[14] The Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) has put forth initiatives in using mother tongues as modes of instructions over the years.

Around 600 educators (called "Thomasites") who arrived in that year aboard the USAT Thomas replaced the soldiers who also functioned as teachers.

In addition, Spanish regained its official status when President Ferdinand Marcos signed Presidential Decree No.

[30] Both Filipino and English are used in government, education, print, broadcast media, and business, with third local languages often being used at the same time.

[31] Filipino has borrowings from, among other languages, Spanish,[32] English,[33] Arabic,[34] Persian, Sanskrit,[35] Malay,[36] Chinese,[37][38] Japanese,[39] and Nahuatl.

Locals may use their mother tongue or the regional lingua franca to communicate amongst themselves, but sometimes switch to foreign languages when addressing outsiders.

As of 2017[update], the case of Ilocano and Cebuano are becoming more of bilingualism than diglossia due to the publication of materials written in these languages.

Outside this circle, one would speak in the prevalent regional language, while maintaining an adequate command of Filipino for formal situations.

[48] Philippine languages are often referred to by Filipinos as dialects, partly as a relic of the inaccurate vocabulary used in literature during the American period (1898–1946).

[47] ^Boholano, Tausug/Bahasa Sug, Maranao, Karay-a/Kinaray-a, Bukidnon/Binukid-Akeanon/Aklanon, Masbateño/ Masbatenon, Surigaonon, and Zamboagueño-Chavacano Endangered and extinct languages in the Philippines are based on the 3rd world volume released by UNESCO in 2010.

[53] Arabic is used by some Filipino Muslims in both a liturgical and instructional capacity since the arrival of Islam and establishment of several Sultanates in the 14th century.

As of 2015[update] Arabic is taught for free and is promoted in some Islamic centres predominantly in the southernmost parts of Philippines.

It is used primarily in religious activities and education (such as in a madrasa or Islamic school) and rarely for official events or daily conversation.

In this respect, its function and use is somewhat like the traditional roles of Latin and Spanish in Filipino Catholicism vis-à-vis other currently spoken languages.

[54] The first significant exposure of Filipinos to the English language occurred in 1762 when the British invaded Manila during the Seven Years' War, but this was a brief episode that had no lasting influence.

On August 22, 2007, three Malolos City regional trial courts in Bulacan decided to use Filipino, instead of English, in order to promote the national language.

De la Rama said it was the dream of former Chief Justice Reynato Puno to implement the program in other areas such as Laguna, Cavite, Quezón, Nueva Écija, Batangas, Rizal, and Metro Manila.

[55] English is used in official documents of business, government, the legal system, medicine, the sciences and as a medium of instruction.

The article reported that aspiring Filipino teachers score the lowest in English out of all of the subjects on their licensing exams.

), or the code-switching or code-mixing of these such as Taglish or Bislish, but Philippine Hokkien is typically or occasionally used within Chinese Filipino households privately amongst family or acts a heritage language among descendants of such.

As with Spanish, many native languages have co-opted numerous loanwords from Chinese, in particular words that refer to cuisine, household objects, and Philippine kinship terminology.

[63] Malay is spoken as a second language by a minority of the Tausug, Sama-Bajau, and Yakan peoples in the southernmost parts of the Philippines, from Zamboanga down to Tawi-Tawi.

[64] In an interview, Department of Education Secretary Armin Luistro[36] said that the country's government should promote Indonesian and Malaysian, which are both related to Filipino and other Philippine languages.

Only few South Asians, such as Pakistani, as well as the recent newcomers like speakers of Tamil, Nepali and Marathi retain their own respective languages.

Though its usage is not as widespread as before, Spanish has had a significant influence in the various local Philippine languages such as providing numerous loan words.

In 1593, the first printing press in the Philippine islands was founded and it released the first (albeit polyglot) book, the Doctrina Christiana that same year.

Today, the language is still spoken by Filipino-Spanish mestizos and Spanish families who are mainly concentrated in Metro Manila, Iloilo and Cebu.

Up until recently, many historical documents, land titles, and works of literature were written in Spanish and not translated into Filipino languages or English.

Spanish, through colonization has contributed the largest number of loanwords and expressions in Tagalog, Cebuano, and other Philippine languages.

Among its past and present academics are former President Arroyo, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, and Archbishop of Cebú Cardinal Ricardo Vidal.