GLIMPSES ON SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES, - Nr. 20

 
 
By Tony A. San Juan OCT-Retired
Toronto-Canada
December 10, 2021
 




MAIDEN NAME :  The Philippine House Representatives in a plenary session on December 2, 2021, passed a legislative bill allowing Filipino women to retain their surnames after marriage. The lawmakers unanimously approved the measure, known as House Bill 10459, that gives women the option to keep their maiden surnames. House Bill 10459 bill proposes to amend Article 370 of Republic Act 386 or the New Civil Code of the Philippines.

The Bill aims to "provide equality between men and women by upholding the right of married women the choice to retain and use their maiden surnames after marriage". Upon marriage, under the Bill, a woman will have to select any of 3 options: 1) maiden first name and surname; 2) maiden first name and surname plus her husband's surname( the current traditional practice); or 3) husband's full name, but prefixing the word Mrs." to indicate that she is his wife or legal spouse.

"Sa ganitong panukala walang kawala si Mister, dahil hindi ma-iitago na may Mrs. na talaga siya. Isa pa, ma-iiwasan ang gulo pagka- nagkaganito. Sa isang banda naman, ay mabuti ito sa iba, dahil parating Miss ang turing sa isang babae, kahit may asawa na siya...hehehehe

MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION: The Philippines has participated in 3 international learning assessments two years ago. As a result, two main findings came out. One, the "country is exceptional in having English as a language of instruction", meaning, it is a medium of instruction in our schools that is not our home language. And two, the Philippines "has the distinction of placing last or close to last in subject outcomes". A linguistics professor from the premier state university in the country said that what  "we are doing is opposite of what successful educational systems are doing". Data from the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study(TIMSS) show that "speaking English at home may actually be disadvantageous to Filipino learners.



The TIMSS study found that Filipino Grade 4 students who do not speak English at home scored significantly higher than English speakers". The figures in the international study revealed that 337 Filipino students who do not speak English at home performed better in Mathematics than 243  English speakers,  and in Science, 294 non-English speakers got better results compared to 196 English speakers. These data, a "puzzling phenomenon", surfaced also in the 2008 TIMSS. One analyst would say that there are other factors that impact learning, but the issue of language can never be underestimated. Historically, in 2013, Philippine lawmakers changed our language policy to mother tongue-based multilingual education or L1-based MLE. The law mandates the learners’ first language (L1) or strongest language as primary Language of Instruction (LOI) across all elementary subjects. In high school, the second languages (L2s), namely English and additionally Filipino for non-Tagalogs or L2s, become primary LOI. Thus, the L1 becomes an auxiliary medium. "Pagta-tanggol ng iba,  study lamang ito. Ngunit sa iba naman ay may  katotohan ang ganitong kalagayan na dapat ay pag-aralang mabuti ng lahat, mga guro, eksperto sa  lenguahe, at mambabatas natin. Dapat bang baguhin ang  medium of instruction, that is  from English to Filipino? Bakit ba ang mga Hapon, Intsik at iba pang lahi, "no English" naman, pero mas abante sila sa maraming bagay kaysa sa atin? Nagtatanong lang po."

CONVENIENCE STORE : A business conglomerate in the Philippines, SM Investments Corporation and SM Markets are reported to be "venturing into a smaller-sized format for its Savemore stores". SM Markets, the supermarket business of the SM Group said Savemore has branched out to a new retail format called "Savemore Express", to make it "more versatile in delivering basic essentials to customers". According to the Savemore Market president, a total of 9 Savemore Express stores are currently operational, most of which are located in commercial areas in Albay, Valenzuela, and Bulacan. and eight more Savemore Express stores would be opened to serve more communities in 2022.



With this development, "neighborhood food stores will be shifting and serving" as the essential destination for people in the community by providing grocery needs and offering lines of merchandise. SM Markets serves as the umbrella brand for SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket, and Savemore and its sister company, Alfamart. Savemore Express was conceived to support this emerging shopping trend in the Philippines. "Ito na kaya ang umpisa ng pagsasara at katapusan ng ating mga kapitbahay tindahang sari-sari ( convenience stores) na nagisnan natin ng ating kabataan at pamilya dahil bukod sa puedeng utang ay may pa-dagdag pang konting asin o  candy?" Nakaka-lungkot naman kapag nangyari ito sa panahon natin".  (Tony A. San Juan, OCT-Retired).