A summary of the language policies in the Philippines from the Spanish regime down to the present time.

1. LANGUAGE POLICIES IN THE PHILIPPINES
1. Spanish Colonization
 Romanized letters were introduced
 The Decree in 1550 - issued by Carlos I in Valladolid in 1550 (June 7) and reissued in July 17. It
demanded the teaching of Castilian in the Spanish colonies which was issued before the colonization of
the Philippines.
 Instructions in 1596 - the king of Spain (Felipe II) sent to Tello, Governor of the Philippine colony, an
instruction which stated that learning of indigenous languages by the friars was inadequate for
missionary, instead the friars should teach Spanish to natives.
 The Decree in 1603 - the above two decrees required the teaching of the Spanish language, but at the
same time the Crown government demanded of friars to learn indigenous languages probably because
some of friars were reluctant or incompetent to master indigenous languages
 The Decree in 1634 - Felipe IV issued a decree demanding that the colonial government should teach
Spanish to all the natives. The previous decrees stated that the Spanish teaching should be given to
natives who were willing to learn, not to all the natives.
 The Decree in 1686 - Carlos II issued a decree in which he complained that former decrees (issued in
1550,1634 and 1636) had not been observed and stated there would be punishment if not observed.
 The Decree in 1792 - A similar type of decree was issued by Carlos IV in which he evoked the
previous decrees (May 10, 1770; November 28, 1772; November 24, 1774)
In compliance with decrees issued by the home government, the colonial government also issued several
laws concerning language policies. Compared to the royal decrees, those laws presented more concrete
methods. But they were equally ignored by friars.
 The Ordinance 1768 - Governor Solís issued the following law on October 19, 1752, later it became
Ordinance 52 in 1768. This ordinance asked the establishment of schools and prohibited any other
language than Spanish in schools. It stated that official jobs could be given to those speaking Spanish
as an incentive to learning of Spanish.
 Education Act in 1863 - prescribed that Spanish was to be the sole medium of instruction in order to
facilitate the need to learn Spanish, so that literacy in Spanish appeared to be the major purpose of the
curriculum. To this end, the decree provided that natives who could not speak, read and write Spanish
five years after its issuance were not to be permitted to hold salaried government positions. This was
the major motivation to induce the Filipinos to study the language.
Failure of the Spanish Language Education
The reasons of the failure of the Spanish language education was multifaceted, some of them being
enumerated as follows:
a. The Philippines is geographically distant from Spain, so royal decrees were not so forceful as in the
homeland.
b. In order to prevent the impact of independence of Latin Americans, the authority wanted the natives to
be barred from news form outside, therefore, being hesitant to spread the Spanish language.
c. The decrees being originally oriented for Americans, did not fit the realities in the Philippines.
d. A lack of funds was another reason. Expenses for education were largely defrayed by the clergy, not by
the national treasury.
e. There were generally no incentives for natives to learn Spanish.
f. The Spaniards were forbidden to live in the native village except friars, therefore, natives had few
chances to practice Spanish.

2. g. Even though the colonial government planned to spread the Spanish language, the friars in villages and
towns wanted to monopoly the tools of communication and ensure their own power base. The friars
were categorically opposed the spread of Spanish.
2. Education under the Americans
 After the Spanish-American War, the US Government sent the Thomasites to the Philippines. They
made it a point to teach English to the Filipinos.
3. Education under the Commonwealth
 an organized effort to develop a common national language was stared in compliance with the mandate
of the 1935 constitution.
 To help counteract the American cultural influence among the Filipinos, President Quezon greatly
encouraged the revival of native culture as well as desirable Filipino values (Code of Ethics).
4. Education under the Japanese
 Nippongo and Culture were aggressively propagated. They were offered as compulsory courses in
schools and were included in civil service tests.
 The Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Imperial Forces ordered the prohibition of the use of English
and the Filipino people’s reliance upon Western nations particularly the United States and Great Britain.
 The Filipino language bloomed. It was used as the official language of the country in teaching
Philippine History and Character Education (Executive OrderNo. 10 signed by Pres. Laurel).
5. Article XIV, Sec. 6 and 7 of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines
 provided the legal basis for the various language policies that are being implemented in the country
 resolved the issue on what the national language is, since the 1935 and 1973 Philippine Charters were
not clear about this.
6. The Philippine Bilingual Education Policy (BEP)
 promulgated by DECS in accordance to the 1987 Constitution and a declared policy of the National
Board of Education on bilingualism Consistent with the 1987 constitutional mandate and a declared
policy of the National Board of Education (NBE) on bilingualism in the schools (NBE Resolution No. 73-
7, s.1973)
 it was first implemented in 1974 when DECS issued Dept. Order No. 25, s. 1974 titled, “Implementing
Guidelines for the Policy on Bilingual Education.”
 Bilingual education in the Philippines is defined operationally as the separate use of Filipino and
English as the media of instruction in specific subject areas. Filipino is used as medium of instruction in
studies/social sciences, MAPEH, home economics, practical arts and character education. English, on
the other hand is allocated to science, mathematics and technology subjects
 aims at the achievement of competence in both Filipino and English at the national level, through the
teaching of both languages and their use as media of instruction at all levels.
 regional languages shall be used as auxiliary languages in Grades I and II
The goals of the Bilingual Education Policy
1. enhanced learning through two languages to achieve quality education as called for by the 1987
Constitution;
2. the propagation of Filipino as a language of literacy;
3. the development of Filipino as a linguistic symbol of national unity and identity;
4. the cultivation and elaboration of Filipino as a language of scholarly discourse, that is to say its continuing
intellectualization; and

