A PETITION that aims to assail the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 12027, also known as “Act Discontinuing the Use of the Mother Tongue as Medium of Instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 3,” was filed before the Supreme Court (SC).
The petition was filed by language advocates led by Tanggol Unang Wika Alliance (TUWÂ) together with school children and their parents and teachers, indigenous peoples’ group, Bangsamoro, the Deaf, and other linguistic minorities on June 30, 2025.
In their petition, they are seeking to nullify RA 12027 and declare it unconstitutional.
Under the measure, which has lapsed into law on October 10, 2024, without the President’s signature, the mother tongue is being removed as a medium of instruction for students from Kindergarten to Grade 3, reverting the medium of instruction to Filipino and English only.
In a statement, TUWÂ is invoking human rights to freedom of expression and access to quality education.
TUWÂ convenor Dr. Ricardo Ma. Duran Nolasco said RA 12027 violates the right of Filipinos to learn in a language they fully understand, as enshrined in the Philippine Constitution, local laws, and international conventions.
“The law purportedly allows the optional use of the [Mother Tongue] in monolingual classes. TUWÂ denounces this as a pampalubag loob because most classes are multilingual. Moreover, burdensome hurdles, such as encyclopedias and other materials, language mapping activities and proficiently ‘trained’ teachers, are required by legislators before learners can use their strongest oral and sign language in school. The use of English and Filipino is exempt from these conditions which makes the law highly discriminatory,” he said.
“Offenders shall be subjected to administrative sanctions. However, the law breeds discretionary abuses for being vague as to what specific acts make a person liable,” he added.
Petitioners also decried the equal status given to English and Filipino as learning medium when Filipino is the national language while English is spoken by not even two percent of local learners.
Nolasco said around eight million students in the said grade level will be affected by the measure. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)