Language Policy in the Philippines: The Ongoing Narrative of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education

The multicultural and multilingual setting of the Philippines demands a coherent and cohesive language-in-education policy for broader development. The country is also one of the first in Southeast Asia to formally adopt the mother tongue-based multilingual education policy (MTB-MLE) in mainstream formal education. The MTB-MLE policy aimed to introduce schooling based on Filipino children’s inherent language and knowledge—centered on the use and understanding of one’s native language. However, challenges and barriers to its effective implementation resulted in a law rescinding its application in 2024. This article will review the history of language-in-education policies in the country and the guiding principles and challenges faced by the MTB-MLE policy in the Philippines.