Inquirer Opinion / Columns

http://opinion.inquirer.net/opinion/columns/view_article.php?article_id=62539
THE LONG VIEW

The Long View : Misplaced emphasis on

English
By Manuel L. Quezon III
Inquirer
Posted date: April 26, 2007

MANILA, Philippines -- Tomorrow, a petition is going to be filed with the Supreme Court by a group of
concerned groups and individuals, among them the most glittering names in Philippine arts and letters --
ranging from critic Isagani R. Cruz and national artist Bienvenido Lumbera, to Romulo Baquiran Jr. and
Nicanor Tiongson, to educators Patricia Licuanan and sociologist Randy David. The petitioners also include
minors, represented by their parents. The petition is asking the Court to issue a restraining order to stop the
President of the Philippines from further implementing Executive Order 210, series of 2003.

Signed on May 17, 2003, the EO has as its fairly non-controversial purpose, “Establishing the Policy to
Strengthen English as a Second Language in the Educational System.” The petition says the five main
points of the EO are: (a) English should be taught as a second language at all levels of the educational
system, starting with the First Grade; (b) English should be used as the medium of instruction for English,
Mathematics, and Science from at least the Third Grade Level; (c) English shall be used as a primary
medium of instruction in all public institutions of learning at the secondary level; (d) As the primary medium
of instruction, the percentage of time allotment for learning areas conducted in the English language in high
school is expected to be not less than 70 percent of the total time allotment for all learning areas; and (e)
The Filipino language shall continue to be the medium of instruction in the learning areas of Filipino and
Araling Panlipunan.

On Aug. 22, 2006, the secretary of education implemented EO 210 by promulgating Memorandum Order
No. 36, Series of 2006. The MO provides for the following: (a) English shall be taught as a second language
starting with Grade I; (b) As provided for in the 2002 Basic Education Curriculum, English shall be used as
the medium of instruction for English, Mathematics and Science and Health starting Grade III; and (c) The
English language shall be used as the primary medium of instruction in all public and private schools in the
secondary level, including those established as laboratory and/or experimental schools, and vocational and
technical institutions. As the primary medium of instruction, the percentage of time allotment for learning
areas conducted in the English language should not be less than 70 percent of the total time allotment for all
learning areas in all year levels.

Both the President’s order and the subsequent Department of Education instructions, according to the
petitioners, are objectionable on many grounds. Among the main objections is that the order is deceptive,
claiming, as policy, strengthening English as a second language—but actually it establishes English as the
primary language of instruction from the secondary level up. This goes against the Constitution.

Article XIV, Sec. 6, which established Filipino as the national language, also includes the following policy:
“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 of the same Article says, “For the purpose of communication
and instruction, the official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law,
English.” Furthermore, “The regional languages are the auxiliary official languages in the regions and shall
serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein.”

Granted that the President’s intentions are motivated by a concern to keep Filipinos competitive and to
make them better-educated, still, whatever reforms she undertakes must be compatible with the
Constitution. Secondly, reforms should be reforms, not a reactionary attempt to simply decree an English-
speaking campaign.

Licuanan, speaking earlier this year, explained why the President’s policy is not only unconstitutional, but
counterproductive: “The use of English as medium of instruction will not improve the quality of English in the
country nor will it present the opportunities for intellectual and economic advancement as claimed. The ones
who benefit most from education in English are those who have high levels of proficiency in English to start
with and those who belong to environments where English language inputs, materials and resources are