Gullas unfazed by opponents of bill for English in schools

Cebu first district Rep. Eduardo Gullas, the lead sponsor of the bill seeking to reinforce the use of English in schools, is unfazed by the threat of a small number of colleagues to stonewall the passage of the measure.

Gullas, a veteran lawmaker and educator, welcomes the plan of critics to raise questions when the measure is finally sent to the floor for plenary discussion.

“We now live and compete in the fast-moving Information Technology age, and English is the language of technology. So we have to embrace English,” Gullas said.

Gullas statement came after Valenzuela City Rep. Magtanggol Gunigundo, who vowed to oppose the impending approval of House Bill 5169 —the proposed Act Strengthening and Enhancing the Use of English as the Medium of Instruction.

No less than 202 members or 85 percent of the 238-strong House have co-authored the bill.

“This ought to give everyone a sense as to how overwhelming and formidable the support for the bill is,” Gullas said.

Gullas also maintained that no less than two House committees on basic education and culture chaired by De Guzman, and on tertiary and technical education chaired by Villar have thoroughly examined the bill and its potential positive outcome.

Gullas pointed out that even in India and Taiwan are promoting the use of English.

“Here, we have tens of thousand of South Koreans visiting us just to study English short courses. What do India, Taiwan and South Korea have in common?

They all aspire to be global leaders in the IT revolution, and they realize that in order to achieve their ambitions, they need adequate English skills,” Gullas said.

The other lead sponsors are Representatives Luis Villafuerte (Camarines Sur), Crispin Remulla (Cavite), Raul Del Mar (Cebu), Del De Guzman (Marikina City) and Cynthia Villar (Las Pinas City) — are more than ready and willing to defend the bill.

Even Education Secretary Jesli Lapus is totally supportive of the bill, Gullas said.

“We must stress that this is not just about jobs in contact centers or in the business processing outsourcing industry. This is about arming our future labor force participants with the language skills necessary for them to compete aggressively in all gainful job markets here and abroad,” Gullas added.

As proposed HB 5619: English, Filipino or the regional/native language may be used as the teaching language in all subjects from preschool to Grade 3; English shall be the teaching language in all academic subjects from Grades 4 to 6, and in all levels of high school; also English and Filipino shall be taught as separate subjects in all levels of elementary and high school; the current language policy prescribed by the Commission on Higher Education shall be maintained in college; and English shall be promoted as the language of interaction in schools.

The bill also requires English as the language of assessment in all government examinations, and in all entrance tests in public schools as well as state universities and colleges.

Once enacted, the bill will supersede Department of Education (DepEd) Order No. 25, which proclaimed a “bilingual” teaching policy.

Upon implementation of the bilingual policy, however, Gullas said the subjects that were supposed to be taught in English were actually done in “Taglish,” or a blend of English and the local dialect. This weakened English in a big way, he said.

“As a language is best learned through constant exposure and use, we have to prescribe again by law, and not simply by administrative fiat, the reinstatement of English as medium of instruction, except of course in Filipino taught as a subject,” Gullas said. — Garry B. Lao/BRP   (THE FREEMAN)