Is,

LAPU-LAPU CITY COLLEGE

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Don B. Benedicto Road,
Gun-ob, Lapu-Lapu City 6015

Educ. 4 – The Teaching

Profession
Module for Students
Third Quarter (1st Semester 2022-2023)

Prepared by:

Effer R. Ponce, MAEd.

Course Instructor

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 Part III – Coverage for Semi-final (The Third Quarter)

Unit 4 – Teacher as a Person in Society

So much is demanded of the teacher as a person. He/she is looked up to as model

and therefore must walk her talk or ends up like a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. This is
big challenge. His/her highest obligation is to live with dignity in all places at all times, so 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, 31 days a month, 365 or 366 days a year. He/she will never
regret if he/she has made self-respect and self-discipline as the governing principle in
his/her relationships with all people in all situations. With the Almighty God at the center of
his/her life, the professional teacher will be resolute in his/her intent to maintain a dignified
personality and so can serve as a model for learners, peers, and all others.

Modern man listens willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to
teachers, it is because they are witnesses. Pope Paul VI.

The Filipino teacher is a professional. This means that he/she demonstrates

technical, ethical and moral competence as a result of his/her long years of initial
professional education which led him/her to the earning of a college/university degree and
passing the licensure examinations. He/She goes through continuing professional
development and abides by the Code of ethics for Professional teachers.

This also means that he/she possesses professional competence. This competence is
demonstrated in his/her professionalism, professional knowledge, in creating a favorable
learning environment, in excellent instructional planning, instructional delivery and
assessment practices. It goes without saying that as a professional he/she has mastery of
subject matter.

Teachers are one of the most significant members of a society. They are also one of
the most influential professionals in the community. Before a teacher becomes a
professional facilitator, motivator, initiator, and motivator, teachers are essential learner of
their own nature. Professionals will not be professionals without professional teachers
in the society. Socially speaking, teachers are active contributor in the progression and
development in a social institution. The question is, how can they manage to do that?

Module Overview

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 There are teachers’ beliefs that enable them to be professionally developed.
Initially, before a teacher can develop children’s way of learning, they should have to
develop themselves first. There are philosophies, principles, values, that are considered
to be important in teaching.

Teaching fulfills the elements of a profession and so a teacher is truly a professional.

A professional is one who went through long years of preparation to earn a teacher
education degree recognized by the Commission in Higher Education (CHED).

In this module, you will be provided with compact information on the various
qualities needed of a good, competent and effective teacher who can help mold the future
leaders of the country. In the same manner, you will also be provided with the complete
date of the various laws governing teaching in the Philippines as stipulated in the different
provisions in the Philippine Constitution.

Learning Competencies

At the end of the module, the pre-service teachers (PSTs) can:

1. manifest a caring attitude, respect, integrity and dignity in teaching; and

2. discuss on the various laws governing teacher rights, privileges, welfare and
responsibilities and reflect on how they apply in real life.

Pre-test

Before we will begin, let us try to answer these questions to check your readiness
for these new topics. You can share your answers and opinion in the
messenger/google classroom so others will learn.

1. Toward the end of the school year, the mother of one of the candidates for honors
visits you to ask about her child’s chances of graduating with honors. She brings a
basket of fruits in season for you. What should you do?

a. Reject the basket of fruits and tell her that you have enough at home.
b. Accept the fruits and assure the mother that the daughter will be given honor
student.
c. Respectfully reject the offer and explain that you might be accused of bribery.
d. Explain the chance of the daughter objectively and graciously accept the offer.

2. Which of the following is NOT correct under the Code of Ethics for Teachers regarding
teacher and business?

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 a. No teacher shall act, directly or indirectly, as agent of, or be financially interested in
any commercial venture which furnishes textbooks and other school commodities.
b. A teacher has no right to engage, directly or indirectly, in legitimate income
generation.
c. A teacher shall maintain a good reputation with respect to the financial matters such
as in the settlement of his debts and loans in arranging satisfactorily his private
financial affairs.
d. None of the above.

