March 27,2010

Lito Osmeña’s Case VS. ABS-CBN Is An Apparent Language Discrimination

By Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.
Tagalog-speaking people must give respect to the other groups of Filipinos wh
o have possessed their respective languages or Mother Tongues different from the
irs. They should not think that their language, that is Tagalog, has become supe
rior with the rest of the languages in the country for the reason that it was ch
osen as our national language. If the choice of a national language was based on
numbers or of the majority, it should be Cebuano or the Binisayang Sinugboanon.
However, this was not the case, it was the reverse. A Tagalog-speaking Presid
ent in the person of Manuel Quezon was the one, as I’ve learned in high school,
who proclaimed Tagalog as our national language thru the so-called “nearness of
the heart” nomination or emotional choice. I do not know how the other groups of
Filipinos have reacted to the proclamation at that time since they are living v
ery far from the Presidential Seat in Metro Manila.
Thru the powerful broadcast media like the radio and TV other groups of Filip
inos in various regions of the country have gradually learned to speak Tagalog.
Aside from the elementary and secondary level where it was also taught as a subj
ect. Because of this scheme many Filipinos have learned to speak it. But it does
not mean that the Tagalog language has become a superior language.N0! It would
be better that predominant languages in various regions of the country be also t
aught as subjects in the elementary, high school and college. If the Tagalog lan
guage is being taught in all levels of school in the country, why can’t our resp
ective Mother Tongues also?
The Tagalog-speaking people in Luzon and now in other places of the country w
here they’ll have chosen to live or were married to other groups of Filipinos wi
th their own inherent languages, should not think that their language is superio
r compared to other Filipinos’ Mother Tongues. Particularly for the educated Tag
alog-speaking individuals, they must give respect to other languages that each o
f us have inherently learned from our parents and forebears. They should avoid e
nforcing their languages to other groups of Filipinos. They should be given the
freedom to speak their respective languages to their provincemates in the privac
y of their off-screen activities even in some Tagalog-sponsored shows and to any
kind of audience outside their places.
Every group of Filipinos should also speak and write in their respective lang
uages to their fellowmen provincianos. Speaking in Tagalog to our fellow Visayan
s or fellow Waray-Waray or Bicolano or llonggo,or Ilocano,or Kapangpangan and ot
hers is not the proper way of nurturing,patronizing,cherishing,sustaining and
loving our respective languages.
It is only by using our respective languages in our speaking and in writing t
hat we are intellectualizing our respective Mother Tongues. There’s no other way
to do that than what I have stated above..
If you asked why I write my article in English, it’s because it’s my chosen m
edium. Although occasionally I also write in my Mother Tongue which is Cebuano o
r the Binisayang Sinugboanon. Another reason for writing my article in the Engli
sh language is because I’m addressing this to all educated Filipinos including t
hose non-Filipinos who happen to read my article.English, my chosen medium in wr
iting my articles, is my preference because the English language is an internati
onal language or universal language. A language that is internationally declared
or chosen as the universal language is no longer a foreign language to all educ
ated people in every country of the whole world, regardless of his /her race, co
lor, creed or nationality.
It should be the second language to all educated peoples in the face of the e
arth. They ought to know now how to write and speak in this particular language
besides their own languages. Learning other languages is an advantage to any Fil
ipino or other nationality because he/she has a unique edge than those who only
know to speak their respective local tongues. Multi-lingual speaker Filipinos ha
ve the broad flexibility to adjust their tongues to another languages spoken by
other races of the world.
Going back to the case of senatorial candidate Lito Osmeña of Cebu City vers
us ABS-CBN,the latter should come to realize that there are many languages in th
e Philippines archipelago that also need to be respected with equality and fairn
ess. A senatorial candidate though not a Tagalog speaker should be allowed to sp
eak in his inherent language in his campaign ads on TV or radio.
