Made by: Leona Irinco

Topic: Filipino subject should be terminated in tertiary level

Country: Philippines
In 2013, CHED proposed to remove the Filipino subject in tertiary level. It received a
huge backlash mostly from the Filipino teachers and professors. CHED Chairperson
Prospero De Vera III on Wednesday night, November 14 said the CHED will not
implement its order yet as advocates of the Filipino language said they plan to appeal
the Court's decision, which lifted a 2015 Temporary Restraining Order that had blocked
the memorandum order. I personally disagree with the issue stated.
Aside from being unreasonable, removing the Filipino subject represents the lost of
patriotism. Furthermore, college students are not the only one who will suffer but also
the teachers and professors. According to a Filipino language scholar, the termination of
Filipino and Panitikan subjects will affect 10,000 teachers and can cause problematic
changes to the country’s education curriculum. Although I do not agree in terminating
the subject, I will admit that it has its pros but the cons of it are undeniably many.
The Filipino subject has numerous importance and pros for us Filipinos. First, it gives
us a sense of national identity. As our national language it serves as a bridge to unite us
despite of differences in religion, ethnicity and language. Second, the subject gives
chance to non-native Filipino speakers to learn our national language and helps people
with different dialects communicate with each other. Third, it preserves the language.
As an example, Latin died because the Romans and their constituents did not use it
properly. It broke into Spanish, French, Italian, Romanian, etc. Therefore, it is a must
that people know how to use Filipino.
Terminating the Filipino subject in tertiary level is like denying them their rights to learn
their own national language. In addition, majority of us Filipinos do not know how to
speak Filipino correctly, what more if we terminate the subject? Not terminating the
subject has its cons but the pros are much more prominent.
Overall, it is best if the Filipino subject remains in tertiary level not only for the teachers
and professors but also for the best of our country. Studying our national language from
elementary to high school is not enough to fully understand and use Filipino. To harness
and preserve language should be prioritize instead of terminating it. The absence of the
Filipino subject will widely affect the country more negatively than it positively should.
Meanwhile, if we continue the same curriculum and subjects we have now, the chance
of negatively affecting the country is small.