Learning the mother tongue — or the language used in a person's home country — will help an individual appreciate the culture in his native land, experts say. In Brunei, over 1,200 kilometers away from the Philippines, 30 Filipino kids — aged six to 14— studied the Filipino language from August 20 to 30, under the "Pilipino Po Ako: Mag-Aral Tayong Mag-Pilipino" program of the Philippine Embassy. In a news release, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said they were "taught the proper use of the Filipino language, including written composition for the relatively advanced students." The children were divided into three clusters:
beginners (ages 6-8), juniors (ages 9-11), and seniors (ages 12-14). The DFA said the children were taught about the three colonization periods in the country as part of the program's emphasis on Philippine history. They also had a hands-on lesson on cooking pancit palabok, and a field trip to the Oil and Gas Discovery Center in Kuala Belait. On the last day of the program, the Embassy held a graduation ceremony at the new Philippine Chancery, where children-participants performed a short play of "Si Pagong at Si Matsing (The Tortoise and the Hare)" and a medley of Filipino folk dances and songs. In return, the volunteer teachers sang a medley of Filipino folk songs— together with Nestor Ochoa, Philippine ambassador to Brunei, and his wife. Recognitions were given to students who excelled in the program— from the most outstanding (pinakamagaling) to the most industrious (pinakamasipag) and the most creative (pinakamalikhain). Ochoa said learning the language is important for these children, who would find themselves rekindling ties with Philippine society later on. Meanwhile, Minister and Consul Celeste Balabat said the program "is an example of what unity and cooperation between the Embassy and the Filipino community in Brunei can accomplish," noting that it is the only Embassy activity that caters to the Filipino children there. The Filipino community is a favorite source of workers in Brunei, with about 20, 000 of them currently based in the sultanate and working in various fields—including the sultan's palace, Istana Nurul Iman, where the staff is said to be dominated by Filipinos. - RJMD/VVP, GMA News 
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