MANILA- Several senators disagreed with the removal of Filipino and Panitikan subjects in the government's K to 12 college curriculum.

The Supreme Court lifted the temporary restraining order which halted the exclusion of Filipino and Panitikan as core subjects in the college curriculum.

Senators Sherwin Gatchalian, Panfilo Lacson, and Koko Pimentel were dismayed over the development, noting that Filipinos still have a lot to learn about the national language.

"Marami nang mga bata na hindi marunong mag Filipino, eh samantalang Pinoy tayo. Nakakahiya yata ang sitwasyon na yun," Lacson said.

(Many children nowadays don't know how to speak Filipino even though we're Filipinos. That is embarrassing.)

"Ang Filipino na alam natin ngayon ay nagiging Taglish (Tagalog-English) na at mababaw. Mas mawawala na ang kaalaman ng mga kabataan sa mas malalim na paggamit ng Filipino pagmawawala pa ito sa kolehiyo," Gatchalian said.

(The Filipino that we know now is slowly becoming Taglish and shallow. The youth will have lesser knowledge on the use of the Filipino language if it is removed in the college curriculum.)

Pimentel insisted that the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) should keep the two subjects in the core college curriculum.

"Marami pa tayong puwedeng matutunan sa mga sikreto na ating sariling wika at sa ganda at lalim ng ating panitikan...Dapat ibalik ng CHEd (Commission on Higher Education) ito sa core curriculum sa kolehiyo," Pimentel said.

(We can still learn from the many secrets of our language, and the beauty and depth of our literature. The Commission on Higher Education should return these in the core college curriculum.)

"Including Filipino in college will deepen the understanding and appreciation of the Filipino language to our daily lives and encourage more youth to preserve our language as a vital connection to our nation's history," Gatchalian added.

Senator Joel Villanueva meanwhile called for a stronger Filipino and Panitikan education in elementary and high school.

"Magandang pag-igihin at palakasin ang pagtuturo nito sa elementary at high school at pag isipan mabuti ang curriculum na ipapaloob kung isasabatas ang pagtuturo nito sa kolehiyo," he said.

"Ito ay upang hindi maging paulit ulit, bagkos ay mapalakas at mapaigting ang pagmamahal natin sa ating wika at panitikan," he added.

(It's good to strengthen the teaching of Filipino and Panitikan in elementary and high school and to study well the curriculum for college if teaching these subjects in that level would be enacted into a law. This is to avoid repetitive lessons and instead strengthen love for our language and literature.)

Earlier, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said the exclusion of the two subjects goes against the spirit of the Constitution as he expressed fears that the youth's grasp of the Filipino language would "deteriorate even further."

• Sotto hits exclusion of Filipino, Panitikan subjects in college

-report from Sherrie Ann Torres, ABS-CBN News