A House leader pushed for the passage of a bill that proposes the use of local dialects in official public service communications and documents across the country.
“Language should never be a barrier to public service,” Quezon City Rep. Patrick Michael Vargas said as he appealed to fellow legislators to support House Bill 5418 or the “Plain Language for Public Service Act,” which he principally authored.
The bill is currently pending at the the House Committee on Public Information.
“It is crucial that government information should be easily understood in different localities in all our regions,” he added.
The proposed legislation aims to integrate mother tongue languages in areas across the country in pertinent public documents such as government forms and applications, public health information leaflets and notices, voting materials and voting education resources, and local government communications and announcements among others.
Additionally, the bill proposes to establish a framework for language selection by area as well as training and capacity-building activities for government agencies covered by the measure.
Confident of the bill’s impact, Vargas said: “This initiative will not only improve government efficiency but also strengthen civic engagement by bridging the communication gap in many of our public transactions.”
HB 5418 builds on an initial version of the bill that was filed by the legislator’s older brother and former Quezon City District V Representative Alfred Vargas during the 18th Congress.
The elder Vargas previously advocated for the use of plain language in government advisories and issuances particularly during disasters or emergencies when extensive information dissemination is crucial at the local level.
The proposed measure commemorates International Mother Language Tongue Day, which is observed annually on February 21. Through the efforts of UNESCO, it hopes to promote linguistic and cultural diversity as well as multilingualism worldwide. The observance serves as a reminder of the vital role that language plays in education, communication, and social inclusion.
