President Rodrigo Duterte said in a talk that he wants to change the name of “Malacañang Palace” to “People’s Palace”. He said that the latter is more reflective of the Filipino people. He added that the former sounds “imperialistic” and reflects Spanish colonizers that “enslaved” Filipinos.
He said, “The word ‘Malacañang,’ it smacks of imperialism. Totoo. Sino man ang nagpangalan ng ‘Malacañang Palace’? Mga Espanyol man iyan. (Rough translation: It’s true. Who named it Malacañang Palace? The Spaniards named it.) Why should [not] I just address it as the ‘People’s Palace of the Republic of the Philippines’?”
He mentioned that one day he will name it “People’s Palace” like “People’s Park”, which shows that it is owned by the people.
According to the gov.ph, there are different stories that tell where “Malacañang” came from. One story said it is from mamalakaya (fisherman) because Pasig River used to be a rich fishing area. And then another story said that it came from “May lakan ‘yan” (Rough translation: A ruler lives there).
What do you think of renaming “Malacañang Palace” to “People’s Palace”?
