Fully implement GMRC in schools, DepEd told amid spate of bullying

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian. Inquirer photo/Niño Jesus Orbeta

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate panel on basic education wants the Department of Education (DepEd) to fully implement Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) — a core subject in the K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum in the Philippines  — in the upcoming Academic Year 2025-2026.

Panel head Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian made the appeal in a public hearing on Tuesday, noting the rising cases of bullying in the Philippines.

READ: DepEd probes alleged student bullying in Quezon City

The senator believes that the GRMC subject would help address bullying by inculcating good manners and right conduct at the beginning of the schooling of the child.

“As I understand right now, it has yet to be implemented fully. It’s only implemented in Grades 1, 4, and 7 this coming School Year 2024-2025. But in the IRR of the same law, the shift from teaching Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao to GMRC and Values Education shall be implemented by School Year 2022-2023 in all public schools,” said Gatchalian in mixed English and Filipino.

At this point, Gatchalian asked why GMRC has yet to be implemented as a separate subject across all grades in public schools.

“Without implementing this, we could not end this problem. So I want to understand, how come this law is not being implemented to its fullest?” said the senator.

Integrate GMRC

At the end of Gatchalian’s prodding, DepEd Assistant Secretary Dexter Galban explained that the prime consideration for DepEd during the academic year 2022-2024 was the changes that had to be made by the agency during the pandemic in terms of shifting priorities to modalities to adapt for learning continuity.

“This was followed by the moves to update and modify the curriculum for the succeeding school year so these were factored into the process of integrating GRMC as a replacement for the Pagpapakatao subject,” said Galban.

This, however, did not sit well with Gatchalian who noted that it is already 2025. With this, he demanded that the full roll out of GMRC be made in the School Year 2025-2026.

“We cannot wait anymore. We cannot wait until another child dies because we have failed to teach our children,” said Gatchalian.

“This is very clear — from Grades 1 to Grade 12. It’s a separate subject from Grades 1 to 6. This is the highlight of the law because we all agree that we should teach our children about good manners and right conduct early on,” he added.

Galban, for his part, said the DepEd will hold the panel’s request as a high priority intervention for School Year 2025-2026.