Cebu Lawmaker Pushes English Bill

[Mr Lee]

I think this would be very good for Cebu, and even better if the whole Philippines decided to follow in their footsteps. The story HEREA bill to make English the medium of instruction in elementary and high school is again being proposed in Congress by a Cebu legislator.Rep. Eduardo Gullas (Cebu, 1st district) filed the bill “to strengthen and enhance the use of English” in school.Gullas proposed that from preschool to grade 3, the medium of instruction should be the regional or native language. But from grade 3 to high school, English should be used.In the tertiary level, the current language policy of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), which is English, will be maintained.Gullas said that when the Department of Education (DepEd) adopted the bilingual policy—which requires the use of Filipino to teach subjects of Social Studies, Character Education, Values Education, Physical Education, Industrial Arts, and Home Economics—the “learning of the English language suffered a setback.”He said he’s aware that some groups don’t want to remove Filipino as the medium of instruction in Philippine schools.“The bill aims to correct defects of the current bilingual education program of the DepEd. Its ultimate objective is the improvement of the learning process in schools to ensure quality output,” Gullas said.He said 206 congressmen already signed the bill, including former president and now 2nd district representative of Pampanga Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Gullas said seven more congressmen promised to sign up to show their support. /Correspondent Fatrick Tabada