“One, there is a dearth of literature and official use of the provincial Philippine languages. Many of these languages do not even have a written literature, and are not used in government and schools in their own territories. Residents can hardly read and write in their own language. New songs, movies, TV shows, essays, poems and books are not being composed in the provincial languages, and the few that are being made, because of the minority status attached to them by state policy, are not being patronized by their own speakers.”
“Two, National Statistics Office surveys show that every Philippine ethnolinguisitic people is decreasing in percentage of the Philippine population, except the one that speaks ‘Filipino’ as its native tongue. When the natural birth rate of these people finally approaches zero, as is the trend at present, their absolute numbers will also decrease, eventually to extinction if we do nothing now.
“Three, minority people are losing territory fast to the center’s ethnolinguistic group. For example, Puerto Princesa in Palawan, which used to speak Cuyonon, no longer does, and the Cuyonons [a Western Visayan people] are becoming confined to a small group of islands off Palawan and will inevitably die out should we do nothing. Same story for the rest of the native Palawan, Mindoro and Zam-bales languages.
Likewise, the rich array of native languages of Romblon (including Romblomanon, Unhan, Asi, Odiongon) are dying out. Transplanted Tagalog is fast replacing the indigenous tongues of Davao and Cotabato. Even traditionally big and influential ethno-linguistic people such as the Kapampangans of Pampanga and the Bicolanos of Camarines Norte are in the process of getting wiped out.”
The Philippine government has a great habit of NOT listening to peaceful advocacies like this. It prefers someone to bomb something in order to get its attention and support for example the rebels in the south and bandits-cum rebels.....Please hear us out! I do hope peaceful advocates of change should be heard.
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