The City Council of Manila unanimously passed Thursday, 5 October 2023, a resolution commending the successful holding of a workshop on the baybayin writing system at the City Hall last 22 September 2023.
The workshop, entitled “Pagpapantig-uli: Resurfaced, Reemergence, Reinstalled”, was led by Rev. Jose Jaime “Jay” Enage, founder of Baybayin Buhayin, Inc., an organization advocating the revival of Baybayin in modern Philippine writings. It was held in partnership with the Rotary Clubs of Alabang Corporate Centre, Paranaque BF Homes, and Alabang Madrigal Business Park.
City councilors and their staff took part in the seminar, which coincided with the observance of the Basic Education and Literacy Month in September this year.
Baybayin is a pre-Hispanic Philippine script. It was widely used in Luzon and other parts of the Philippines prior to and during the 16th and 17th centuries before being supplanted by the Latin alphabet during the Spanish colonization. (thefreedictionary.com “baybayin”. Retrieved 6 October 2023 from https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Baybayin)
“Ang pag-aaral ng baybayin ay muling bubuhay at magpe-preserba sa isang mahalagang bahagi ng kulturang Pilipino, na ipinamana sa atin ng ating mga ninuno (Studying the baybayin will revive and preserve an important part of Filipino culture, bequeathed to us by our ancestors)”, said 6th District Councilor Luciano “Lou” Veloso, principal author of the resolution, on the sidelines of the session.
