Tagalog is the Language of the Masses @benign0

Tagalog is the language of the common man, the masses that wriggle and writhe all over the country.

There's nothing wrong in admitting that we don't talk in Tagalog in board room meetings, we don't talk in Tagalog in court, and we don't talk in Tagalog in almost every other situation where the precise word is needed to convey the exact meaning and nuance.

Can you imagine a surgeon issuing instructions to his surgery team using Tagalog or an Engineer directing complex instructions completely in Tagalog? I can't.

What is the Tagalog word for nurse? What is the Tagalog word for "cauterize"?

I shiver at the thought of a surgeon addressing the OR Nurse as Punaspwet or cauterization as "pag-susunug" or "ampatin".  But I guess, somehow, things don't fuck up in the operating rooms here in the Philippines because somehow, nurses and doctors who convey instructions in Tagalog still manage to use the proper nouns and verbs that are vital in surgical procedures.

This is probably not a failure of the language per se, but perhaps our education in the language that has been enriched with the influences of Malayan, Chinese, Spanish, and American cultures.

The thing with language is that it is continually evolving, and if a word like "efficient" doesn't occur in the Tagalog or Filipino lexicon, it doesn't mean that the concept is beyond reach or that the concept has not been assimilated.

So anyway, this all brings me back to the idea that perhaps what is really at fault is not the medium of instruction but the educational system that is supposed to make people proficient in the use of the language.

If that ain't working, nothing else will work -- kesyo Tagalog o Betlog ang gamitin mo.

Philippine Congress Media Execs Face Dismissal for Misconduct

Congress employees call for dismissal of House media execs for misconduct

By Charlie V. Manalo
08/22/2011

Two officials and a staff of the House Media Relations Services (MRS) of the Public Relations and Information Bureau (PRIB) are facing possible dismissal from service after several employees of the House of Representatives slapped them with administrative cases before the HoR Grievance Committee and Disciplinary Board.

Facing possible dismissal for grave misconduct, grave abuse of authority, dereliction of duty, gross violation of Civil Service Commission (CSC) rules and regulations, the standard operating procedures on grievance of the House of Representatives and RA 6713 and harassment are MRS Director Celine Marie Flores Buencamino, MRS officer-in-charge Lorelei Castillo and MRS writer Eduardo Galvez.

Requesting anonymity for fear of reprisal, the employees, who are all Buencamino’s subordinates at the MRS, said they are seeking the immediate dismissal of the three as the three respondents not only have violated the existing CSC rules and regulations but have also arrogantly declared themselves to be virtually untouchables, citing their close relationship with Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte.