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Language and Education Policies in the

Philippines: Critique and Alternatives

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 LANGUAGE
AND
EDUCATION POLICIES
IN THE PHILIPPINES:

CRITIQUE AND ALTERNATIVES

David Michael M. San Juan

2023
Language and Education Policies in the Philippines:
Critique and Alternatives

Copyright © David Michael M. San Juan & PUP Center for Philippine
Studies 2023
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the Author’s or Publisher’s written permission.

PUBLISHED BY
PUP Center for Philippine Studies
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Mabini Campus, Anonas St.
Sta. Mesa, Manila, Philippines 1016
Telephone: 335-1777 loc. 744
Email: cps@pup.edu.ph
Website: www.pup.edu.ph/research/ricl

Book cover design by Paul Serafica

Book layout by Danilo P. Ellamil, Jr.

THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF THE PHILIPPINES CATALOGING-IN-

PUBLICATION DATA
Recommended entry:
San Juan, David Michael M.
Language and education policies in the
Philippines : critique and alternatives / David
Michael M. San Juan. -- Manila : PUP Center
for Philippine Studies-Polytechnic University
of the Philippines, 2023.
pages ; cm

ISBN 978-621-8387-02-7 (pb)

ISBN 978-621-8387-03-4 (pdf)

1. Language policy – Philippines.

2. Language and education – Philippines. I. Title.

306.449599 P119.32.P45 2023 P320230324

 AKLAT SUDLANAN

“Sudlanan” is a Cebuano word meaning storage or container. It is root-

ed in the word “sulod,” which means inside. Aklat Sudlanan is a vessel
of knowledge highlighting Filipino ideas, culture, and society. It is part
of the PUP Center for Philippine Studies advocacy on democratizing
knowledge through sharing of open-access scholarly and creative work
publications.

Jomar G. Adaya
Editor and Project Proponent,
Sudlanan: PUP Online Repository on Philippine Studies

Sheila Mae C. Intoy

Editor, Aklat Sudlanan

Rolando P. Quiñonez
Copyeditor, Aklat Sudlanan
 For my fellow conveners and members of the
Alyansa ng Mga Tagapagtanggol ng Wikang Filipino/
Alliance of the Defenders of the Filipino Language (Tanggol Wika).
Padayon!
A luta continua!
 Acknowledgment

The author sends his warm gratitude to individuals and organizations

that helped in completing this book: Dr. Joseph Reylan Viray (Director,
Institute for Culture and Language Studies), Prof. Jomar Adaya (Chief,
PUP Center for Philippine Studies), Prof. Marvin Lai (Chair, PUP Depar-
tamento ng Filipinolohiya), Dr. Rowell Madula (Chair, DLSU Departa-
mento ng Filipino), Alyansa ng Mga Tagapagtanggol ng Wikang Filipi-
no/Alliance of the Defenders of the Filipino Language (Tanggol Wika),
Pambansang Samahan sa Linggwistika at Literaturang Filipino
(PSLLF), Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), People’s Education
Commission (PEdCom), and Kilos na para sa Makabayang Edukasyon
(KMEd).

Thank you very much!

 introduction

Discussions on the Philippines’ language and education policies remain

essential in the 21st century as the country perseveres in maintaining its
multilingual and multicultural heritage and as it continuously attempts
to set itself free from the shackles of neocolonial language and
education policies that aim to align the Philippine education system
with the needs of developed countries, rather than our communities.
Of particular interest is how the policy-making process in language and
education in the country still runs counter to democratic principles
such as genuine dialogue and inclusivity, and how grassroots voices
persist in challenging the status quo by presenting feasible alternative
policies rooted in the needs and interests of the education
stakeholders and the communities – the real world – they live in, far
from the halls of power and the so-called ivory tower.

Within this context, this book is aimed at critiquing existing language

and education policies through the lens of language advocates and
typically politically sidelined education stakeholders, and at the same
time, providing feasible policy recommendations to steer policies
closer to grassroots aspirations of a multilingual country where our
collective sense of nationhood and nationalism empowers us to
reshape our education system for national development, rather than
the tired catchphrase of “global competitiveness.” Such critiques and
alternative perspectives are informed by available studies, recent data,
and updated statistics. Throughout the book, pertinent insights from

VII
recent reports such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development’s (OECD’s) Programme for International Student
Assessment (PISA) 2018 Country Note on the Philippines, the Philippine
Department of Education’s Basic Education Development Plan 2030
(BEDP), and World Bank et al.’s The State of Global Learning Poverty
(2022) were incorporated, analyzed, and contextualized.

