BAYBAYIN street signs have been reinstalled across the UST campus, months after prototypes were installed and then removed following a social media stir.
The Facilities Management Office (FMO) first installed the Baybayin street signs in July before taking them down as they were mere “prototypes.” Updated versions of the signs were seen in selected areas of the campus on Oct. 8.
The new signs now feature Filipino translations of the street names, which were then transliterated into Baybayin. This corrects errors in the prototypes, which drew criticism online for errors in the use of the script.
The previous signs transliterated the English street names letter by letter instead of per syllable, which is the proper way of applying Baybayin, according to Jose Enage of “Baybayin Buhayin.”
READ: Umano’y ‘prototype’ na Baybayin sa street signs sa UST, binatikos
FMO Director Fr. Dexter Austria, O.P. said in July that the project was finalized in close consultation with the Faculty of Arts and Letters, particularly with its dean, Prof. Melanie Turingan, a historian.
Turingan said the College of Education, the Department of History, and the Department of Filipino were also involved in the project.
Austria added that the FMO was working on the concrete bases for the signposts to complete the installation of the new street signs throughout the campus.
In an earlier interview with the Varsitarian, Austria described the project as “an overall appreciation of the writing system of our ancestors.”
