon magkolehiyo. Iba’t iba ang lahi ng mga katutubong mag-aaral na iyon. May Iluko, Tagalog, Bisaya, at iba pa. Upang magkaroon sila ng sarili at iisang pagkakakilanlan habang nása ibang bayan, tinawag nila ang kanilang mga sarili na Filipino, na ang kahulugan ay “taga-Filipinas.” Iyon ang payak at tangi nilang layunin kung bakit nila tinawag ang mga sarili nang gayon. Ayon nga kay Jose Rizal sa isang liham na may petsang ika-13 ng Abril 1887, sila ay:

“… mga binata sa Filipinas, isinilang ng mga magulang na Kastila, mga mestisong Intsik at Malayo; datapuwa’t ang itinatawag namin sa isa’t isa ay Filipino.”

Ang mga mag-aaral na iyon ang mga katutubo na nagpasimuno sa pagtawag at pagturing sa kanilang mga sarili bílang mga Filipino.

 

Filipinas at Filipino

Ang karamihan sa mga katutubong alpabeto sa Filipinas ay may limang patinig at 15 katinig. Walang titik F ang mga ito.

Sa panahon ng pananakop ng Espanya, naging Romano ang palatitikan o ortograpiya ng mga katutubong alpabeto. Kayâ, bagama’t walang titik F ang mga alpabetong iyon, tinawag na ng mga katutubo ang kanilang kapuluan na Filipinas mula nang mag-umpisa ang pananakop ng mga Espanyol noong 1565, at ang kanilang mga sarili na Filipino mula noong dekada 1880.

Noong 1896, naghimagsik sila laban sa mga Espanyol. Nang sumunod na taon, nagtatag sila ng isang pamahalaan na tinawag nilang Republica de Filipinas. Noong ika-23 ng Hunyo 1898, pinalitan nila iyon ng Gobierno Revolucionario nang Filipinas. Tumagal ito hanggang noong ika-23 ng Enero 1899, nang pasinayaan nila ang Republica nang Filipinas. Tinawag na rin nila ang kanilang mga sarili na Filipino.

Subalit ipinagbili ng mga Espanyol ang kapuluan sa mga Amerikano noong Disyembre 1898. At hindi kinilala ng mga Amerikano ang republikang itinatag ng mga Filipino. Nauwi ito sa digmaan sa pagitan ng mga Filipino at Amerikano noong 1899-1901. Dahil nanaig ang mga Amerikano, binuwag ng mga ito ang republikang itinatag ng mga Filipino, at ang  pangalang las Islas Filipinas ay ginawa nilang The Philippine Islands.

 

Pilipinas at Pilipino

Sa panahon ng pananakop ng mga Amerikano, ang Filipino ay ginawa nang Pilipino ng mga katutubo, dahil wala ngang titik F ang mga katutubong alpabeto. Ang The Philippine Islands, na dating las Islas Filipinas, las Filipinas, o Filipinas, ay ginawa naman nilang Kapuluang Pilipinas o Pilipinas.

Kayâ, kung ang mga katutubo ay tinawag na Filipino ng ilang Espanyol sa panahon ng pananakop ng mga ito, at tinawag na ang kanilang mga sarili na Filipino mula 1880 hanggang 1901, tinawag naman na nila ang kanilang mga sarili na Pilipino sa panahon ng pananakop ng mga Amerikano. Tinawag naman sila ng mga Amerikano na Filipino, ang katumbas ng Pilipino sa Ingles.

 

Pagbabalik sa Filipinas at Filipino

Noong ika-4 ng Hulyo 1946, lumaya na ang Pilipinas mula sa mga Amerikano. Dahil diyan, ang Kapuluang Pilipinas ay opisyal nang naging Republika ng Pilipinas. Ang ikli nito ay Pilipinas. At ang mga mamamayan nito ay tinatawag pa rin ang kanilang mga sarili na Pilipino.

Noong 1959, ipinag-utos ng pamahalaan na ang Tagalog, na siyang wikang pambansa, ay tatawagin nang Pilipino simula sa taóng iyon. Sa ilalim naman ng bagong Saligang-Batas ng bansa na nagkabisa noong 1987, ang wikang Pilipino ay tinawag nang Filipino.

Sa ngayon, marami ang nagsusulong na ang pangalan ng bansa na Pilipinas ay gawin nang Filipinas, at ang mga mamamayan nito, ang mga Pilipino, ay tawagin nang Filipino. Isa itong hakbang na pagbabalik sa mga orihinal na opisyal na baybay ng pangalan ng bansa at ng mga katutubong mamamayan nito.

 

TALASANGGUNIAN

Cartas Entre Rizal y Otras Personas, Panandaang Taóng Palimbag, Maynila: Comisión Nacional del Centenario de José Rizal, 1961.

Chirino, Pedro, Relación de las Islas Filipinas, Roma, 1604. Ang salin sa Ingles, “Relation of the Philippine Islands,” The Philippine Islands 1493-1898, Tomo 12 at Tomo 13, Cleveland: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1903. Emma Helen Blair at James Alexander Robertson, mga patnugot.

Colin, Francisco, Labor Evangelica, Madrid, 1663. Ang salin sa Ingles, “Evangelical Labor,” The Philippine Islands 1493-1898, Tomo 40, 1906.

“Expedition of Ruy Lopez de Villalobos—1541-43,” The Philippine Islands 1493-1898, Tomo 2, 1903.

Mga Akdang Pampulitika at Pangkasaysayan ni Jose Rizal, Panandaang Taóng Palimbag, Maynila: Pambansang Komisyon ng Ikasandaang Taon ni Jose Rizal, 1961.

Pagsusulatan nina Rizal at Blumentritt, Panandaang Taóng Palimbag, Maynila: Pambansang Komisyon ng mga Bayani, 1963.

San Antonio, Juan Francisco de, Descripción de las Islas Philipinas, Maynila, 1738. Ang salin sa Ingles, “The Native People and Their Customs,” The Philippine Islands 1493-1898, Tomo 40, 1906.

The Laws of the First Philippine Republic 1898-1899, Maynila: National Historical Institute, 1994. Sulpicio Guevarra, patnugot. ●