Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III. INQUIRER.net file photo / CATHY MIRANDA
Update
Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III warned on Thursday that the exclusion of Filipino as a core subject in college would only “deteriorate” further the youth’s grasp on the Filipino language.
“We can see these days among the youth the lack of grasp of the Filipino language and by removing this as a core subject in college or any other school level, I fear this would deteriorate even further,” Sotto said in a statement.
“The Filipino language is part of our identity as a people and as such we should strive to preserve and strengthen this at all times,” he added
The senator was reacting to a Supreme Court ruling which allows the exclusion of Filipino and Panitikan (Philippine Literature) from the core subjects in college as it upheld the constitutionality of the controversial K-12 law.
READ: SC: Filipino, ‘Panitikan’ no longer core college subjects
Sotto also believes that the exclusion of Filipino as a core subject in college “goes against the spirit” of Article XIV Section 6 of the Constitution.
The said provision states that “the Government shall take steps to initiate and sustain the use of Filipino as a medium of official communication and as the language of instruction in the educational system.” /jpv
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