ACQ Vol 12 No 2 2010

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ACQ Volume 12, Number 2 2010 87
Johncy Rose
M. Concepcion
(top), Tricia
Olea Santos
(centre) and
Carla Krishan A.
Cuadro
Keywords
BILINGUAL
POPULATIONS
PHILIPPINES
SPEECH
PATHOLOGY
of the population considered functionally literate (NSO,
2000).
Despite the establishment of a number of modern medical
services in Metro Manila, it was estimated that there was only
one hospital bed for every 909 Filipinos, and one doctor for
every 9689 (ADB, 2000). Limited disability benefits are granted
by the local social security system. The government has a low
budget allocation for health and social services, and for a
country consistently challenged by health problems, poverty,
and malnutrition, rising healthcare costs remain a pressing
problem especially for the 40% of the population that live in
poverty.
History of speech pathology
education in the Philippines
It is in this environment that speech pathology (SP) in the
Philippines has emerged and continues to evolve. The field
of speech pathology was first introduced in the Philippines in
1978. After obtaining approval from the Board of Regents of
the University of the Philippines (UP), Professor Rosella De
Jesus-Sutadisastra, together with Kathleen Mary
Boehigheimer and Kathleen A. Quigley (who were both US
Peace Corps volunteers), developed and implemented a
four-year academic program leading to a bachelor’s degree
in SP. Obtaining a bachelor’s degree is the minimum requisite
to practise speech pathology in the Philippines. The 4 year
program includes coursework in normal speech-language
structure and function, assessment and intervention for
speech, language, and related conditions, and coursework
in related skills such as organisation and management, as
well as 1100 hours of supervised clinical practicum in various
clinical environments (on-campus, hospital, specialty clinic,
and school settings). The program aims to provide graduates
with the minimum skills required for independent practice
working with either adults or children in the Philippine setting.
For 29 years, the Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology
(BSSP) has been offered only at the College of Allied Medical
Professions (CAMP) in UP Manila (UPM). CAMP started the
Master of Rehabilitation Science – Speech Pathology in
1997; this is a post-professional masters aimed at enhancing
the professional competence of local practitioners. Both the
University of the Philippines and the University of Santo
Tomas (UST) instituted Master of Clinical Audiology degrees
in 1999. More recently, in June 2009, UST introduced the
Bachelor of Science degree in Speech and Language Therapy,
making it the second university in the country to offer an
undergraduate program relevant to speech pathology.
In the almost three decades of its existence,
the field of speech pathology in the Philippines
has had tremendous achievements but
continues to evolve to address the changing
needs of the Philippines and its people. This
paper aims to identify the major milestones in
the history of the profession, describe the
speech pathology professionals in terms of
their work settings and areas of specialisation,
as well as the unique features of their practice,
and discuss the challenges that the profession
continues to address creatively and
resourcefully to ensure its growth.
Overview of the Philippines
The Philippines is comprised of 7107 islands situated in the
western Pacific Ocean and is part of Southeast Asia. The
entire archipelago is approximately 800 km from the Asian
mainland and is bordered by the Philippine Sea on the east,
the South China Sea on the west, and the Celebes Sea on
the south. The Philippines is divided into three island groups:
Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its total land area of 300,000
square kilometres holds a population of 88,574,614 Filipinos
(NSO, 2009), with more than half residing in Luzon. Four out
of 10 persons reside in Metro Manila (the capital), Central
Luzon and Southern Tagalog (NSO, 2000). The population is
relatively young with approximately 37% aged 14 years or
younger. Individuals 15 to 64 years of age account for 59.2%
of the population, while 3.8% were aged 65 and older. The
average Filipino household size is five, and the average
annual family income is Php172,730 (approximately
US$3,600). Eighty percent of Filipinos are Roman Catholics,
10% are Protestant Christians, and 5% adhere to Islam.
There are about 180 native languages used in the islands,
with Filipino (formerly known as “Tagalog”) recognized as the
national language. English is also an official language (The
1987 Constitution of the Philippines). Many families are of
necessity multilingual.
Healthcare and education systems
By age four, many Filipino children enter nursery school. By
seven years of age, they enter elementary school that spans
six to seven years, followed by secondary school (four
years). After passing college entrance examinations, many
enter tertiary institutions. Literacy rates are high, with 93.4%
Speech pathology in the
Philippines: Perspectives of
an evolving profession
Johncy Rose M. Concepcion, Tricia Olea Santos, Carla Krishan A. Cuadro,
Jocelyn Christina B. Marzan, Winston T. Cheng, and Fernando Alejandro C. Ligot
Asia Pacific