Developing citizens of character: Yamsuan calls for renewed focus on GMRC in schools to strengthen youth’s moral foundation

Parañaque 2nd District Representative Brian Yamsuan has urged the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Congress to work together on revisiting and strengthening the implementation of laws that aim to bolster the moral foundation of the Filipino youth, starting with the measure institutionalizing values education in schools.

Yamsuan said the subject of Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC), often taken for granted in the school curriculum, goes beyond teaching etiquette and proper behavior as its ultimate goal is to shape young Filipinos into “citizens of character.”

However, the stark warning signs inside the country’s schools, where various incidents of bullying and violence have taken place, paint a different outcome and should be a wake-up call for the government, educators and parents alike to join forces in ensuring that GMRC and values education leave a lasting positive impact not only on the youth, but on our culture as whole, Yamsuan said.

“If we want safer schools and more honest institutions, then we begin before the first blow. Because the strongest infrastructure our nation can ever build is neither made of steel nor of concrete. It is built of the character and conscience of our people,” Yamsuan said in his privilege speech during the plenary session on Monday (Aug. 24, 2026).

“At ang ‘Mabuting Asal at Wastong Pag-uugali’ ay hindi pawang mga salita lamang, kundi mga alituntuning dapat isabuhay ng bawat Pilipino,” added Yamsuan.

The lawmaker delivered the speech a week after a junior high school student livestreamed himself shooting and killing a fellow learner inside a classroom at a private school in Zamboanga City, and later took his own life. Less than two months earlier, three students were killed and several others were wounded when two of their fellow schoolmates, both minors, opened fire at a public high school in Tacloban City.

“Madame Speaker, with the premise that GMRC is about forming citizens of character, our next question should be: ‘Nagtatagumpay ba tayo?’ ” Yamsuan said.

Yamsuan acknowledged that GMRC alone cannot solve the problem of misconduct and violence in schools, as there are several root causes why children commit these acts.

“I thus understand, Mr. Speaker, that GMRC is not a panacea. But it is a moral foundation,” Yamsuan said.

On top of revisiting Republic Act (RA) 11476 which institutionalized GMRC and values education in the basic education curriculum, Yamsuan also called for a review of the implementation of the Anti-Bullying Act (RA 10627), and strengthening mental health laws, including the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act (RA 12080) “to help rebuild the moral infrastructure of our country.”

Yamsuan has also filed House Bill (HB) 10864 that aims to put in place measures to ensure safe and secure environments in schools.

With budget hearings ongoing in the House, Yamsuan said he hopes that fellow lawmakers would ask the DepEd the questions that also matter—whether laws on values education and anti-bullying measures are working, and whether the government is investing enough, not only in the minds, but also in the character, of the Filipino youth.

“Because the true measure of ‘quality education’, as envisioned by our Constitution, is not simply the number of intelligent and globally competitive graduates we produce. It is whether we produce Filipino citizens of character,” Yamsuan said.

Data from the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)) showed that 1 in every 3 Filipino students experience bullying at least once a week. These ranged from being ridiculed or “made fun of,” to being threatened physically and verbally. An earlier 2018 PISA study showed 65 percent of students-—the highest percentage among the surveyed countries—reported being bullied at least a few times a month.

Last year, a hearing by the Senate Committee on Basic Education found that despite four years since the issuance of its implementing rules, GMRC and Values Education has not yet been fully implemented as a separate subject in Grades 1 to 10.

Yamsuan said the law institutionalizing GMRC and values education in the curriculum should be fully implemented by teaching them as separate subjects in all schools, and given the same priority as Math and Science.

Citing the need to capacitate teachers to effectively teach values education, Yamsuan said they should be provided with adequate and continuing training on teaching this subject, while vigorously implementing the ‘Whole School Approach,” which necessitates involving parents and developing home and school partnerships, “because character formation cannot depend entirely on teachers,” Yamsuan said.

He also urged Congress to work with DepEd in monitoring and reviewing the GMRC law to identify where it is working, where it is weak, and where resources are missing.

A comprehensive communications campaign beyond the classroom for GMRC and values education, especially on social media, should also be carried out, Yamsuan said.

In his speech, Yamsuan cited several other horrific cases of violence that have occurred in and outside of schools, including two incidents where a 14-year old Grade 8 learner died after being stabbed by a 15-year old fellow student in March last year, and where another 14-year old, this time, a person-with-disability (PWD), was beaten to death by three minors, just because “napagdiskitahan lang” (targeted) for selling short pants—all occurring within his district. ###