We’ve been quite critical of Baguio Congressman Mauricio Domogan but we are not blind to the good things he has done or tries to do.
In one of our early blog posts, we noted that Domogan filed a bill in Congress which seeks to mandate the teaching of Cordillera languages in our region’s universities. We identified such bill as our favorite of all the bills filed by Cordi Congressmen.
Domogan’s bill went nowhere in the previous do-nothing Congress so we’re glad to know that he is filing it again. We’re not quite sure if this re-filed bill will have a better fate but we have to acknowledge Domogan’s persistence. Here’s Dexter See’s article from the Manila Bulletin:
Solon seeks teaching of 8 Cordillera dialects in colleges, universities
By DEXTER A. SEE
BAGUIO CITY — Higher-education institutions in the Cordillera Region would be directed to teach their students the eight major languages in the region.
This developed after Baguio City Rep. Mauricio G.Domogan filed House Bill (HB) 1021 directing the teaching and learning of the eight major Cordillera languages as optional subjects with accredited units on the tertiary level of education in the Cordillera.
Domogan said that the teaching of Cordillera languages on the tertiary level, particularly Baguio Ilocano, Ifugao, Inibaloi, Kankana-ey, Kalinga, Isneg, Tingguian, and Ifontok is pursuant to the constitutional provision on culture.
The Baguio lawmaker said that the teaching and learning of a particular language are among the surest ways to express the cultural heritage of the people and bring about pride for one’s culture,deeper patriotism, unity, and solidarity.
Under the proposed law, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) would be tasked to implement and prescribe the rules and regulations governing its implementation.
At the same time, the different colleges and universities in the region would have the option to agree with CHED on how many of the eight languages may be taught by them.
If any part of the bill is declared unconstitutional or invalid, such declaration would not affect the other provisions of the measure.
Domogan expressed confidence that the measure will be given due course by the 14th Congress, saying this would pave the way for cultural awareness among the people of the region and students from other regions who want to learn the culture of the Cordillerans.
The Cordillera is one of the regions in the country with distinct culture and tradition that are worthy of learning, the congressman said.
Furthermore, Domogan, who is known for his advocacy of the indigenous people’s customs and traditions, said the present generation must preserve the rich culture and tradition of the Cordillera which should be passed on from generation to generation.
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But enough with Domogan. This blog is about us hehe. Anyways, how do you say “I love you” in your own language. In Kankanaey, it’s “Laylaydek sik-a”. But I’m sure you know that already.
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Yes!
Para masabing he’s not just warming da bench, aba, re-file yung mga previous bills na lang.
Like I do every new years day, I’ll look for da old list of my previous new year’s resolution and try to work on it religiously, but seriously, moh pawah to Mauricio.
Btw, what happened to da fly-over funds??? Cheers….
Why optional?? Those are our languages and I believe it should be enforced and why tertialry level only? Ano yan, are they aiming for Cordillerans to speak their languages at the most basic level. Kung ganyan rin lang, let it be that Tagalog(Aka Filipino)should be optional too and be taken at the tertiary level only!
No wonder this country is not united at all. People here deprive their co-inhabitants of their onw languages? Maybe we should copy the Chinese schools?
i’ve heard this from a sagada teacher- using the dialect as the language of instruction has been tried in sagada, in ankileng elementary school, in the late 1990s. the results of that ‘experiment’ were encouraging-the students performed excellently in achievement tests. as to what happened next, i’m no longer aware.:-)
yup, let’s give credit to cong. domogan, it’s due him.:-)
One can certainly increase the number of “Cordillera language immersion” elementary schools and high schools in places where educational infrastructure is solid enough (like the example a commentator gave). Brain research shows that children who are proficient in their primary language are more prepared to be proficient in additional languages.
Otherwise, I think the Congressman’s bill is a good starting and symbolic point!
Hi Anonymous,
Yo! 🙂
Hi Trublue,
Hehehe, ikaw ha. But good point. Flyover funds? Maybe they’re waiting for the price of cement to go up before they use it. Thanks.
Hi Kris,
Good point din. Sana nga we start using the language from the very start of schooling. Thanks.
Hi Pagano,
Real stories like that are good evidence that our local languages should be used. Sana the answer as to what happened next will be… and they continued to do well because they continued using their local language 🙂
Hi Anonymous,
Thanks. It’s really unfortunate that we are still stuck with the kind of language instruction we have (use English and Tagalog or else) despite the evidence that we will be better off if local languages are used at the basic level. And yes, Domogan’s bill is a starting point.
good luck
well it’s good! some are igorots by blood but can’t even understand even a single dialec>>