By Rudy M. Viernes

     The Philippine Terno, the formal and national attire of Filipino women today, is the haute couture of national dresses.  It is absolutely one of the world's most distinct and recognizable traditional attire that can ONLY be attributed to the Philippines. It has been called a masterpiece and a national treasure.
     Terno, from the Spanish word "to match” refers to a matching set of clothes made of the same fabric. The modern terno alludes to the matching of a "baro't saya", (literally "blouse and skirt") worn by Filipino women which evolved in design during the Spanish colonial era. Today, the terno is joined at the waist to form a one-piece creation, with both bodice and skirt made of the same material.   
    A terno is a long, elegant dress with a signature "butterfly" sleeves set upright and flat against the woman's smooth shoulders, collar lines, neck and of course the face.  It flaunts a woman's silhouette and its low neckline shows a feminine contour.
    The terno formal gown is worn during formal occasions such as state functions and weddings.
  In beauty contests, like the Miss Universe or Miss International, the Philippine candidate wears the terno during the "national costume" portion. It gets a "oohs and ahs" from the audience.  Philippine beauty candidates always land in the upper circle of the contestants not only because of their charm and beauty but also because of their national costume — the Philippine terno. 
   The terno can be designed in many ways but the butterfly sleeves always remains. The basic style of clothing speaks volumes of the Filipino heritage that spans centuries of multi-colored influences and raw patriotism. The terno is not just a style, it is a legacy.
    The terno can be simple or intricate with lots of embroidery, handpainting, styling the hem in different ways, or layering, folding, pleating, etc.
  Like the men's Barong Tagalog, the terno achieved international recognition, especially in the 70s and 80s when the Marcoses were in power.  Imelda Marcos showed how to wear it during her official state visits around the world.  Her buzz was loud and global.
   Imelda Marcos was the icon of sartorial glamour and style in the Philippines. She was in a league of her own.  She popularized the terno.
    Many claim that when Imelda Marcos wore a terno she would never wear it again.  This was one reason she had a coterie of Blue Ladies (wives of their cronies who always wear blue) trailed Mrs. Marcos wherever she went. They surrounded her in anticipation of being favored with one of her hand-me-down ternos.
     Whatever her critics and detractors think of her and her lavishness, no other Filipina matched Imelda's flawless elegance in a terno.
   The terno is the Philippine women's sartorial wardrobe legacy and the country's national haute couture. It is magnificent and something we can all be proud of.

