ARE YOU IN FAVOR OF REMOVAL OF FILIPINO AND PANITIKAN SUBJECTS IN

COLLEGE?

Michael Tan’s - “If we want a national language, and respect for all our Philippine
languages, our young must grow up hearing and using these languages as part of
daily practice—not just for casual conversations but as the language of transaction
for science, business, the arts. It must be a daily practice that becomes part of us,
part of the way we think, and live.”

“It’s not merely an issue of Filipino subjects. It’s an issue of nationalism. (The
removal of Filipino subjects) goes against the aim of making students rooted in the
Filipino identity.”

DELETING FILIPINO AS COLLEGE SUBJECT

What are the upsides and downsides of this decision? There could be merit in the
argument that it can make Filipinos more competitive as professionals not only in the ASEAN
but in the world market as well. But if this is the only gain, the downsides outweigh it.
A national language that is accorded importance gives a sense of identity and unity
among a people of different ethnicities and dialects which is what the Filipino people are. As it
is, because the Philippines is made up of 7,100 islands, there are about 170 dialects and
languages spoken by Filipinos. While Filipino as a subject is indeed taught in the primary and
secondary levels, if its teaching is not sustained until college level, it is bound to be forgotten by
those who do not speak it as their mother tongue. We will thus create a spectacle of ourselves as
a people bound by a foreign language—English—and not our own national language. This may
seem innocuous but the creeping damage will go deeply into the Filipino psyche. It is bad
enough that we have a vague sense of identity as a nation because we were colonized by Spain
for over 400 years, the Japanese for about four years, and the Americans for about 48 years.
Without a common language fluently spoken by all in every island of the Philippine archipelago,
Filipinos will never have a clear sense of oneness with their fellow Filipinos.
And this, I think, is one of the root causes why we have a weak sense of national identity
and nationalism. As a consequence, we have failed, for instance, to choose a leader on the basis
of who is the best for the entire country. The great majority of us have elected leaders because
they are our town mate, a relative, a friend, or our friend’s friend. We make decisions on the
basis of affinity or consanguinity, not on what is best for the entire nation.
 This lack of national identity and nationalism, and absence of oneness as a people, has
been the fodder on which the oligarchy of a handful of families has thrived in this part of the
globe. Thus, for over a century now, we have been ruled by persons of the same family names.
Power has passed on to their kin, generation after generation, while the rest of the people have
remained divided by language, culture and values.
Because English has been declared as the nation’s medium of instruction, Filipino has
become the foreign language among young children today. In many middle-class and high-
income class families, parents speak to their children exclusively in English—polished or not.
They argue that this is the best way to prepare their kids for school where English is the medium
of instruction.

What many parents do not realize is that they are depriving their children of the
opportunity to develop their cognitive and intellectual skills faster and better. According to
studies conducted by two Cornell University linguistics experts, teaching children to speak a
second or third language is good for their minds. Contrary to old beliefs, children who learn a
second language can maintain attention despite outside stimuli better than children who know
only one language. Barbara Lust, a developmental psychology and linguistics expert and her
collaborator, Sujin Yang, former post-doctoral research associate at the Cornell Language
Acquisition Lab, say that knowing a second language gives children that ability to achieve goals
in the face of distraction, and plays a key role in academic readiness and success in school
settings. In other words, cognitive advantages follow from becoming bilingual or multilingual,
Lust says.
Studies have also shown that while it is best that children are taught a second or third language
between the age of two and six, learning a second language can be done at any time and will help
the development of cognitive and mental skills even of adults. The studies have also affirmed
that children can and do acquire more than one languages all at once.
Given these studies, Filipino language should be maintained as the first language in
Filipino homes—or the second language if the family speaks another language or dialect—with
English as a third or a foreign language. Since the human mind has the capacity to learn many
languages, especially among the young, the teaching of the Filipino language in college should
not stop but rather continue, side by side with teaching English.
 REMOVING FILIPINO, PANITIKAN AS CORE COLLEGE SUBJECTS
‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL,’ ‘ANTI-YOUTH,’ LAGMAN SAYS

Opposition lawmaker Albay Representative Edcel Lagman on Tuesday said the Supreme
Court ruling that effectively removes Filipino and Panitikan as core college subjects is
"unconstitutional" and "anti-youth."

