Speaker Lord Allan Velasco hailed the unanimous approval by
the House of Representatives of a measure seeking to promote, protect and
preserve ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฃ๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ
and other Philippine indigenous and traditional writing systems as part of the
countryโs cultural treasures.
The legislative chamber on Monday voted 197-0 to approve on
third and final reading House Bill 10657 or the proposed โPhilippine Indigenous
and Traditional Writing Systems Act,โ principally authored by Velasco.
โIt is time for our country to revisit our past through one
of its cultural remnants, our indigenous and traditional writing systems,
including pre-colonial writing system called ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฃ๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ,โ
Velasco said.
๐๐ข๐บ๐ฃ๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ
is an ancient syllabary script, which means โto spell.โ It is said to be one of
at least 16 different writing systems that were used by early Filipinos prior
to the Spanish era.
โLost, but not forgotten, ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฃ๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ,
together with other indigenous and traditional writing scripts, should be
preserved and promoted as part of the countryโs resurgence,โ Velasco pointed
out.
According to the House chief, ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฃ๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ
and other indigenous writing scripts are representations of Filipino tradition
and national identity.
โThere is a need to promote, protect, preserve and conserve
Philippine indigenous and traditional systems as tools for cultural
development, for instilling national pride, and for protecting Filipino
cultural heritage and identity,โ Velasco said.
He added that promotion and preservation of these writing
systems are a must in order to โgenerate greater awareness of indigenous and
traditional scripts and to foster wider appreciation of their significance and
beauty.โ
Under the bill, the Department of Education (DepEd) and the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) are mandated to include indigenous and
traditional writing systems in relevant subjects of basic and higher education
curricula, and to create an elective or specialized course in higher education
for the study of the same.
The measure seeks to create or support activities that
promote awareness of these writing systems, particularly during ๐๐ถ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ
๐ฏ๐จ
๐๐ช๐ฌ๐ข
and similar occasions and events.
It also calls for conduct of seminars, conferences,
conventions, symposia and other relevant activities on the study of Philippine
Indigenous and Traditional Writing Systems, as well as good record-keeping of
relevant documents and preservation of oral evidence on these writing systems.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA)
shall be the lead policymaking unit for the promotion of indigenous and
traditional writing systems.
The NCCA is mandated to protect, preserve and conserve these
writing systems as National Cultural Treasures, in accordance with Republic Act
No. 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009. It shall coordinate
with DepEd, CHED and other relevant agencies for the proper implementation of
that mandate.
