Villanueva bats for GMRC in K-12 curriculum

Senator Joel Villanueva stressed on Tuesday the importance of institutionalizing the teaching of Good Moral and Right Conduct and including character building activities in the curriculum of the K-12 program.

During the hearing, Villanueva said Senate Bill 860 also known as the Comprehensive Values Education Act aims to educate the whole person

"We should put value in Values Education," he said.

"We can't discount the fact that Values Education or Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao( ESP) is already included in the DepEd curriculum, yet, there is a clamor for the revival of Good Manners and Right Conduct in the curriculum, and this clamor is indeed proper given realities that we observe in our manner of conducting the affairs of the various aspects of our daily lives as Filipinos," he added.

The proposed bill, now in the Senate basic education committee headed by Senator Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian, seeks to teach students the practical and acceptable manners of conducting daily affairs according to universal norms of ethics and morality.

"Let me state that Character Building Activities are necessary components of the Comprehensive Values Education curriculum where students are given actual opportunities to practice, experience, test, and deepen whatever is taught and caught in the other aspects of learning," Villanueva said.

According to Villanueva activities may include immersions, exposures, outreach activities, and community service.

During the hearing various stake holders have echoed their support for the passage of the bill including National Youth Commission, Department of Education, and the Philippine National University, among others.

The Department of Education (DepEd) is expected to play a big role in the implementation of the bill once it passed into a law.