STATEMENT OF SENATE PRESIDENT SOTTO

The exclusion of Filipino as a core subject in college goes against the spirit of Article XIV Sec. 6 of the Constitution, which states that "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."

We can see these days among the youth the lack of grasp of the Filipino language and by removing this as a core subject in college or any other school level, I fear this would deteriorate even further. The Filipino language is part of our identity as a people and as such we should strive to preserve and strengthen this at all times.