by Juliet Saley


BONTOC, Mt. Province, March 24  - Congressman Maximo B. Dalog has co-authored House Bill No. 93 introduced by Cebu Representative Eduardo R. Gullas which is to strengthen and enhance the use of English as the medium of instruction in Philippine schools.


This bill aims to correct the defects of the current Bilingual Education Program of the Department of Education with the ultimate objective of improving the learning process in schools to ensure quality outputs.
Gullas, in his explanatory note stated that the Bilingual Policy of the Department of Education which was introduced in 1974 (through DECS Order No. 25, s. 1974) was designed to develop a “bilingual nation competent in the use of English and Filipino.”



This policy mandated the teaching of Filipino as a subject in all curricular levels from the elementary to college. It also required the use of Filipino as a medium of instruction in Social Studies, Character Education, Values Education, Physical Education, Industrial Arts, and Home Economics.



He mentioned that as a result of this policy, the learning of the English language suffered a set back. The use of Pilipino as a medium of instruction in the subjects mentioned has limited the exposure of the learner to English.
As proposed by House Bill No. 93, the medium of instruction in all subjects taught shall be as follows: English and Filipino or the regional/native language may be used as the teaching language in all subjects from preschool to Grade 3; English and Filipino shall be taught as separate subjects in all levels in the elementary and secondary; medium of instruction in all academic subjects in the elementary grades from grade IV to Grade VI and in all levels in the secondary shall be English; the current language policy prescribed by the Commission on Higher Education shall be maintained in college.


In addition to formal instruction, the use of English shall be encouraged as a language of interaction in school. The organization of English clubs such as book, oratorical, debating, writing, and related associations shall be encouraged. In school publications, the use of English shall be given priority as far as practicable.


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. It may include questions in Filipino for which the credit for such questions shall not exceed 10 percent of the total points in the examination.*(PIA- CAR/Mt. Province)