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‘If it ain't broke, don't fix it,’ Catriona Gray on renaming Philippines to Maharlika


Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray sees no need to tinker with the country's name when there was no reason to do it.

"If it's not broke, don't fix it. I mean, Philippines is Philippines," Gray said in a report by GMA's Athena Imperial aired on "State of the Nation with Jessica Soho," Friday.

Gray was asked to comment on an idea raised by President Rodrigo Duterte last week to change the country's name from the Philippines to Maharlika.

Duterte said, "Philippines because it was discovered by Magellan using the money of King Philip. Kaya pagdating ng ulol ginawang Philippines. Pero okay na ‘yan, balang araw palitan natin."

“Actually, tama si Marcos. Panahon ni Marcos, tama talaga si Marcos. Gusto niya palitan [ng] Maharlika, the Republic of Maharlika because maharlika is a Malay word and it means more of a concept of serenity and peace,” he added.

Gray gave the country the fourth Miss Universe crown during the pageant in December last year.

In the entire competition, she beamed with pride being a Filipino that reflected in her answers and various attires.

One of her memorable responses was when asked "If you were gonna write a song about your experience here in Miss Universe, what would you call it?"

Gray answered, "Well, you know what, Steve, as Miss Philippines, I've always felt the love and support of the Filipino people, and I think I brought half of my country here tonight and so I would name my song, 'Raise Your Flag,' because I stand here not as one, but as 104 million Filipinos!" —LDF, GMA News

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