EDITORIAL – The Senate must back the Gullas English Bill

The so-called “English Bill” of Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas, which seeks to reintroduce English as medium of instruction in schools, has wide support in the House of Representatives and is good as passed in that chamber.

The problem may lie in the Senate, which is dominated by the political opposition. The bill, recognized by many as essential if this country has to arrest its nosedive in quality of education and, consequently, in its development, has been certified urgent by the president.

But knowing the political dynamics in this country, any favorable certification issued by the president on any piece of proposed legislation will certainly mark it as a target by her enemies in the Senate.

On the other hand, while the opposition dominates the Senate, a good number of senators from both sides of the political divide are very articulate in the English language and know fully well themselves the great practical benefits proficiency in this language can bring.

If these senators can set aside political differences, can free the bill from a mindset of vendetta and blackmail, then more than any other springboard from which our country may leap toward recovery, it will be the English Bill that will be its vanguard in that direction.

Our senators must realize that no matter how intense their hatred for the president may be, the bottomline is that she is still no more than a temporary irritant to their political equilibrium and well-being.

But the English Bill, if given the chance to become law, can spring almost immediate results. In perhaps a couple of years time, English proficiency in schools will start to become palpable, a good long-term investment toward educational recovery in this country.

And it should not be lost on our senators that a strong educational system makes for a dynamic work force, which in turn makes for economic stability. Economic stability eventually translates into political strength, from which politicians have only so much to gain.