Two Philippine English words and forthwith

Have you heard of aggrupation? And votation? In some fora that I had the rare opportunity to listen to, there were speakers who uttered “aggrupation”. Even in some serious political discussions that I had the chance to attend where intelligent people were the main sources of ideas, they were bold in saying that “as many as there are personalities desiring to serve our countrymen, there will be many political aggrupations” or words to that effect.

The internet says that aggrupation is a real word that was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2016. It is a Philippine English word to mean an association, organization, or group formed by common interests, mostly political in context. I believe though in the cautionary language of the internet that says “While it, aggrupation, is recognized xx as a valid, specialized term, xx the words "grouping", "organization", or "association" are more common.

The same is true with votation. Again, the internet reports that votation is a word in the English language as the act of voting, often referring to a formal process or a referendum. We use it in deciding issues in our PTA discussions, business meetings and even in formal legislative sessions. We normally hear the presiding officers saying “now let’s go to votation.” It is however mind boggling that the internet registers these cautionary advice that “votation” is considered rare and is often unused in favor of "voting" or "vote".

I use the descriptive words “mind boggling” above because in my quick research I found out that these two words AGGRUPATION and VOTATION are not standard entries in Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Funk and Wagnalls Dictionary, Black’s Law Dictionary, the 24 volume Grolier’s Encyclopedia, and the Grolier-based materials. In our libraries, these hard cloth-bound dictionaries are our most basic research tools until digital technology somewhat replaced these sources of information. Very few among us open these dictionaries and so we do not seem to realize that aggrupation and votation are not standard English but are rather products of Filipino genius!

In Article XI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution on Accountability of Public Officers, there is written in Section 3, paragraph number (4) that “In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed”.

When I asked the internet for the Merriam-Webster definition of “forthwith” it yielded the answer “without any delay: immediately.” The Funk and Wagnalls dictionary also defined the word forthwith in almost exactly the same terms as to mean “immediately; directly; without delay or hesitation; instantly.” In similar tenor the Black's Law Dictionary also generally defined “forthwith" as implying prompt and efficient action.” Three of the world’s most respected lexicographic authorities are unanimous in their definition of forthwith.

A Filipino genius seems to suggest that we disregard the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the Funk and Wagnalls Dictionary, and the Black’s Law Dictionary and throw away their definition of forthwith. Their definition of the word “forthwith” maybe universally accepted but they are inapplicable to the Filipino constitutional psyche. As part of our linguistic adventurism, we must take this word forthwith as another Filipino English not unlike our insistence on using aggrupation and votation. This Filipino lexicographic William Shakespeare in our midst, together with our brilliant justices of the Supreme Court defined forthwith as meaning within a reasonable time, which may be longer or shorter, depending on the circumstances of each case. Whew! I need to hold my tongue lest I commit contempt of court.