Why do you think so many people call Philippine languages as 'dialects'?

[vlag m]

I have read many answers from many different people regarding the difference between Filipino and Tagalog.. Please I apologize for what I say in the next first line..

People who think that the likes of Cebuano, Bikolano, Tagalog and Illocano are just 'dialects' are idiots. Tagalog is NOT a dialect. It is a language in its OWN RIGHT. And the "Filipino language" is standardized Tagalog. So are Cebuano, Illocano, etc.. They are ALL LANGUAGES. NOT DIALECTS.

For those who said Tagalog and Cebuano and other Philippine languages are 'dialects', I'll explain to you why. You see, if you lock up a Cebuano-speaker and a Tagalog-speaker in a prison cell and they both do not know how to speak the other person's tongue, then they will NOT understand each other. That's why Tagalog and Cebuano are MUTUALLY UNINTELLIGIBLE because they are different languages. 'Dialects' would imply that there is mutual intelligibility between the two. Tagalog and Cebuano each have their OWN dialects.