3. Every teacher shall participate in the ____________ program of the PRC and shall
pursue other studies as will improve his efficiency, prestige and strengthen his
competence.

a. Professional Enhancement
b. Maximizing Learning Competence
c. Continuing Educational Enhancement
d. Continuing Professional Education

4. During the distribution of the report card, which of the following must be the
foremost concern of a teacher?

a. Discuss the projects of the school.

b. Discuss the progress as well as the deficiencies of the students.
c. Discuss the unsettled bill of the students.
d. Discuss the complaints of other teachers and classmates of the students.

5. Miss Reyes is a new teacher like you. During her first few weeks in school, she felt
like quitting teaching. At the end of the day, she is totally burned out. If you were in
her place from whom will you ask assistance?

a. from the principal

b. from the parents
c. from co-teachers
d. from pupils

Course Contents and Learning Experiences

Unit 4 – Teacher as a Person in Society

“A good teacher knows not only the way but shows the way.” Unknown

Teaching is regarded as a moral endeavor because teachers make ethical decisions

in the course of their routine work. They always reflect on the moral implications of their
decisions most especially on the things they say or do. However, deciding ethical issues in
school does not have an easy and straightforward formula. Neither are there single right nor
wrong ways in handling ethical issues and problems in the classroom. This situation
presents difficult choices on the part of teachers. For this reason, they need to have a
comprehensive understanding of the moral and ethical nature of teaching – to see the moral

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and ethical value of what they do and see the moral contribution of their profession in
building the character of learners.

What are the demands of the teaching profession from the teacher as a person? This
can be re-stated as “what personal qualities or attributes of teachers are demanded by the
teaching profession” or “what personal traits must a teacher possess in order to function
well as a professional teacher?”

More than any other professional, teachers are subjected to scrutiny to the minutest
detail by those they associate with. Teachers are judged more strictly than other
professionals.

The most common personal trait given to describe the effective teacher is caring. A
caring teacher is fair. He/she displays a personal touch and so is approachable. He/she
makes every learner belong and feel welcome. He/she feels with his/her students and so is
compassionate. He/she is forgiving, does not keep grudges against learners. He/she is
humble enough to admit mistakes.

There are two distinct characteristics of an effective and efficient teacher:

1. Personal qualities- refer to the qualities that stem from the teacher’s
personality, interests, attitudes, and beliefs; and his/her behavior and working
relationships with his/her students and peers.

2. Professional qualities refer to the teacher’s knowledge of the subject matter,

his/her understanding of the psychological and educational principles and his/her
understanding of the teaching profession.

As a person

1. Innate Qualities
a. Aptitude
A saying goes “Teachers are born”. This refers to the inborn
characteristics of individuals such as aptitude, often defined as a strong
inclination for some tasks together with corresponding skills.

b. Mental ability
A mental ability that is above average and higher equips a teacher to
carry on her multiple tasks. After hurdling a 4-year bachelor’s degree, she can
easily continue to a master’s degree. Mentally gifted and bright teachers are
capable of demonstrating higher order thinking skills.

2. Personal qualities

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 In the chosen career of teaching, personality could serve as an inspiration
or otherwise to the student whom she pledges to lead by the hand. A pleasing
personality has implications on a general physical appearance. He is a living
example of excellent health and good posture. While a stimulating personality is
one who exhibits inner qualities, such as enthusiasm, sympathy, self-control, fair-
mindedness, and resourcefulness. Enthusiasm begets enthusiasm. An enthusiastic
teacher has pep and vigor which can easily be revealed in his facial expression,
voice, and actions or movements. Showing concerns for others especially in times of
disappointments or emotional imbalance is what is termed as sympathy. He can
treat his students with firmness but tempered with sympathy and love. A teacher
must essentially possess the following personal qualities:

1. Presentable appearance, good manners, courtesy, and a pleasant voice.

2. Intelligence, emotional stability, and self-control
3. Sympathy, kindness, helpfulness, and patience
4. Integrity, trustworthiness, honesty and loyalty
5. Sociability, friendliness, and cooperativeness
6. Flexibility, creativity, and resourcefulness
7. Fairness impartiality, and tolerance
8. Sense of humor, cheerfulness, and enthusiasm

As a professional:

Professional qualities include:

