Is Tagalog a useless language to learn & useful only if you want to be a politician or entertainer?

I grew up speaking English because my mother was an English teacher.  As a kid I remember being taunted because I spoke English. Comments like "pa English-English Pinoy naman" were common.

Yes, a national language is important for identity; but none Tagalog native speakers are left at a disadvantage. Travel to the rest of the country and you will find that often the prefered language by the non-Tagalogs will be broken-English.

There was a time when public school students spoke good English but this skill was killed by the "anti-English" advocates fueled by their misguided nationalism.

What are the benefits of Tagalog expertise ?  Well, it is only useful if you want to become a politician and rant like Chiz Escudero or if you wish to be an "entertainer" which is no different from being a politician.