Notes on National Language & Literature Advocacy and Research Productivity: The Case for Filipino and Panitikan (Literature) as Required Subjects in Philippine Colleges and Universities

Abstract

On March 2019, the Philippine Supreme Court threw out the petition filed in 2015 against the abolition of Filipino Language (Filipino) – the country’s national language – and Panitikan (Literature) as required subjects in all tertiary-level institutions. Advocates succeeded in jumpstarting the process to legislate the said subjects as curricular requirements through House Bill 223 which six representatives of national partylist groups in Congress filed on July 1, 2019. The bill barely moved for 6 months, garnering just another co-author, and it is still without any parallel version in the Philippine Senate. This paper is aimed at presenting strong arguments – related to research productivity – to help convince legislators in throwing their weight behind the said vital piece of legislation.

Keywords: Curriculum, Filipino Language, Literature, Higher Education, Language Planning