Koronadal City, South Cotabato – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 12 hosted a lecture to its employees on the significance and application of the pre-colonial writing system used by early Filipinos – baybayin, during the weekly “Sa Lunes, Alamin Mo” (SLAM).

Jose Jaime R. Enage, the Founding Chairman of Baybayin Buhayin Inc., emphasized the importance of keeping our traditional written language alive through everyday use whether in written documents, texts, or business signages. This is to enrich and preserve the Filipino culture that has been passed down through many generations which gives the country its unique identity.

He also discussed how imperative it is not only to educate Filipinos in the use of our mother tongue but also in our written script. With language having two faces – spoken and written, it begs the question of why our written system is almost non-existent. However, through their advocacies in the use of Baybayin, Enage hopes to have more Filipinos adopt the use of our traditional indigenous writing system.

The group of Enage is lobbying lawmakers for the enactment of the Baybayin Bill, an Act Promoting Philippine Indigenous and Traditional Writing Systems.

Through the endeavor, DTI-12 is on the exploration to be the first regional office of DTI to install signage in Baybayin, and its adoption as supplemental text on official documents and collaterals.

When the lecture concluded, Enage was joined by the DTI-12 employees in cheering, “Ang DTI 12 ay nakiki-isa sa Baybayin Buhayin.”

Baybayin is an ancient syllabary script of the early Filipinos. Spanish priests in 1604 and 1609 wrote about Baybayin as being widely known by the country’s population which supports the claim that Filipino ancestors had already established lifeways before the coming of the western colonization. ♦

Date of Release: 30 August 2022