3. 5. the maintenance of English as an international language for the Philippines and as a non-exclusive
language of science and technology.
7. Executive Order No. 335
 signed by then Pres. Corazon Aquino on August 25, 1988
 it enjoined all departments/bureaus/offices/agencies/instrumentalities of the government to take such
steps as are necessary for the purpose of using the Filipino language in official transactions,
communications, and correspondence.
 it was issued on the belief that the use of Filipino in official transactions, communications and
correspondence in government offices will result to a greater understanding and appreciation of
government programs, projects and activities throughout the country, thereby serving as an instrument
of unity and peace for national progress.
All departments/bureaus/offices/agencies/instrumentalities of the government are enjoined to do the
following:
a. Take steps to enhance the use of Filipino in official communications, transactions and correspondence
in their respective offices, whether national or local;
b. Assign one or more personnel, as maybe necessary, in every office to take charge of communications
and correspondence written in Filipino;
c. Translate into Filipino names of offices, buildings, public edifices, and signboards of all offices, divisions
or its instrumentalities, and if so desired, imprint below in smaller letters the English text;
d. Filipinize the “Oath of Office” for government officials and personnel; and
e. Make as part of the training programs for personnel development in each office the proficiency in the
use of Filipino in official communications and correspondence.
The Commission on the Filipino Language, formerly Institute of Philippine/National Language, is ordered
to formulate and implement programs and projects for the full and effective implementation of the objectives
expressed in the Executive Order.
8. The Language Policy of the Commission on Higher Education
 In 1994, Republic Act No. 7722 also called as the “Higher Education Act of 1994”, creating the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) was signed.
 CHED shall be independent and separate from the DECS and attached to the Office of the President
for administrative purposes only. Its coverage shall be both public and private institutions of higher
education as well as degree-granting programs in all post-secondary educational institutions, public and
private.
 CHED updated the General Education Curriculum (GEC) of tertiary courses leading to an initial
bachelor’s degree covering four (4) curriculum years. This was done to make the curriculum more
responsive to the demands of the next millennium.
Guidelines
1. Language courses, whether Filipino or English, should be taught in that language.
2. At the discretion of the HEI, Literature subjects may be taught in Filipino, English or any other
language as long as there are enough instructional materials for the same and both students and
instructors/professors are competent in the language. Courses in the Humanities and Social Sciences should
preferably be taught in Filipino.
9. K-12 program and the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB MLE)

4.  The K-12 program sought to build proficiency through language via MTB MLE, introduced in 2012. The
mother tongue or first language refers to languages or dialects first learned by a child and with which
the child identifies with.
 Kindergarten-Grade 3 – Mother Tongue is the medium of instruction
 Grade 1 - Filipino and English will be taught as subject areas
 Grades 4-6 - mother tongue transition program in which English and Filipino are introduced as media of
instruction
 Junior High School and Senior High School – English and Filipino will become the primary languages of
instruction.
Update (02/21/2017)
House Bill No. 5091 “An Act to Strengthen and Enhance the Use of English as the Medium of
Instruction in the Educational System”
Former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo wants to strengthen and enhance the use
of the English language as the medium of instruction (MOI) in the educational system, from the preschool to
the tertiary level.
Under House Bill 5091, English shall be taught as second language, starting with the First Grade and shall
be used as the MOI for English, Mathematics, and Science from at least the Third Grade level.
But, the Filipino language shall continue to be the medium of instruction in the learning areas of Filipino
and Araling Panlipunan, according to the bill.
Sources:
 A., & Grace, A. (2016, May 15). A History of the System of Education in the Philippines. Retrieved
September 18, 2018, from https://www.teacherph.com/history-system-education-philippines/
 Espiritu, C. (Language Policies in the Philippines. (n.d.). Retrieved August 14, 2018, from
http://ncca.gov.ph/subcommissions/subcommission-on-cultural-disseminationscd/language-and-
translation/language-policies-in-the-philippines/
 Luci, C. M. (2017, April 17). Arroyo bats for English language for teaching. Retrieved September 18,
2018, from https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/04/17/arroyo-bats-for-english-language-for-teaching/
 Tan, N. (n.d.). Policies on the use of the Filipino language. Retrieved August 31, 2018, from
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/65938-policies-filipino-language
 Zedval, R. (2014, May 03). LEGAL BASIS OF EDUCATION: AMERICAN REGIME TO
COMMONWEALTH PERIOD. Retrieved September 18, 2018, from
https://www.slideshare.net/vljone/legal-basis-of-education-american-regime-to-commonwealth-period
 言語２１世紀塾. (n.d.). Retrieved September 18, 2018, from https://gengo21.com/論文の紹介
/language-policies-in-the-philippines-during-the-spanish-
colonization#2_Language_Policies_by_the_Government_in_Spain
 DO 16, s. 2012 – Guidelines on the Implementation of the Mother Tongue-Based- Multilingual
Education (MTB-MLE). (n.d.). Retrieved August 27, 2018, from
http://www.deped.gov.ph/2012/02/17/do-16-s-2012-guidelines-on-the-implementation-of-the-mother-
tongue-based-multilingual-education-mtb-mle/