1. A mastery of the subject matter.

2. An understanding of the learners. This pertains to the teacher’s knowledge about
the learners and the principles of human growth and development.
3. Liking and loving learners. A teacher who has genuine and sincere love for
learners can imbue them with love for learning.
4. Knowledge of the teaching principles and skills. A teacher must know the WHATS
and HOWS of teaching including the needed skills and teaching methods.
5. General understanding of the different branches of knowledge along with their
interrelationship and interdependence to solve life’s problems. Knowledge and
background study of arts, languages, philosophy, math, literature, and physical
science are deemed necessary. A teacher must also be knowledgeable of
information and communications technology (ICT) as in the use of computers.
6. An appreciation of the teaching profession.
Moral and Ethical dimensions of Teaching

Teaching can be a tough profession as it requires teachers to become moral

exemplars in and out of the school. As future teachers, it is imperative to identify the
role of morals and ethics in the teaching profession. By understanding this topic, they
reflect on their own personal values and morals and determine whether these are
consistent with the moral and ethical demands of teaching. The need to understand the

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morality of teaching is anchored on the assumption that morals and ethics play a
central and critical role in teachers’ personal and professional life. This happens
because the teacher’s moral position governs, to a great extent, how they instruct,
relate, and assess their learners.
Difference Between Morals and Ethics

Teaching morals and ethics necessitate knowing their distinction. Both are similar
in a sense that they deal with right or wrong conduct. However, moral is narrower than
ethics because it is just concerned with one’s own principles of right or wrong. It is
something subjective and internally formed as part of the habit or developed because of
one’s belief in something being right or wrong .

Meanwhile, ethics is broader and objective because it is a set of moral principles

or values externally prescribed or accepted by a group say, professional teachers,
doctors or engineers . Usually, ethics means conformance with established standards of
behavior. In the teaching profession, teachers have to follow the Code of Ethics for
Professional Teachers (otherwise known as ethics of the teaching profession) as this
is the source of ethical principles that lays the code of the profession.

Irrespective of the teachers’ feelings and preferences and whether or not this is
aligned with their own personal principles of right or wrong (morals), they have to
follow it because it sets the criteria for an acceptable teacher behavior.

Conflict Between Ethics and Morals

Can there be a conflict between ethics and morals? Yes, for example,
teachers’ morals may tell them by personal conviction that spanking misbehaving
learners is an effective way to discipline them, but the Code of Ethics for professional
Teachers abhors corporal punishment. In this case, there is a conflict in the teachers’
morals and the ethics of their profession. When a conflict between morals and ethics
arises in teaching, the latter has to be followed than the former. That is why teachers
are challenged to make their morals conform to the ethics of their profession.

Sample Situation:
Teacher John enforces a classroom policy that whoever among the learner
makes noise or misbehaves will sit in the so-called “hot seat” chair located
near the blackboard. A learner misbehaves and the rule was enforced causing
the learner to look and feel foolish on front of his/her classmates. Is this case
considered corporal punishment? Why?

Morality of Teaching and Ethics of Teaching

Morality of teaching and ethics of teaching are two important things that all future
and practicing teachers need to understand.

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Morality of Teaching refers to the teachers’ personal values or general principles of
right and wrong. It is a subjective personal behavior based on personal belief,
conviction or religious perspective.

On the other hand, the Ethics of Teaching refers to the application of principles
of right and wrong in the professional practice. This is usually based on a code of
conduct like Code of Ethics for professional Teachers which lays the shared principles of
right and wrong in the practice of the teaching profession.

In short, morality of teaching is concerned with the personal conduct of

teachers while the ethics of teaching is concerned with the professional and
shared conduct of teachers. The former is judged based on the teachers’ personal
principles of right and wrong while the latter is judge based on an established and
collective professional code.

In the teaching profession, both concepts are essentially required because

personal conduct and professional conduct are indivisible. One could hardly become
personally upright as a teacher (morality of teaching) but professionally unethical
(ethics of teaching) and vice versa. Understandably, they are inseparable and
interconnected. Usually, when teachers lie, cheat, and steal in their personal or private
lives, more likely they do the same acts in carrying out their professional duties and
function as teachers.

