Council asks CPA, firms to use Cebuano dialect

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera has encouraged the Cebu Port Authority and all common carrier establishments involved in the transportation of passengers and goods in the city to use the Cebuano language in their operations.

Garganera sponsored a resolution on the proposal which was approved by the City Council last January 29.

"The promotion and preservation of Cebuano culture is not only limited to our culture, traditions, filmmaking, acting, storytelling, dance, music writing and composition but also the language that we speak," said Garganera.

The councilor stressed that preserving "Bisaya" is important in providing a sense of unity and uniqueness amidst the cluster of languages and dialects that the Philippines possess.

Garganera said that airlines and other airport management companies "most often than not" use the English or Tagalog language as means of serving customers in their daily operations.

He said it is imperative to encourage all common carrier establishments carrying passengers and goods to use the Cebuano language in the course of their business bound for the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

The Cebuano language, according to Garganera, is significant because it is "a repository of our rich culture, history, and it forms huge part of our identity."

More than 20 million people in the country speak the Cebuano language.

It is the most widely spoken Visayan language and most Cebuano speakers are found in Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, Biliran, Western and Southern Leyte, Eastern Negros, and most of Northern, South-eastern and Western Mindanao.  GAN (FREEMAN)