Congress has already ratified a measure to include the subjects on Good Manners and Right Conduct and Values Education in the basic education curriculum.
The subjects would replace Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao in the curriculum to strengthen “the common core values and inculcate universally acceptable moral standards among the Filipino youth,” Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement.
“If enacted into law, the new curriculum shall focus on the basic tenets of GMRC, such as caring for oneself, giving concern for others, according proper respect to people, upholding discipline and order, cultivating sincerity, honesty, obedience, and above all, love for country,” he added.
House Bill No. 5829 states that GMRC and Values Education would be core subjects with GMRC “integrated into the daily learning activities of students” from grades one to six.
GMRC shall eventually be “integrated into” a new Values Education subject once the student reaches grades seven to 10.
Under the K to 12 program, GMRC was abolished as a regular subject in 2013, and Values Education was integrated with other subjects, such as Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao and Araling Panlipunan.
“It shall foster among students the basic tenets of [values education] such as observance of respect for oneself, others, and our elders; intercultural diversity; gender equity; ecology and integration of creation; peace and justice; obedience to the law; nationalism and global citizenship; as well as the values of patience, perseverance, industry, honesty and integrity, and good faith in dealing with other human beings,” the measure read.
“[This will] greatly contribute to the development of a national moral uprightness program of the country, which is a key factor in nation-building. This measure is vital to prevent perennial problems of the society like corruption, crime, and illegal drugs,” the House Speaker said.