A statement from a national organization of architects regarding the alleged misuse of the word “architect” in negative news contexts has sparked discussion among Filipinos.
The United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) released an open letter, saying it “strongly denounces the persistent misuse of the word ‘architect'” when “describing masterminds of plunder, corruption, crime, or other negative acts.” It was signed by its national president, architect Jonathan Manalad.
“Recent headlines and articles — such as referring to a government official as an ‘architect of plunder’ — reflect a long-standing trend of equating the word ‘architect’ with the mastermind of wrongdoings,” the organization said on Tuesday, September 23.
Recent headlines in the Philippines have focused on alleged corruption in flood control projects, with claims that government officials and lawmakers received kickbacks from these initiatives.
“This is not only misleading but gravely unjust to a profession that has, for centuries, been dedicated to the highest ideals of public service, safety, progress, and nation building,” the UAP added.
It also shared the definition of an architect as stated by the Architecture Act of 2004, which it said is “is a person professionally and academically qualified, registered, and licensed under the law, with the authority to practice architecture and responsible for the planning, design, construction, enlargement, conservation, renovation, remodeling, or alteration of buildings and the environment for human habitation.”
“Words matter,” the group said, adding that using “architect” in news reports as a synonym for ‘mastermind of crime’ supposedly “corrodes public perception of the profession, trivializes years of education, licensure, and ethical responsibility, and undermines the trust that architects have worked hard to earn from the Filipino people.”
The UAP suggested that the media use words or phrases like “mastermind,” “perpetrator,” or “brains behind corruption” instead.
“The United Architects of the Philippines calls on government agencies, private institutions, and media outlets to respect and preserve the dignity of the profession by refraining from such misapplications of the term,” it said.
The statement drew mixed reactions from Filipinos, with some arguing that there are more pressing issues, such as the reported government corruption involving flood control projects.
“‘Words matter,’ daw sabi ng UAP. True. Kaya when they chose to fight for a word, not against corruption, that spoke louder than anything else,” actor-content creator Chuckie Dreyfus wrote in a post.
“For the record: Merriam-Webster defines architect not just as the profession, but also as ‘a person who designs and guides a plan or undertaking,'” he added, citing a dictionary definition of the term “architect.”
“‘We architects build, we don’t plunder.’ Sana ‘yun na lang ang sinabi. Mas malinaw, mas makabuluhan, mas may paninindigan. Instead, lumabas tuloy na mas priority nila ang semantics kaysa sa accountability,” Chuckie continued.
“My dad was an architect. He’d laugh at this pa-woke fragility and say: corruption is the real insult, not vocabulary,” he concluded, sharing a screengrab of Merriam-Webster’s definition of the word “architect.”
Some Filipinos also took to the comments to raise concerns about the UAP’s perspective.
“Architect in the statement means orchestrator… Not literally the architect profession…” a Facebook user said.
“This is a little bit of an overreaction. No one in her [or] his right mind will ever interpret it the way you do. I mean, all you have to do is open a dictionary and see that ‘architect’ is not just about the profession. Chill. There are bigger problems to solve and more hideous demons to slay,” another said.
“Rhetoric lang namn ‘yan, meaning, nag-isip ng isang bagay para ma-execute ang plano,” a different Pinoy commented.
“Aware ba kayo that you’re actually embarrassing yourselves for this statement? May multiple meanings ang word na ‘architect,’ both literal and figurative, just like author, engineer, doctor, or pilot. Not an exclusive property of one profession. An architect also means the creator [or] mastermind of a plan, project or system, good or bad,” another said.
“Doctor, a medical professional. Verb is to ‘doctor a document’, that’s to alter or falsify something,” the user added.
“The list goes on… Pwede naman kasi mag-check ng dictionary, no? Words evolve and carry metaphorical weight, and I don’t think any society has authority to dictate or restrict how people use them outside licensing. ‘Yun lang,” the user continued.
Another lexicon, the Cambridge Dictionary, also carries two meanings for the word “architect.”
One is related to the profession, while the other is “a person responsible for achieving a particular plan or aim.”