Filipino English​
by Rudy M. Viernes

    The Philippines is the third largest English speaking country in the world, percentage wise (83 million out of 90 million), behind that of the United States and the United Kingdom, unless you are pretty keen on the Filipino accent and colloquialism. India comes fourth with 350 million out of 1 billion. But the Filipinos are notably more proficient than their Asian counterparts in both accent and pronunciation.
    However, no matter how the Philippines is ranked the fact remains that Filipinos can speak proper English which is “impressive and functional,” not far from the American and British English, sometimes even better grammatically, according to Expedia whose call center in the Philippines is its hub in Asia, and this is a statement!
    By virtue of the Treaty of Paris in 1898 after the Battle of Manila Bay where the American fleet vanquished the Spanish Armada Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States. Thus started the Americanization of Philippines with the US military taking over. Pres. William McKinley ordered the gradual implementation of English as the medium of instruction. This ushered in the coming of American educators called, “Thomasites” – all 640 young Americans initially to establish a nationwide system of public education and to train Filipino teachers. As part of a “policy of attraction” their linguistic task involved the imposition of English as a medium of instruction over Spanish, which was then the spoken language through almost 400 years of Spanish rule.
    In 1935, the country became a commonwealth of the United States as envisioned in the Tydings-McDuffie Law with a ten-year transition period to full independence and sovereignty. American Governor-Generals composed the officialdom with a bicameral legislature patterned after that of the U.S. with English the language of deliberation.
    The Stars and Stripes and the Philippine flags flew side-by-side in all public buildings. School children sung the Star-Spangled Banner upright and proud and with equal zest the “Land of the Morning, Child of the Sun Returning”, the first few lines of then Philippine National Anthem, after which were recited the oath of allegiances. To ensure the effective use of English in the schools speaking in the vernacular was strictly prohibited with fines or demerits meted to the violators.
    And years later, at the end of WWII the entry of McArthur’s liberating forces suddenly made English a necessary tool of communication for grateful Filipinos who came to embrace the G.I. Joe for his chocolates, chewing gums and Lucky Strikes.
    Benevolent assimilation was advanced by education in English. Without English a Filipino was deemed illiterate even if he can correctly write and speak Tagalog, or any of the other major dialects.
    In 1936the National Language Institute was tasked to study Philippine dialects for the purpose of evolving and adopting a common national language. A year later the Institute recommended Tagalog, which was widely spoken and the language most understood in all regions of the country as the basis of “Wikang Pambansa,” or national language. In 1959, the Department of Education called Tagalog-based national language, Pilipino, to dissociate it from the Tagalog ethnic group. In 1970 the Board of Education ordered the gradual shift to Pilipino as a medium of instruction in the primary up to the secondary levels in all public and private schools. And years later in 1987 the Cory Constitution finally designated Filipino to replace Pilipino as the Wikang Pambansa. Subsequently the Philippine Congress took steps to sustain the use of Filipino as a medium of official communication and as a language of instruction in the educational system.
    Thus Filipino has metamorphosed into a Philippine national language in order t instill nationalism and to sink it in the Filipino psyche and as a unifying concept of national identity and independence as do the Japanese of Nippongo and Chinese of Mandarin.
   And to obliterate all vestiges of American rule, Independence Day is now celebrated on June 12 instead of July 4, Dewey Blvd. was renamed to Roxas Blvd., Camp Murphy to Fort Bonifacio, and the name changes went on. The Americans left Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base, and however the country is governed today it was to our own choosing. No use crying over spilt milk.
    Through the years this nationalism issue had exacted a price and this is the decay of English spoken in the schools. What is tragic and funny is the deliberate crossbreeding that resulted into a fractured or pidgin called “Taglish,” that further diminished the purity of our English. As a consequence many present-day college graduates are found deficient in speaking and writing correct English.
    School authorities, or the whole Philippine officialdom are to blame. Where before the teaching profession was the most revered and noble of all professions, when teachers were look up to as molders of youth and the country’s future they now enter the global village as nannies or tutors of the children of the world, or as governess of rich families in Europe, or as construction workers in the Middle East where their salaries, if converted, amount to a princely sum compared to their paltry salaries as school teachers. Leaving their teaching jobs to go abroad isn’t to construe they are unpatriotic. They do so out of economic necessity. They don’t mind the loneliness and depraved life abroad as long as they can put their kids to school, put body and soul together and enjoy little luxuries.
    However, take heart my dear kababayans. Be that as it may the quality of our present English isn’t so bad compared to the English written or spoken in other countries, specially written. Consider the following, albeit funny, to prove our point: Sign outside a Paris dress shop: “Order your summer suit. Because is big rush, we will execute customers in strict rotation.” A sign posted in Germany’s Black Forest: “It is strictly forbidden on our Black Forest camping sight that people of different sex, for instance, men and women, live together in one tent unless they merried with each other for that purpose.” One the door of a Moscow hotel room: “If this is your first visitor to the USSR, you are welcome to it.” In a Bangkok temple: “It is forbidden to enter a woman, even a foreigner if dressed as a man.”
    An instruction booklet in a Japanese hotel how to use the A/C: “Cool and Heats. If you want just condition of warm in your room pls. control yourself.” A brochure of a car rental firm in Kobe, Japan: “When passenger of foot heave in sight, tottle the horn, trumpet him melodiously at first, but if he still obstacles your passage, then tottle him with vigor.” Outside a Rome laundry: “Ladies, leave your cloth here and spend the afternoon having a good time.” What do you think, guys? Without bias, we think the Filipino English isn’t that bad after all. We can write better than them!