The K-12 Program is a designation for the sum of primary and secondary education and covers kindergarten and 12 years of basic education. One of the features of the program is Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTBME). From the government site:
Students are able to learn best through their first language, their Mother Tongue (MT). Twelve (12) MT languages have been introduced for SY 2012-2013: Bahasa Sug, Bikol, Cebuano, Chabacano, Hiligaynon, Iloko, Kapampangan, Maguindanaoan, Meranao, Pangasinense, Tagalog, and Waray. Other local languages will be added in succeeding school years.
Aside from the Mother Tongue, English and Filipino are taught as subjects starting Grade 1, with a focus on oral fluency. From Grades 4 to 6, English and Filipino are gradually introduced as languages of instruction. Both will become primary languages of instruction in Junior High School (JHS) and Senior High School (SHS).
Supposedly the mother tongue of the particular school district will be used as the medium of teaching. As previously there has been effort to use Tagalog Filipino as the medium of teaching, the idea is good as it benefits children whose mother tongue is not Tagalog (though these children usually speak three languages, unlike Tagalog-speakers who usually speak only two languages). But what if the child’s first language and mother tongue is English?