Setyembre 18, 2007

Her Excellency
President GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO
Office of the President
Malacañang, Manila

Dear Madame President:

We, the Commissioners of the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF), express our full
support of Her Excellency’s Executive Order No. 210 (EO No. 210), series of 2003, entitled
“Establishing the Policy to Strengthen the Use of the English Language as a Medium of
Instruction in the Educational System”.

Antecedent Facts

On 17 May 2003, the President issued EO No. 210 in recognition of the “need to
develop the aptitude, competence and proficiency of our students in the English language to
maintain and improve their competitive edge in emerging and fast-growing local and
international industries, particularly in the area of Information and Communications
Technology.”1

Toward this end, the President declared through EO No. 210:

“xxx

a. English shall be taught as a second language, starting with the First

Grade.

b. As provided for in the 2002 Basic Education Curriculum, English shall be

used as the medium of instruction for English, Mathematics and
Science from at least the Third Grade level.

c. The English language shall be used as the primary medium of

instruction in all public and private institutions of learning in the
secondary level, including those established as laboratory and/or
experimental schools, and non-formal and vocational or technical
educational institutions. As the primary medium of instruction, the
percentage of time allotment for learning areas conducted in the English

1
Third Whereas Clause, EO No. 210.
 2

language is expected to be not less than seventy percent (70%) of the

total time allotment for all learning areas in the secondary level.

It is the objective of the foregoing policies to develop the aptitude,

competence and proficiency of all students in the use of the English language to
make them better prepared for the job opportunities emerging in the new,
technology-driven sectors of the economy.

xxx”2 (Emphasis and italics supplied)

On 22 August 2006, Secretary Jesli A. Lapus issued Department of Education Order

No. 36 (DepEd Order No. 36) to implement the provisions of EO No. 210.

Attack on EO No. 210 and DepEd Order No. 36

Sometime in May 2007, a number of Filipino writers, educators, artists and parents
challenged the constitutionality of EO No. 210 and DepEd Order No. 36 before the Supreme
Court.3 They claim that the executive issuances run counter to the following provisions of
the Constitution:

“Sec. 6. The national language of the Philippines is Filipino. As it

evolves, it shall be further developed and enriched on the basis of existing
Philippine and other languages.

Subject to provisions of law and as the Congress may deem

appropriate, the government shall take steps to initiate and sustain the use
of Filipino as a medium of official communication and as language of
instruction in the educational system.

Sec. 7. For purposes of communication and instruction, the official

languages of the Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by
law, English.

The regional languages are the auxiliary official languages in the

regions and shall serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein.

2
Section 1, EO No. 210.
3
They are Isagani R. Cruz (representing Wika ng Kultura and Agham, Inc.), Beverly Siy
(representing Linangan sa Retorika at Arte, Inc.), Romulo P. Baquiran, Jr. (representing Filipinas
Institute of Translation, Inc.), Aurora E. Batnag (representing Samahan ng mga Tagasalin, Inc.),
Efren R. Abueg, Virgilio S. Almario, Roberto T. Añonuevo (representing his minor children
Amansinaya and Idyanale), Abdon Balde, Jr., Michael M. Coroza (representing his minor children Miko
Idyanale, Jeanne Haraya, and Miguel Bulawan), Randolf David, Ma. Theresa de Villa, Fanny A. Garcia,
Juan T. Gatbonton, Bienvenido Lumbera, Victor Emmanuel Carmelo D. Nadera, Jr. (representing his
minor children Dinah Psalma Sigla, Victor Emmanuel Carmelo II, and Dinah Palmera Sulat), Vina P.
Paz, Jovy M. Peregrino, Nicanor G.Tiongson, Rosario Torres-Yu, and Galileo S. Zafra.
 3

Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis.”

(Emphasis and italics supplied)4

In addition, they allege that the use of English will cause the deterioration of our
educational system and place the poor students at a disadvantage position. It will also
hamper the students’ ability to learn English, as well as alienate them from their cultural
heritage.

KWF Position

The above notwithstanding, we adhere to the soundness of EO No. 210.

