MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) said on Tuesday, September 24, that they will look into the proposal to integrate the Filipino Sign Language (FSL) in the Matatag curriculum.
With a proposed P10 million budget for FSL needs in 2025, Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora (Davao de Oro, 1st District), DepEd’s budget sponsor, said during the House plenary debates that the agency’s initial plan is to prepare instructional video lessons for teachers learning FSL.
“There is a shortage of teachers proficient in FSL and efforts are currently being made to train educators, but the number of trained teachers is still insufficient to meet the needs of deaf learners nationwide,” Zamora said.
This was mentioned after Rep. France Castro (ACT Teachers Party) lamented the removal of the Mother Tongue as a subject and the non-inclusion of FSL in the revised K-10 curriculum. The minority lawmaker urged DepEd to consider including FSL as it is mandated by law.
“Wala po doon sa Matatag curriculum ‘yung pagcater natin sa mga students na may special needs lalo na sa mga estudyante nating bingi,” Castro said.
(The Matatag curriculum doesn’t include provisions for catering to students with special needs, especially our deaf students.)
Castro cited Republic Act 11106 or The Filipino Sign Language Act, which states that FSL be used as a medium of instruction and taught as a separate subject in the curriculum for deaf learners in educational institutions.
She added that FSL as a language has “unique linguistic properties,” explaining that it has its own grammar, syntax and semantics different from what is being taught in Filipino and English subjects.
“Baka hindi naintindihan ng gumawa ng Matatag curriculum na… ang FSL ay isang visual language. Hindi ito Filipino. Hindi ito English,” Castro said.
(Maybe the creators of the Matatag curriculum didn’t understand that FSL is a visual language. It’s not Filipino. It’s not English.)
Castro also expressed hope that DepEd will engage in dialogues with FSL advocates and disability rights groups during the planning and implementation of FSL in schools, including the procurement of materials.
Introduced in 2023 under former DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte, the Matatag curriculum will be rolled out in phases, starting with Kindergarten and Grades 1, 4 and 7 for School Year 2024 to 2025.
The revised curriculum seeks to address learning gaps by putting a premium on improving students' numeracy and literacy skills.
Special Needs Education budget slashed
Castro highlighted a P155.38 million budget cut in DepEd’s Inclusive and Special Needs Education Program (ISNED), along with no increase in funding for the converting Special Education (SPED) centers into Inclusive Learning Resource Centers in the regions.
From P999.23 million allotted in 2024, the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP) only provides P843.85 million for the ISNED program.
The proposed budget for SPED centers remains at P209 million for 2025, the same amount granted to the agency this year.
Zamora said that DepEd is seeking additional appropriations, acknowledging the importance of SPED.
DepEd has a proposed 2025 budget of P748.090 billion for new appropriations, reflecting a 4.24% increase from the P717.663 billion allocated in 2024. This makes it the agency with the second-highest budget under the NEP.