FILIPINO and Panitikan (Philippine Literature) can now be excluded from the core subjects in tertiary education following the Supreme Court’s decision that declared as valid Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 20 Series of 2013.
Under CMO No. 20, the new General Education Curriculum (GEC) was reduced to a minimum of 36 units. It no longer considers Filipino and Panitikan as core subjects.
Petitioners who are professors from universities and colleges, national artist, professors and lawmakers or the Alyansa ng mga Tagapagtanggol ng Wikang Filipino (Tanggol Wika) said the new curriculum violates Republic Act 7104 (Organic Act of the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino/KWF/Commission on the Filipino Language), Republic Act No. 232 (Education Act of 1982), and Republic Act No. 7356 (Organic Act of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts/NCCA).