Change through the use of ‘Wikang Pambansa’

 “Sariling wika ang siyang magpapalaya sa sambayanang gapos ng tanikala.”—Joel Costa Malabanan

AUGUST IS National Language Month (“Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa”). But how important is it really that we value our own language in this era of globalization?

More than a century has passed since “the eagle clamped its talons” on our land. Not much has changed. Judging by our economic and political dependence on the United States, the Philippines remains a neocolony in almost every aspect.

How the United States managed to effectively maintain its hegemony in the country is not a mystery. The American colonizers knew perfectly well that the best way to subjugate the Filipino people was to capture their minds. So they established an American colonial education system—one that glorified the United States and demonized the Filipino patriots and revolutionaries—with English as the medium of instruction.

“English became the wedge that separated the Filipinos from their past, and later to separate educated Filipinos from the masses of their countrymen,” according to historian Renato Constantino. This explains why many among us are disconnected from our past, and why we tend to measure one’s intellect by his or her proficiency in English. We were taught to appreciate the language of our conqueror more than our own. Thus we lost a sense of national identity, while English inevitably became the language of the local elite.

Through the years, our captive minds allowed foreign businesses to plunder our natural resources and exploit the country’s cheap labor. Moreover, we let one administration after another freely impose the same neoliberal policies that only advance the interests of the foreign capitalists and local compradors. The government and the mainstream media made us believe that foreign investments are tantamount to national development and progress, even as most of our countrymen are living under impoverished conditions.

We’ve had enough of being called an English-speaking country or the “Little Brown Brother.” It’s time we demanded a nationalist and scientific education that will serve the interest of the broad majority, and not just of a few. Let our native language become the medium of instruction in all levels of education.

If the Duterte administration is really serious in bringing change into this country, it should veer away from its neoliberal agenda and push for national industrialization and genuine agrarian reform. The President could start by putting a stop to the implementation of the pro-imperialist K-to-12 program.

Itaguyod and ating wikang pambansa!

—DANIEL ALOC, [email protected]