CBCP backs Senate nod on GMRC bill

Under Senate Bill 1224 or the Comprehensive Values Education Act, elementary students will be required to attend a 30-minute daily class on values education. (File photo: Barry Pousman/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

MANILA — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Tuesday backed the Senate’s approval of a measure mandating all public and private elementary and high schools to include a Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) subject in their curriculum.

“I welcome this move. GMRC is actually at the core of education. At the time of digital transformation and AI (Artificial Intelligence), all the more we realize the need to focus on being more human. Moreover, at the heart of legislation and its implementation is the link between laws and values,” said Bishop Rex Andrew Alarcon, CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Youth (CBCP-ECY) chairperson.

Alarcon added that it is important to instill good values to young people which would mean progress for both the country and its citizens.

“If the citizens and the community do not see the values behind the laws, laws become useless. Institutionalizing GMRC in education hopefully will reinforce the message that real progress can only be achieved by forming the human person first and foremost,” the Daet bishop said.

Alarcon noted that educating the youth must begin with manners, values, and virtues.

“It does not stop in schools, however, it is a lifelong task. It is learning for life,” Alarcon added.

On Monday, senators unanimously approved on third and final reading a bill allowing students in primary and secondary schools to have GMRC subject.

Under Senate Bill 1224 or the Comprehensive Values Education Act, elementary students will be required to attend a 30-minute daily class on values education.

On the other hand, high school and senior high school students will have to attend an hour-long GMRC class held twice a week.

In the Senate version, the subject will be taught in English and Filipino to be more accessible and user-friendly to students.

In 2013, GMRC was removed from the K to 12 curriculum as values education was integrated with Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao and Araling Panlipunan subjects.