The Philippines as a multilingual country has a different scene setting when it comes to the

institutionalization of a national policy requiring mother tongue-based multilingual education

(MTB-MLE) in the primary school years (Burton & Lisa Ann, 2013).

Burton & Lisa Ann, (2013). Mother tongue-based multilingual education in the Philippines:
studying a top-down policy from the bottom up.

The Philippine government established the K-12 Curriculum in 2012, and along with it, the
MTB-MLE program aimed at improving the learners' fundamental abilities, develop more
competent citizens, and prepare the graduates for lifelong learning and career development
(Apolonio, 2022).

Apolonio, A. L. (2022). Mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) in the

Philippines: Its implications to language learning. Erudio Journal of Educational Innovation,
9(1), 1-12.

Perez (2019) indicated the needs to consider, along the formulation of effective policies and the
training when it comes to curriculum development and design, teaching techniques and
strategies.

Perez, N. B. (2019). A comparative study of the MTB-MLE programs in southeast Asian

countries. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research (AJHSSR), 3(6), 47-55.

Apparently, there are problems that various Philippine public schools encounter along the
implementation of the curriculum. Such problems include the lack of instructional materials for
learning and teaching, unavailability of printed outputs inscribed in mother tongue, insufficiency
of jargon, and the deficiency of professional development for teachers in the primary to
secondary education levels (Caldas, 2019).

Caldas, B. (2019). To switch or not to switch: Bilingual preservice teachers and translanguaging
in teaching and learning. TESOL Journal, 10(4), e485.

According to Malone and Malone (2011), there is a growing awareness around the world that
MTB-MLE is an important part of the solution to the problem of high drop-out and attrition rates
among children who do not speak the official school language when they begin their education.

Malone & Malone, 2011. Teacher Education for Mother Tongue-Based Education Programs.
pp.1-3.

The inclusion of the program intends students to get familiar on their native
language. Essentially, the MTB-MLE is also envisions to transgress suitable cognitive and
rational abilities, helping children to adapt and respond in different vernaculars - formally
beginning with the native language of the child (Tajolosa, 2022).

Tajolosa, T. (2022). To be or not to be? A question of linguistic resilience among young

speakers of batak, a critically endangered Philippine language. International Journal
of Linguistics, Literature and Translation, 5(4), 95-106.
 For so long, the Philippine educational system adhered to a Bilingual Education Policy
with Filipino and English as the only languages used in the classroom settings. Consistent with
the 1987 constitutional mandate and a policy declared by the national Board of Education in
bilingualism in the schools, the Department of Education, Culture and Sports promulgated its
language policy. This follows the policy of bilingualism of education aims at the achievement of
competence in both Filipino and English at National level, through the teaching of languages and
their use as medium of instruction at all levels. The Philippines as a multilingual country has a
different scene setting when it comes to the institutionalization of a national policy requiring
mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) in the primary school years (Burton &
Lisa Ann, 2013). The Philippines recognizes and benefits from its diversity of local languages, in
contrast to many other nations where education is mostly conducted in a single, standardized
national language. This national strategy places a strong emphasis on teaching children in their
mother tongue from an early age, acknowledging that language plays a critical role in promoting
efficient learning. The Philippine government established the K-12 Curriculum in 2012, and
along with it, the MTB-MLE program aimed at improving the learners' fundamental abilities,
develop more competent citizens, and prepare the graduates for lifelong learning and career
development (Apolonio, 2022). This program was carefully crafted to support learners' core
skills, develop a more competent and capable citizenry, and provide graduates with the necessary
skills for lifelong learning and career advancement. The government sought to capitalize on the
innate qualities of indigenous languages by incorporating MTB-MLE into the K–12 curriculum,
acknowledging them as essential instruments for successful instruction.

According to Malone and Malone (2011), there is a growing awareness around the world
that MTB-MLE is an important part of the solution to the problem of high drop-out and attention
rates among children who do not speak the official school language when they begin their
education. Using a child's mother tongue in early education is important for retention and
academic success. MTB-MLE is becoming more widely acknowledged as a critical strategy to
address high drop-out and attrition rates among children who start their education without
proficiency in the official school language. The inclusion of the program intends students to get
familiar on their native language. Essentially, the MTB-MLE is also envisions to transgress
suitable cognitive and
rational abilities, helping children to adapt and respond in different vernaculars - formally
beginning with the native language of the child (Tajolosa, 2022). Aiming to engage students with
their mother tongue from the beginning of their education, the MTB-MLE program has been
implemented. This program aims to extend beyond linguistic familiarity and toward the
development of children's cognitive and thinking skills. With the goal of promoting a smooth
transition to learning several vernaculars, MTB-MLE begins formal education in the child's
mother tongue. In addition to placing a high value on language proficiency, this method aspires
to provide students the cognitive flexibility and adaptability they need to learn new languages
and interact with diverse cultural environments. Studies in the Philippines favor the outcomes of
MTB-MLE over the other approach. Villaruz and Perez (2020), their study on the effectiveness
of MTB-MLE among indigenous learners in Palawan, attest that the performance of pupils
exposed to mother tongue, Filipino, and English languages are significantly different, but then it
is only the mother tongue language that can significantly impact pupils’ performance in language
subjects. This concentrated on native language learners, and it reveals a notable difference in the
academic achievement of pupils who were exposed to three different language mediums:
English, Filipino, and mother tongue. Surprisingly, their results highlight the fact that students'
performance in language-related courses is highly influenced using their mother tongue.