Legal Aspect. While the Constitution declares Filipino as the national language of the
Philippines, it also provides that “(f)or purposes of communication and instruction, the official
languages of the Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English.”5

This must be so, according to the framers of the Constitution, since English is
considered the “second language” in the Philippines. 6 In fact, even the proponent 7 of
Section 6, 2nd paragraph, Article XIV of the 1987 Constitution – which mandates the
Government to take necessary steps to initiate and sustain the use of Filipino as a medium
of official communication and as language of instruction in the educational system – clarified
that such provision “would not preclude the use of English as a medium of communication
and as language of instruction.”8

EO No. 210 is in harmony with the Constitution because it simply strengthens the
use of the English language as a medium of instruction, 9 and not necessarily prohibits the
use of the Filipino language. To be sure, making the English language as the “primary”
medium of instruction does not necessarily mean abrogating Filipino as our national
language or official language for communication and instruction. Neither does it prohibit the
use of the Filipino language or the regional languages from time to time in reinforcing the
understanding of lectures and discussions conducted in English.

Policy Aspect. In decreeing that “English shall be taught as a second language

starting with the First Grade” and that “English shall be used as the medium of instruction
for English, Mathematics and Science from at least the Third Grade level”, EO No. 210 in
effect recognizes the vital role of the “child’s first language” in the learning process.
4
Article XIV, 1987 Constitution.
5
Section 7, Ibid.
6
IV Record of the Constitutional Commission: Proceedings and Debates, at page 500.
7
Mr. Wilfrido V. Villacorta.
8
Supra, at pages 495-497.
9
This is in essence the view expressed by Solicitor General Agnes VST Devanadera in her letter
dated 12 April 2007addressed to Mr. Isagani R. Cruz.
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Filipino and English are not the first languages of most Filipinos, especially those in
the outlying areas of the country. Thus, while we want the students to be competent in both
Filipino and English, we cannot do so without admitting that children learn best, first in their
own first language (child’s language), whether it be Ilocano, Bicol, Hiligaynon, Ivatan,
English or Filipino.

In 2000, the Philippine Committee on Education Reform observed that a child

acquires a second language faster and better if the first language is mastered. It then
suggested the use of vernacular or the child’s first language as a bridge to more effective
learning in Filipino and English, as well as to facilitate “cognitive maturity”.

This is also the view of UNESCO when it reported that “the process of beginning
education in the community language of the learner enhances educational opportunities and
literacy for lifelong learning which will be effectively achieved only when planned and
implemented in the local contexts of the language and culture.”

EO No. 210 therefore protects the child by allowing him first to perfect his native
dialect before introducing English as the primary medium of instruction.

Epilogue

The local languages, Filipino and English should be viewed as complementary to

one another. In fact, through Republic Act No. 7104, 10 the KWF is mandated “to ensure and
promote the evolution, development and further enrichment of Filipino as the national
language of the Philippines, on the basis of existing Philippine and other languages.”11 The
phrase “other languages” includes English as it refers to foreign languages, whether official
or not, as long as they have influenced the indigenous languages and cultures to a certain
degree.12

Based on the foregoing, the KWF hereby expresses its full support to the President’s
EO No. 210.

Thank you.

Very truly yours,

10
Also known as the “Commission on the Filipino Language Act.”
11
Section 1, RA No. 7104.
12
Section 3, Ibid.
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RICARDO MA. DURAN NOLASCO

Acting Chairperson

CARMELITA C. ABDURAHMAN,
Acting Full-Time Commissioner

JOSE L. SANTOS
Acting Full-Time Commissioner

ROMEO G. DIZON
Acting Part-time Commissioner

FE A. HIDALGO
Acting Part-time Commissioner

CONCEPCION H. LUIS
Acting Part-time Commissioner

ISABEL P. MARTIN
Acting Part-time Commissioner

ISMAEL M. TOMAWIS
Acting Part-time Commissioner

ANTONIO L. TAMAYO
Acting Part-time Commissioner

cc : DepEd Secretary