Names

Names are simply wonderful. Take the case of these three that follow.

MILENYO

As far as we could remember, typhoons in the past were named after women or their nicknames. In 1970, we were submerged by the evil Sining; in the 80s, we were left homeless by the stronger-than-man Anding, and in the 90s, we suffered from the ravaging Rosing just before Christmas. Towards the new millennium, these destructive typhoons still bore these names, until the time the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) started a new nomenclature of these sinister weather disturbances, naming them Jolina, Manny, Isko, or that of any icon or symbol we Filipinos are familiar with. 

Somehow, they became household names because they sounded so familiar—though previously, the entire irony is that these violent natural calamities are so named virtually after our very own mothers, aunts, or grand matriarchs—the ones who otherwise nurture us through our lives. Such move to change the system of naming typhoons is a nice gesture to the gender-sensitive and family-loving race that we are.

Meanwhile, Milenyo, the typhoon that recently ravaged the country, was aptly named because of the destruction of some provinces in our country. The name itself is a heavy one, [millennium means a thousand years]. In reality, a thousand years may entail a lot of things for us Filipinos. In this long span of time, many uneventful things can happen—from the lives and livelihood lost in the countryside to the worsened state of the urban poor in our major cities. 

The hard rain and persistent winds which we must have ignored the past days was, in fact, destructive that it claimed lives of other people. This may have not mattered to us not because we are oblivious to the lives of other people but simply because “we are not affected”—it is okay even if it rains forever outside our homes, as long as the water does not flood our kitchen. But the headlines read, “Milenyo pounds Panay,” or “Wicked Weather,” so Milenyo indeed was not just another typhoon—it put some of our provinces in the state of calamity. What a sad country.

On a lighter side, those who named the PAGASA must be credited for the “hope” and optimism that the acronym provides [despite the bad news it always brings to the public]. While it constantly heralds the sad state of our weather, it also brings hope by telling us we can do much to prepare for such calamities. Like the other calamities that struck us, what should Milenyo teach us, then? 

In any millennium perhaps, past or forthcoming, we can gradually teach ourselves that such works of Nature are not our creation; neither are they God’s imperfect creations. Some consider them one of his designs to make us seek him, occasionally. In the midst of all these misfortunes, the always best thing to hope for is the Divine Providence. As he himself said, he will be with us, for sure, in any millennium. 

FRANKLIN

As in Franklin Drilon, the ex-Senate president. As in Benjamin Franklin, the great American. Aye, there goes the rub—the name bearer is quite obsessed with self-fulfilling prophecy, perhaps pressured by his name itself. 

Drilon’s first name precedes him at least to him. His recent anxious political behavior must have been created by the pressure of the name “Franklin,” the American who was everyman—inventor, author, diplomat, everyone. 

I first heard this name in the late 80s, when Drilon was a member of the Cory cabinet or something. But through the years in public service, Drilon must have made bad and unfavorable choices in his career [sounds like the life of Rosanna Roces according to film critic Nestor Torre] that his name cannot just be plainly equated with his other namesakes [what other name could be more intimidating than the name of two American presidents]—Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or FDR, the great American president, and of course, Benjamin Franklin, the “lightning guy” in our Science class.

All his life, this former Senate president must have long thought of reaching the top, disposed to live the lives of these two American greats. But what has priced ambition? Or more aptly, what have priced ambition? Loyalty, sincerity, integrity, consistency [roughly, they all mean the same thing]—yes, these might be the costs of misconstrued militancy, of the very high idealism gone haywire. 

“Frank”ly, some people say the road to greatness is paved, and that it is the road less traveled because not everyone is fit to traverse it.

 

GLORIA

This is the first name of the president of the Republic of the Philippines. Despite the country’s economic ups and downs, everyone thinks that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is just commendable for having survived all odds—from the attacks of the opposition to the challenges posed to the Philippine economy by its rotting politics. True to her name, “Gloria” spells a person’s triumph or victory overcoming odds, or tritely enough, making the ends meet, for her countrymen.

For one, “glory” means magnificence, or splendor, or brilliance. Whichever way, GMA does some justice and truth with her name. Despite what her too cynical detractors think, this country is doing just fine.  

Despite what other people say that we have gone to the dogs, this country is doing just fine. Perhaps thanks to the people who do not matter much to Gloria—the nongovernmental organizations, the Church, and to the very least, the local government altogether help the country proceed to somewhere definite.

 

Despite what the media do to either inform or misinform us about the real stuff Gloria and her men [armed, most of them are] are made of, we can do just little to alter such reality because they are there to make things happen for us, unless we take our part. So we can just be sorry if we do not bask in the glory of this present administration because we hardly see its benefits to us. If all else fails in our part of the world—from our backyard to the public school toilets—we cannot do much but bear the grunt—be more self-sacrificing, work in silence until the time everything is indeed tolerable in our country so much so that we could exclaim, “To God be the glory!”

Names are indeed wonderful. In some senses, they mean what they are—and as we have seen, they sometimes are what they mean. Three names, three senses, three insights—they make sense to us because we can make them mean a number of things.