 Along with English, the national language has had official status under the 1973 constitution (as "Pilipino") and the present 1987 constitution (as Filipino).The adoption of Tagalog in 1937 as basis for a national language is not without its own controversies.Instead of specifying Tagalog, the national language was designated as "Wikang Pambansâ" ("National Language") in 1939.