House approves Baybayin as national writing system

News | By Aeron Gabriel Pantig

The house committee on Basic Education and Culture approved a bill that aims to revive and implement Baybayin, an ancient traditional script of the indigenous people on the pre-Spanish era, as the country’s national writing system.

House Bill 1022 or the “National Writing System Act” proposed by Pangasinan 2nd District Representative Leopoldo N. Bataoil seeks the promotion, preservation, and conservation of Baybayin which immediately gained support of the Department of Education (DepEd), the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and the advocacy group Baybayin, Buhayin.

“There is a need to promote, protect, preserve and conserve the Philippines’ indigenous or traditional writing systems, using these as tools for cultural development, to create a consciousness of, and respect and pride for the legacies of Filipino cultural heritage and our authentic identity,” Bataoil said.

Once passed into law, as stated on its Section IV, HB 1022 shall require all manufacturers of locally produced processed food products to inscribe Baybayin scripts and their translation on the containers of labels.

Baybayin will also represent national identity by mandating the local government units (LGUs) to include the appropriate Baybayin script in their signage for street names, public facilities, public buildings, and other necessary signage for other public service establishments such as hospitals, fire and police stations, community centers and government halls.

Newspapers and print publishers will also be required to include a Baybayin translation of their official name.

Behind the good intentions of integrating the use of Baybayin, there are critics who shared their thoughts upon the proposed legislation.

Riza Pingke, an editor of academic magazines, said that she is not in favor of implementing Baybayin as national writing system because it would only complicate the present problem of Filipinos who are not being able to use the national language properly.

NCCA, in coordination with the DepEd, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) will be the agencies to promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of the bill.

The use of Baybayin was documented by Spanish friars among legal proceedings, petitions, land deeds, however, the ancient writing style did not survive the modern times because the colonizers imposed the use of the Western alphabet.