BY DR. JOSE MA. EDUARDO P. DACUDAO
1973 CONSTITUTION
ART. XV, SEC.3. (3) Until otherwise provided by law, English and Pilipino shall be the official languages.What is the ‘Pilipino’ language? This 1973 Constitutional does not refer to ‘one of the existing native languages’ as in the 1935 constitution. Quezon had justified the selection of Tagalog on the exclusivity of the provision – ‘based on one the existing native languages’.
This is where the provisions of the 1935 and 1973 constitutions differ. Exclusivity to one language was no longer mandated in 1973.
Finally we come to the 1987 Constitution
1987 CONSTITUTION
Art. XIV Education. Science and Technology, Arts, and Culture, and Sports. On Language.
SEC.6. The national language of the Philippines is Filipino. As it evolves, it shall be further developed and enriched on the basis of existing Philippine and other languages.Subject to provisions of law and as the Congress may deem appropriate, the Government shall take steps to initiate and sustain the use of Filipino as a medium of official communication and as language of instruction in the educational system.
SEC.7. For purposes of communication and instruction, the official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English. The regional languages are the auxiliary official languages in the region and shall serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein.Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis.
SEC.8. This Constitution shall be promulgated in Filipino and English and shall be translated into major regional languages, Arabic and Spanish.
SEC.9. The Congress shall establish a national language commission composed of representatives of various regions and disciplines which shall undertake, coordinate, and promote researches for the development, propagation, and preservation of the Filipino and other languages.
The 1987 Philippine Constitution does not mandate for the development and adoption of a common national language based on ‘one of the existing native languages’. Instead the ‘Filipino’ official language of the 1987 Constitution shall be ‘developed and enriched on the basis of existing Philippine and other languages’. Thus, again Tagalog cannot lay claim as the sole language referred to, as was the case in the 1935 Constitution.
Again as in the 1973 Constitution, Tagalog cannot be claimed to be the only basis in the development of a ‘national language’.
Apparently there has been a shift from the purely monolingual language ideology of the 1935 Constitution to a national language based on a multiple languages ideology in the 1987 Constitution. The National Language Commission (Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino) was mandated to ‘initiate and sustain the use of Filipino as a medium of official communication and as language of instruction in the educational system’. However, thus far the preference for Tagalog over the other Philippine languages has been overwhelming. There has been no convincing result recognizing the non-Tagalog languages. (To be continued)/PN
