FAQ - On the Petition Against Republic Act No. 12027

 

1. What is Republic Act No. 12027?

RA 12027 is a law that discontinues the mandatory use of the mother tongue as the medium of instruction and as a subject from Kindergarten to Grade 3. It reverts the medium of instruction to Filipino and English, effectively dismantling the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) program mandated by RA 10533 (K to 12 Law).

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2. What is this petition asking the Supreme Court to do?

The petition asks the Supreme Court to:

• Declare RA 12027 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) unconstitutional;

• Issue a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) or Writ of Preliminary Injunction to stop its implementation;

• Protect the constitutional and human rights of learners, teachers, parents, and minority communities affected by this law.

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3. Who are the petitioners?

The petitioners include:

• Children from linguistic and Deaf communities;

• Parents, especially from Indigenous Peoples (IP) groups;

• Teachers, linguists, writers, and scholars;

• National leaders of the Filipino Deaf community;

• Cultural advocates and community educators.

They come from various regions across the Philippines, representing diverse languages and identities.

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4. Why is RA 12027 considered unconstitutional?

It violates several provisions of the 1987 Constitution, including:

• Article III, Section 1 – right to due process and equal protection;

• Article III, Section 4 – freedom of expression;

• Article XIV, Section 7 – the right to education in regional languages as auxiliary media of instruction;
  It also contradicts the Supreme Court’s own ruling in Cotescup v. Secretary of Education, which upheld MTB-MLE as constitutional.

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5. What’s wrong with using Filipino and English in schools?

There’s nothing wrong with learning Filipino and English. But forcing children to learn in unfamiliar languages too early, without scaffolding from their first language (L1), leads to:

• Poor comprehension,

• Low academic performance,

• High dropout rates,

• Cultural alienation, especially for non-Tagalog and Indigenous learners.

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6. How does RA 12027 affect Indigenous learners and the Deaf community?

RA 12027:

• Marginalizes IP learners by removing their language from the classroom;

• Excludes Filipino Sign Language (FSL) despite being recognized by RA 11106 as the national and official sign language;

• Violates international human rights conventions such as the CRC, ICESCR, and CRPD, to which the Philippines is a signatory.

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7. Isn’t MTB-MLE already failing? Why keep it?

The MTB-MLE program faced implementation gaps, but the solution is better implementation—not abolition.
DepEd’s own data and global research show that when learners are taught in a language they understand, learning outcomes improve significantly. They show that even with spotty implementation, learners reached the nearly proficient level, the same level as their scores jn Filipino and English.  See DepEd's ELLNA results for 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. RA 12027 ignores this evidence.

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8. Why should we care about this issue?

Language is tied to learning, identity, equity, and justice. This issue:

• Affects millions of Filipino children, especially from rural, Indigenous, and marginalized communities;

• Determines the quality and accessibility of education;

• Impacts how future generations understand their culture and participate in society.

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9. What can we do to help?

• Stay informed and share verified information;

• Speak out on social media using your regional language or sign language;

• Join advocacy groups defending linguistic rights and inclusive education;

• Write to your legislators or the DepEd to express concern;

• Encourage schools, LGUs, and communities to uphold MTB-MLE in practice.
  
  
  Here is the link to the full text of the petition for MTB-MLE submitted to the Supreme Court last June 30, 2025
  
  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jt10we-neAqffeLUJv-Uq60lv2Ah35XZ/view?usp=sharing