Juan Miguel Severo on the proposed abolition of Filipino and Panitikan in college
The proposed exclusion of Panitikan and Filipino from the core subjects in tertiary education has been stirring debates of late. This, after the Supreme Court lifted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and upheld as valid the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) Memorandum Order (MO) No. 20 Series of 2013.
Under the MO, CHED will reduce the General Education Curriculum (GEC) to minimum of 36 units and the Filipino and Panitikan (Philippine Literature) will be removed from the core subjects of colleges. The change was made in accordance to the K-12 Education program.
Several celebrities, including Robin Padilla and Kakai Bautista, have already shared their thoughts on the matter.
Joining them is poet and spoken word artist Juan Miguel Severo.
In an interview with
Severo expressed dismay on the matter. He reiterated that the Filipino language and Philippine Literature is part of our national identity.
Severo encouraged the youth to write and speak the Filipino language.
“Let’s educate ourselves with the right medium. Let’s choose to love our own.”
Career plans
On a different note, Severo was the screenwriter of Dan Villegas’ film “Hintayan Ng Langit.”
He hopes to write a script for a Kathryn Bernardo-Daniel Padilla film in the future, declaring himself a “fan” of KathNiel.
“I also want to write a script of a movie wherein I’m the lead actor,” he said.
Severo is a singer-songwriter. He dreams of collaborating with his idols, Bamboo, Sarah Geronimo, Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, and KZ Tandingan.
The poet recently released his version of Bing Crosby’s “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.”
“I particularly chose to revive the song. It’s a sad song but it also gives us hope,” was how he put it.
The single is included in PolyEast Record’s Christmas Album “@Christmas Time." Other featured singers are Bamboo, Drei Rana, Izzeah, TJ Monterde, Sassa and Chan Millanes.
Asked about the gift he wants to receive this Christmas, Severo said it’s not material thing.
“It may sound cheesy, but more than the material things, I want to receive more opportunities that will allow me to do something better.”