UST urged to keep Filipino subjects after SC ruling on K to 12

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THE HEAD of the University’s Filipino Department has urged the UST administration to continue offering Filipino subjects under the new curriculum despite the Supreme Court (SC) ruling to exclude Filipino from core subjects in college.

The SC lifted on Nov. 9 the temporary restraining order (TRO) on the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) memorandum order that removed 15 units of Filipino subjects, or 9 units of Language and 6 units of Panitikan, from the core subjects of the tertiary level.

The ruling also upheld the legality of the K to 12 basic education reform, which made kindergarten and two years of senior high school mandatory

READ: Supreme Court ruling on the legality of the K to 12 basic education reform and the exclusion of Filipino from the core subjects in college

“Tiwala kaming nakikita ng Unibersidad ang halaga ng kurso sa… pagpapataas ng kakayahan ng [mga estudiyante] sa paggamit ng Filipino na natatangi sa kanilang disiplina,” Alvin Ringgo Reyes told the Varsitarian in an online interview.

Reyes said CHEd’s decision to move Filipino subjects to senior high school would limit the teaching of the subject to generic classes, because it is only in tertiary education where Filipino can be taught based on the students’ specific fields of discipline.

The TRO on CHEd’s memorandum order was issued in 2015 following several protests from Filipino teachers and various organizations.

Alyansa ng Mga Tagapagtanggol ng Wikang Filipino or Tanggol Wika saw the decision as treacherous to the country and history of Filipino, saying it would only cause teachers’ unemployment and chaos in the curriculum.

“Hinahamon natin ang mga unibersidad na panatilihin ang Filipino at Panitikan sa sarili nilang inisyatiba. Hinahamon din natin ang Senado at Kongreso na isabatas ang pagkakaroon ng mandatoring Filipino at Panitikan sa kolehiyo,” Tanggol Wika said in a statement.

Tanggol ng Wika, founded in 2014, is composed of students, writers, professors and cultural activists. Francis Agapitus E. Braganza

Editor’s Note: We wish to clarify that Mr. Alvin Ringgo Reyes is the chairman of UST’s Filipino department and Mr. Julio Santiago is the chairman of the Teacher Education department. We apologize for this mistake.

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