Posted September 6, 2014 by Ian Benedict Mia

Tatsulok, a national organization consisting of different psychology student organizations across the country, held the Sikolohiyang Pilipino (SP) Primer today at the Bulwagang Balagtas of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) Manila.

The SP Primer is a national event which seeks to reintroduce and discuss the different concepts and issues pertinent to Sikolohiyang Pilipino. With hundreds of delegates from different colleges and universities, the seminar also focused on the implications of Sikolohiyang Pilipino to the Philippine society today, including the feat of further intellectualizing the Filipino language. 

The speakers, Professors Jay Yacat and Jayson Petras from the University of the Philippines Diliman, argues that with the removal of Filipino subjects in the general educational curriculum in the college level, it doesn't give justice to Filipino itself since it implies that the language cannot be used in a professional setting. "Parang ipinapakita rito na sa planong tanggalin ang Filipino subjects sa college dahil ililipat naman ito sa Senior High School ayon sa bagong General Education Curriculum, hindi nakikita ng CHED ang paggamit ng Filipino sa professional setting [It shows here that through the plan of CHED on removing Filipino subjects in college since they would be tackled in Senior High School anyway, CHED doesn't seem to perceive Filipino being used in the professional setting]," says Acat. 

Sikolohiyang Pilipino issues were also raised in the seminar, including how most of the psychology material students use are of western origin, and do not necessarily pertain to understanding the characteristics and behavior of Filipinos. For instance, most of the psychological scales being used in the classroom are created by western psychologists. On the other hand, Petras gives an example on how the behavior of Filipinos are gradually being understood using local scales and concepts, particularly Virgilio Enriquez's psychological scale entitled "Panukat ng Ugali at Pagkatao." Most of the traits being measured by the scale are Filipino in nature.

To conclude the event, Tatsulok President April Anne Bacolod gives her thanks to those who attended the event. She furthers that the next big event of Tatsulok, Psynergy, will be held next year.