The proposal to discontinue the use of the mother tongue as the medium of instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 3 has officially become law.
The bill lapsed into law after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not sign it within 30 days of receiving it.
Under Republic Act 12027, titled the “Act Discontinuing the Use of Mother Tongue as Medium of Instruction,” Filipino and English will once again be used as the primary languages of instruction, while the mother tongue will serve as an auxiliary medium.
Section 2 of the law specifies that mother tongue-based multilingual education may still be utilized in monolingual classes, provided certain conditions are met, such as all students sharing the same mother tongue and being enrolled in the same grade level for that school year.
The Department of Education, in consultation with the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF), is required to develop a language mapping policy within one year of the law’s effectivity.