Filipino, Panitikan to continue being excluded from college core subjects — Supreme Court

Filipino and Panitkan will continue to be excluded from college core subjects as Supreme Court (SC) denied the petition to reinstate the temporary restraining order (TRO) against the subject’s removal.

The SC en banc denied Tanggol Wika’s petition to reconsider its October 9 decision last year, when they lifted the TRO against the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 20.

Through the memorandum, CHED ordered that Filipino and Panitikan subjects be no longer mandatory to be offered in colleges.

According to Tanggol Wika, the exclusion of Filipino and Panitikan from the college core subjects was unconstitutional.

However in its resolution in connection with the petition to reinstate the TRO, the SC stood to their previous decision.

“..Failing to offer any substantial argument, the subject Motions for Reconsideration are hereby denied with finality. No further pleadings or motions shall be entertained in this case,” read the resolution.

SC reiterated several points that it discussed in its decision.

The Constitution stated that Filipino and Panitikan should be included in the curriculum of education institutions, but according to the SC, it was not specified in which educational level it must be taught.

“Thus, CMO 20 did not violate the Constitution when it merely transferred these subjects as part of the curriculum of primary and secondary education, “the SC said in the resolution.

The SC also noted that the CMO 20 does not prohibit universities and colleges from requiring the subjects in their academes on their own.

“…The K-12 law explicitly recognized the right of schools to modify their curricula subject, of course, to the minimum standards prescribed by DepEd (the Department of Education),” SC said. — LA, GMA News