SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian wants the Senate to determine, through an inquiry, the impact of using the Filipino Sign Language as the medium of instruction in deaf education, as he decried the alleged neglect in the implementation of the sign language law.

The senator said that the Filipino Sign Language Act was signed into law in 2018 but its implementing rules and regulations were only signed on December 6, 2021.

Aside from mandating the use of the FSL as the language of instruction of deaf education, the law mandates that the FSL shall be the medium of official communication in all transactions involving the deaf.

In filing Senate Resolution No. 14, Gatchalian flagged the insufficient training of teachers on FSL, the non-promotion of the licensing and mobilization of deaf teachers and the lack of FSL materials which prevent deaf students from improving their learning process.

He also noted the non-submission of the annual report on the law’s monitoring and implementation, which was supposed to be submitted by an Inter-Agency Council.

“Kung nais nating tiyakin na hindi mapagkakaitan ng dekalidad na edukasyon ang ating mga deaf learners, dapat nating tiyakin na maayos na naipapatupad ang batas na nagsusulong sa Filipino Sign Language Act,” Gatchalian said.

“Dapat rin nating tugunan ang kakulangan ng mga sapat na materyales at oportunidad para sa ating mga deaf teachers dahil ang ating mga deaf learners ang napag-iiwanan,” he added.

The senator lamented that many deaf graduates fail the Licensure Examination for Teachers which does not match the competencies for which they are prepared for.

This creates an institutional barrier for deaf graduates who end up as tutors with low-paying jobs instead of entering the educational system as teachers.

Data from the Department of Education showed that for School Year 2019-2020, there were 28,740 learners diagnosed with a hearing impairment.