MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law a measure which mandates the inclusion of the Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) classes in the K-12 program.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, principal author of Republic Act 11476, confirmed President Duterte’s “timely” approval of the measure in time for the opening of classes come August.
“With many schools set on implementing distance learning, it’s going to be even more vital that we give our students formative guidance through GMRC and values education,” Zubiri said.
“We didn’t anticipate that the world would basically grind to a halt, and all our interactions would move online. So the passage of this act is quite timely, and I hope it serves our students well,” he added.
Zubiri said he hopes the new law would help the youth learn important values despite the absence of physical interactions with their classmates and teachers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian also hailed President Duterte signing as it strengthens learners’ character development and values formation even as the basic education system enters the new normal because of the pandemic.
“Bagama’t magbabago ang paraan ng pagtuturo ngayong taon dahil nasa gitna tayo ng isang pandemya, kailangang patuloy ang pagtuturo natin sa mga kabataang Pilipino kung paano ba sila magiging mabuting mga mamamayan,” Gatchalian said.
The shift to the K-12 curriculum in 2013 dissolved GMRC as a regular subject and integrated it to the Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao which is only given 30 minutes per day at the primary level and two one-hour sessions per week at the secondary level.
Under the law, GMRC will be introduced to kindergartens in their daily learning activities. It will be institutionalized as a separate subject from Grades 1 to 6.
The law also said the GMRC curriculum must focus on the basic tenets such as caring for oneself, giving concern for others, according proper respect to people, upholding discipline and order, cultivating sincerity, honesty, obedience, and love for country.
From Grades 7 to 10, values education will also be taught as a regular subject. Once the students reach senior high school, values education will still be integrated in their other subjects./PN