Airing his political ads in Manila-based media or any other Tagalog-owned out
fit in the country as I understand it, is also important because a senatorial ca
ndidate has a nationwide voting coverage because he’s representing not just one
group of Filipinos but for different groups of Filipinos in various provinces an
d regions. He is not only a representative of one region but a representative of
all Filipinos. His representation is different from that of a Congressman who o
nly represents one district in a particular province. It is understood that any
group of Filipinos who would approach a Senator for assistance of which he is ca
pable of doing is also welcome. Besides, a senatorial candidate wants that a gre
at majority of Visayan voters who are also living in different places of the cou
ntry, and some are even residing in Luzon can convey his intention to run for an
elective post.
Therefore, there’s no need for the ABS-CNB management to change Osmeña’s mess
age on his ads into Tagalog.Osmeña has his own inherent language and the Tagalog
-owned network should give him due respect for the Bisaya/Cebuano senatorial can
didate.
Atty. Manuel Faelnar cited article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human R
ights(the Philippines is a signatory of this declaration) that says, “Everyone h
as the right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression; the right includes freedom to
hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information
and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”.
Atty.Faelnar adds, “In Article 12 of the UN Universal Declaration of Linguist
ic Rights, it says, “Everyone has the right to carry out all activities in the p
ublic sphere in his/her language, provided it is the language specific to the te
rritory where he/she resides. These activities in the public sphere include poli
tical advertisements. Furthermore, ABS-CBN’s requirement for as Tagalog translat
ion so the advertisement could be aired is vexing and humiliating, not only to C
ebuanos but to all non-Tagalog Filipinos”.
In this respect, Article 26 of the Civil Code of the Philippines provides: “
Every person shall respect the dignity, personality, privacy and peace of mind o
f his neighbors and other persons. The following and similar acts, though they m
ay not constitute a criminal offense, shall produce a cause of action for damage
s, prevention and other relief.” As always Atty.Faelnar ends his messages with a
quote from Ornolfor Thorsson, Iceland’s Presidential Adviser who said, “Without
our languages, we have no culture, we have no identity, we are nothing”.
Hence, the only effective way to patronize,nurture,cherish,sustain,love and
intellectualize our respective languages here in our country, the Philippines, i
s to use it always in our speaking and in writing in all occasions towards our f
ellow provincianos wherever we are living or staying. Abandoning or neglecting o
ur respective Mother Tongues by using other language which is not inherently our
s in speaking or in writing towards our fellow provincianos means you are abando
ning your own culture and you have no identity. Can you live with that? If we li
ke/love to speak another language or languages that are acquired thru persistent
learning in some linguistic schools, why can’t you cherish and love your own la
nguage? We should speak only either in Tagalog or English to other groups of Fi
lipinos who cannot understand our own respective languages.Why should a Cebuano
or a Bisaya would say “bawal”to his/her fellow provincemate when we can say “gui
dili or guinadili”?Why should a Cebuano or Bisaya would say “Huwag magtapon nga
basura dito” when speaking to his/her fellow Bisaya when he can say “Ayaw paglab
og og basura dinhi”.Why should a Cebuano or a Bisaya would say “kayang-kaya” whe
n he can say it in his/her own language “mahimo kaayo” o kaha “sayon kaayo”Ug ub
an pa nga maingon-ingon niini. We should always cherish, sustain and love our re
spective Mother Tongues by using it always in our speaking and in writing toward
s our fellow provincianos throughout our lives because these are the legacies of
our forebears. We can only use to “insert” a Tagalog or English word or words i
n speaking or in writing our respective languages if a certain thing or somethin
g has no existing words in our own languages. But that is a rare happening. It i
s also important to read materials/articles written in our respective Mother Ton
gues in order to enrich our speaking and writing style and to improve our way of
expressing our ideas in our languages.
These measures that I have been mentioning here are also recommendably appli
cable to other existing languages in the whole world regardless of races, creeds
, nationalities or religions.Again, we should always put in our minds the statem
ent of Mr. Ornolfor Thorsson, Iceland’s Presidential Adviser, who said, “Without
our languages, we have no culture, we have no identity, we are nothing”.
Freeman/PhilStar Columnist Valeriano ‘Bobit’ Avila also says,”Indeed, languag
e has always been a major irritant in our journey to nationhood. It is unfortuna
te that after we got rid of our Spanish, American and Japan colonizers and given
true Independence, another ethnic group wants to colonize all Filipinos and for
ce them to become Tagalog speakers.” (Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.)