For college students, Filipino and Panitikan (Literature), are required subjects in the curriculum. On May 26, the Supreme Court of the Philippines, upheld a decision it made in October 2018 declaring that the two subjects were no longer required.
Back in 2013, the Commission on Higher Education issued Memorandum Order No. 20 or CMO 20, declaring Filipino and Panitikan no longer core subjects. The decision drew public backlash, and its implementation was postponed.
The Alyansa ng mga Tagapagtanggol ng Wikang Filipino (Alliance of Defenders of the Filipino Language) claimed the Constitution states that Filipino subjects should be included in the curriculum of all levels.
But the Justices of the Supreme Court disagreed. "CMO 20 did not violate the Constitution when it merely transferred these subjects as part of the curriculum of primary and secondary education," said the ruling.
The transferring referred to in the ruling is the transferring of Filipino subjects from the first and second year of college down to Grades 11 and 12. Prior to the K-12 program's implementation, these two grades were the age equivalent of the latter.
The Supreme Court Justices also pointed out that the Constitution does not specify the education levels in which Filipino and Panitikan should be taught.
Despite this ruling, the Supreme Court made it clear that public and private universities and colleges can still teach Filipino even if it's no longer required.
"It does not limit the academic freedom of universities and colleges to require additional courses in Filipino, Panitikan and the Constitution in their respective curricula," a Supreme Court explanation said.