In a statement, Lagman said Article XIV, Section 6 of the 1987 Constitution explicitly
states that Filipino is the national language of the Philippines — a provision that does not need
and implementing law for enforcement.

"It is an aberration that the teaching of Filipino, which is the national language, is only
elective while teaching of a foreign language like English is compulsory," he said.

"What the Constitution provides for voluntary and optional teaching is Spanish and
Arabic, not Filipino," he added.

At the same time, Lagman said required teaching of Filipino and Panitikan subjects in
college is not a duplication of what is being taught in elementary and high school.

"[This is] because instruction of Filipino and Philippine literature in college is more
advanced, intense, and incisive," he said.

Lagman, likewise, argued that demoting Filipino and Panitikan as elective subjects in
college prevents students from imbibing Philippine history and culture, as well as practicing
nationalism and patriotism.

He pointed out that Filipino as the national language is complemented by Section 17 on

State Policies and Article XIV, Section 3(2) of the 1987 Constitution.

Section 17 on State Policies states that the “State shall give priority to education, science
and technology, arts, culture, and sports to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social
progress and promote total human liberation and development."

Meanwhile, Article XIV, Section 3(2) provides that all educational institutions "shall
inculcate patriotism and nationalism, foster love of humanity, respect for human rights, and
appreciation of the role of national heroes in the historical development of the country."

"There is no alternative to fostering and inculcating nationalism and patriotism other

than teaching Filipino and Philippine literature," Lagman said.
 "Language involves muscle memory. You lose it if you don’t use it," he added.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO STUDY FILIPINO EVEN IN COLLEGE?

The Commission on Higher Education has just decided to retain Filipino subjects in the
newly designed college curriculum, which will be implemented in 2018. “We had a meeting with
the groups that are protesting and the commission has already issued a new memorandum
instructing that all degree programs must retain the Filipino requirement,” Commissioner
Prospero De Vera III told Inquirer.net.

In 2013, CHED’s decision to remove Filipino subjects in college and integrate them in
the K-12 curriculum caused a stir among the academe. The Supreme Court even had to raise a
TRO against the decision.

“The thinking [was] that Filipino can be downloaded to senior high so you don’t have to
take it at the university level. That was the thinking then,” De Vera added that the plan was
originally in line with internalization. “This was in light really of internationalization, the idea
that the advantage of Filipinos in the use of English should be given priority by government and
also in anticipation eventually of the K-12 program.”

In the age of globalization, why is still important to learn Filipino in college?

To improve grammar

Filipino is a beautiful language that is quite easy to grasp. However, a quick tour on Facebook or
any other social media site will reveal that there are still a lot of Filipinos who do not
know the balarila or Filipino grammatical rules. While most people are quick to correct those
who make English grammar mistakes, we are not as keen when it comes to Filipino grammar
mistakes.

Filipino is a rich language

No, I am not just talking about Tagalog, which is practically the focal point of the subject. When
we say Filipino, it is also about other regional dialects used across the country as well.

In college, I remember having three Filipino language classes. The first two focused on
using Tagalog in writing, research, and speaking. The third is the only one that gave a brief
introduction on the culture and other dialects of the country. It would probably be nice if
Filipino subjects in college would incorporate the mastery of another dialect. It would probably
be even better if we could all learn Baybayin.

To end, let me borrow a paragraph from Michael Tan’s essay. He wrote, “If we want a
national language, and respect for all our Philippine languages, our young must
grow up hearing and using these languages as part of daily practice—not just for
casual conversations but as the language of transaction for science, business, the
arts. It must be a daily practice that becomes part of us, part of the way we think,
and live.”