Robin Padilla wants Filipino version of gov't records

Senator Robin Padilla said government offices should be prepared to provide the Filipino translation of records if an individual requests for them.

“Dapat mag-request. Halimbawa pag nag-request ang tao gusto ko ng Pilipino dapat meron tayo laging nakahanda. Huwag dapat matakot ang kababayan nating mag-request. Kasi siyempre minsan nasanay tayo, masyado tayong Inglisero, masyado tayong Amboy,” he pointed out.

(They must request. For example, when a person requests that he wants the records in Filipino, we must always be ready. Our countrymen should not be afraid to request. We have been too used to using English, sometimes we appear too Amboy.)

The neophyte senator said he would also push for the use of regional languages and dialects in legal documents.

“Ang gusto natin halimbawa may batas na pumasa dapat ang Filipino, English Filipino, tapos sa regional, halimbawa Bisaya, Ilokano. Main lang, hindi lahat. Ang main na ginagamit, halimbawa Bisaya may Waray, Cebuano, Ilonggo,” he said.

(If a law is passed, for example, we should also be ready with versions in the country's main languages and regional like Bisaya, Ilokano...)

Citing Article 7 of the 1987 Constitution, Padilla said that English and Filipino are the official languages should be used for communication and instruction.

“Sa karanasan ko po, hindi nagagamit ang Filipino, laging English lang. Tulad sa batas natin, kapag lumalabas ang batas natin English. Sa korte pag nasentensyahan ang tao, English ang binabasa. Sa akin unfair yan,” Padilla told the reports in an interview.

(In my experience, Filipino was not being used, it is always English. For example, our law are written in English, court sentences are also in English.  To me, that's unfair.)

Padilla said he was not belittling the capabilities of Filipinos to understand the English language, but stressed there should be equal treatment to the use of the two languages.

Earlier this month, Padilla filed the Equal Use of Languages Act as one of his first 10 priority bills in the 19th Congress.—LDF, GMA News