Sponsors belittle opposition, ready to defend 'English' bill

MANILA, Philippines - Belittling the opposition to the bill, sponsors of a proposed measure reinforcing English in schools are ready to defend it during plenary discussion at the House of Representatives. Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas, one of the lead proponents of House Bill 5169, said he and his fellow sponsors "definitely welcome" the plan of critics to raise questions on the floor. "We now live and compete in the fast-moving information technology (IT) age, and English is the language of technology. So we have to embrace English," Gullas said in an article on the House of Representatives website. He said even India and Taiwan are promoting the use of English. In the Philippines, he said tens of thousand of South Koreans visit the country us just to study English short courses. "What do India, Taiwan and South Korea have in common? They all aspire to be global leaders in the IT revolution, and they realize that in order to achieve their ambitions, they need adequate English skills," he said. Gullas said he and the other lead sponsors of the bill, including Luis Villafuerte (Camarines Sur), Crispin Remulla (Cavite), Raul Del Mar (Cebu), Del De Guzman (Marikina City) and Cynthia Villar (Las Pinas City), are "more than ready and willing" to defend the bill. Earlier, Valenzuela City Rep. Magtanggol Gunigundo vowed to oppose the impending approval of the proposed Act Strengthening and Enhancing the Use of English as the Medium of Instruction. Gullas said 202 members or 85 percent of the 238-strong House have co-authored the bill. "This ought to give everyone a sense as to how overwhelming and formidable the support for the bill is," he said. He also maintained that the House committees on basic education and culture chaired by De Guzman, and on tertiary and technical education chaired by Villar, have thoroughly examined the bill and its potential positive outcome. Even Education Secretary Jesli Lapus is totally supportive of the bill, he said. "Just the same, we welcome a painstaking debate on the floor ... We must stress that this is not just about jobs in contact centers or in the business processing outsourcing industry. This is about arming our future labor force participants with the language skills necessary for them to compete aggressively in all gainful job markets here and abroad," he said. The House committees chaired by De Guzman and Villar filed a joint report on December 14, strongly endorsing the bill for immediate plenary consideration and approval. Besides Speaker Prospero Nograles (Davao City) and Majority Leader Arthur Defensor Sr. (Iloilo), the bill's key endorsers include former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr (Pangasinan); Edcel Lagman (Albay); Teodoro Locsin Jr. (Makati City); and Roilo Golez (Parañaque City). Likewise backing the bill are Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora (San Juan); Joseph Santiago (Catanduanes), chairman of the information and communications technology committee; and Junie Cua (Quirino), chairman of the appropriations committee. Under the bill: * English, Filipino or the regional/native language may be used as the teaching language in all subjects from preschool to Grade 3; * English shall be the teaching language in all academic subjects from Grades 4 to 6, and in all levels of high school; * English and Filipino shall be taught as separate subjects in all levels of elementary and high school; * The current language policy prescribed by the Commission on Higher Education shall be maintained in college; and * English shall be promoted as the language of interaction in schools. The bill also requires English as the language of assessment in all government examinations, and in all entrance tests in public schools as well as state universities and colleges. Once enacted, the bill would supersede Department of Education (DepEd) Order No. 25, which proclaimed a "bilingual" teaching policy. Under the bilingual policy adopted in 1974, the subjects of social studies, character education, values education, industrial arts, home economics, physical education were all taught using Filipino while other subjects were done in English. Upon implementation of the bilingual policy, however, Gullas said the subjects that were supposed to be taught in English were actually done in "Taglish," or a blend of English and the local dialect. "As a language is best learned through constant exposure and use, we have to prescribe again by law, and not simply by administrative fiat, the reinstatement of English as medium of instruction, except of course in Filipino taught as a subject," Gullas said. A previous survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) indicated that while most Filipinos are convinced that English mastery leads to greater employment opportunities, many still lack proficiency in the language. In the March 2008 survey by the SWS, only 76 percent of voting-age Filipinos said they could understand spoken English. Of those polled, only 75 percent said they could read English; only 61 percent said they could write English; only 46 percent said they could speak English; and only 38 percent said they could think in English. - GMANews.TV