The first chapter delivers a critique of and practical insights on the

policy-making process in the Philippines, using three interesting recent
mini-case studies, namely, the swift congressional approval of the
current administration’s plan to create a sovereign wealth fund
through House Bill 6608 (“Maharlika Investment Fund Act”), the
imposition of English as the primary medium of instruction through
Executive Order No. 210, Series of 2003, and the obliteration of Filipino
language and Panitikan (Literature) as mandatory core courses in the
tertiary level General Education Curriculum through Commission on
Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum Order No. 20, Series of 2013. In
this chapter, the author presents evidence on the non-democratic
policy-making process in language and education policy changes in the
country and provides some doable policy recommendations to help
strengthen mechanisms for a more democratic policy-making process.

The second and third chapters dwell on specific language and

education issues. Specifically, the second chapter revisits the debate
on the best medium of instruction for Philippine schools. The same
chapter demolishes the claim that English is the best medium of
instruction for a country where less than 1% of the population speaks
the said language at home and argues for a working compromise
language policy that focuses on making functional multilingualism a
reality for Filipinos. Meanwhile, the third chapter focuses on language
advocacy for the restoration of Filipino and Literature subjects in
college. Such discussion aims to convince core constituencies in the
country to help push for this policy as it will be holistically beneficial to
Filipinos. The fourth chapter delves into broader issues in the
intertwined process of educational and economic restructuring as
observed in the crafting and implementation of and the prospective
overhaul of the K to 12 system in the Philippines.

viii
This book is thus a handy introduction to 21st-century language and
education policies in the Philippines, for both education stakeholders,
advocates, administrators, professionals, and students. This is also a
very timely contribution that could help provide insights to shape
discussions, deliberations, and prospective recommendations of the
Philippines’ Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM
II) which has been recently established and has started working on an
education systems review. It is hoped that our readers will become
shapers of what should be rather than viewers of what it is.

ix
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

vii introduction

1 CHAPTER 1

THE POLICY-MAKING PROCESS IN A “ LOW-QUALITY”

DEMOCRACY:
CURRENT REALITIES AND AGENDA FOR REFORM

Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF): Railroaded

Legislation as non-Democratic Policy-
Making / 5
Philippine State as the Executive Committee
of Capital: Big Business Interest at the
Crossroads of the Economy and Education / 8
Non-Democratic Policy-Making Process in
Language and Education Policy Shifts / 13
Doable Reforms Towards Democratic Policy-
Making: Enhanced People’s Initiative and
Education Sector Representation / 19

35 CHAPTER 2

THE BEST MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION FOR PHILIPPINE

SCHOOLS: CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS,
CURRENT POLICIES, AND A WORKING COMPROMISE

Marcosian Language Policy: Better English

Language Skills for Better Overseas
Employment / 36
Marcosian Language Policy vis-à-vis The
Philippine Constitution’s Official Language
Policy / 37
Gaps of and Recommendations for MTB-
MLE / 46
Deconstructing Myths on MTB-MLE, English,
and Filipino / 48
x
 Alternative Language Policy: Functional
Multilingualism / 64

77 CHAPTER 3

GRASSROOTS-DRIVEN LANGUAGE POLICY SHIFT:

BUILDING THE CASE AND THE COALITION FOR FILIPINO
AND PANITIKAN (LITERATURE) AS REQUIRED
SUBJECTS IN PHILIPPINE COLLEGES AND
UNIVERSITIES

Review of Constitutional Language

Provisions: Legal and Moral Grounds for
Legislation / 79
Building a Coalition from Big Constituencies
for the Passage of House Bill 564 / 82
Potential Non-Legislative Measures for
Filipino and Panitikan / 91

101 CHAPTER 4

INSIGHTS ON K TO 12 IN THE PHILIPPINES:

FROM POLICY CRITIQUE TO POLICY OVERHAUL

K to 12, Global Competitiveness, and Labor

Export / 103
Practical Alternative to K to 12 Then: K to 12
for Those Who Want/Need It / 107
Immediate Socio-Economic Reforms Needed
to Complement Educational Restructuring /
108
Bottom-Up Education System Review
Beyond DepEd’s K to 12 Review and EDCOM
II: Democratic Policy-Making In Action / 113

xvii
AFTERWORD

xi
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