THE answer to that question is yes. Filipinos are native speakers of English. While they do not use English the way the British, Americans, Australians and Canadians do in their everyday lives, Filipinos can still be considered native speakers of the language. While these people use English as their dominant or sole language, Filipinos use it alongside indigenous Philippine languages. Britons, Americans, Australians and Canadians are usually monolingual (English), but Filipinos are bilingual: English and another indigenous language. It only means the repertoire of languages Filipinos have is much bigger than the typical British, American, Australian, and Canadian.

Several months ago, I quoted Prof. Charles Mann of Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa, and the three conditions he set for being a native speaker:

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