Sample Situation:
A transgender teacher does not wear the male uniform as this does not conform
with her gender identity and self-expression. The principal issued her a
memorandum to wear the appropriate dress code but the transgender teacher
refused invoking The Magna Carta of Women (Republic Act No. 9710) seeking to
“eliminate discrimination against women by recognizing, protecting, fulfilling, and
promoting the rights of Filipino women, especially those in marginalized sector.”
Is the teacher valid in her claim? Why?

Virtue, Morals, Value, and Character

Virtue, morals, values, and character are terms which are oftentimes used
interchangeably. There is a thin line of difference between and among these terms. As a
consequence, the ideas about them are diverse and sometimes vague. In the teaching
profession, distinguishing these terms is important to enable teachers determine which
of the foregoing concepts are worth developing in their teaching.

Virtue is a socially desired quality of a person like cleanliness, frugality,

patience, bravery, and loyalty. It is society or space specific as it is generally accepted
behavior of people in a given society.

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 Meanwhile, morals are much more serious than virtue because it has ethical
bearing and it is morally “prized”. Failure to follow morals leads to a heavier
punishment to include permanent exclusion from the group.

On the other hand, value is perceived worth of something or something that one
holds important. For example, when one perceives money to be worthy, he/she makes
personal sacrifices in amassing it because it is something he/she values.

Finally, character is something that an individual possesses, which is developed

out of his/her virtue, morals, and values. It is something distinct to an individual even
when no one is watching him/her. Significantly, the end goal of teaching is to educate
for character.

Moral and Ethical Sense in Teaching

In what sense is teaching a moral and ethical undertaking? Answering such
question requires determining the moral component of teaching as a human act.
Teaching, as a form of human act entails moral decision. Teachers act with knowledge,
freedom, and voluntariness.

Knowledge means being conscious of what one does while freedom means
having choices and making free decisions.

On the other hand, voluntariness means carrying out deliberately or purposely

one’s choice based on his/her judgement. Inasmuch as teachers make actions decisions
based on these moral components, any decision they make is therefore a moral act.
Thus, teachers are answerable for the consequences of their own actions.

Teaching is also a moral enterprise because educating young people is

fundamentally and inevitably moral in nature. The mission of teaching is changing the
lives of the learners for the better is inherently moral as well. Teachers cannot teach
without taking about what is right or wrong; acceptable or unacceptable; and legal or
illegal inside the classroom. In short, they cannot teach without doing moral tasks.
Those who do not undertake the moral task have problems keeping order in their
classes because learners are not oriented on what is right or wrong.

PROFESSIONALISM

Professionalism is something demanded of teachers both as professional and as a

person. Professionalism is succinctly described in Article XI of the Code of Ethics for
Professional Teachers, to wit:

Section 1. A teacher shall live with dignity at all times.

Section 2. A teacher shall place premium upon self-respect and self-discipline
as the principle of personal behavior in all relationships with others and in all
situations.

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Section 3. A teacher shall maintain at all times a dignified personality which
could serve as model worthy of emulation by learners, peers, and others.
Section 4. a teacher shall always recognize the Almighty God or being as guide
of his own destiny and of the destinies of men and nations.

For reflection:

1. What is the big challenge of a teacher?

2. Are you ready to face the challenge?
3. There are more women than men in the teaching profession. Does
this indicate that less men are able to face the challenge of the
teaching profession?

The Code of Ethics for Public School Teachers adopted in Section 7 of

Republic Act 4670 cites integrity as one essential trait of a professional teacher. this
is given below:

C. INTEGRITY: Since the teacher’s work is not confined merely to the

development of certain fundamental skills and abilities encompassed by the teaching of
the 3R’s but also includes the development of desirable habits and attitudes that go
into the formation of character, his manner of living should provide a worthy example
for his pupils and students to emulate for his fellow teachers to be proud of, and for the
community to feel as being enriched by it.

The personal traits cited above as attributes expected of teachers as persons are
all included in the big words – “live with dignity,” “premium on self-respect and self-
discipline,” “model worthy of emulation” found in the Code of ethics of professional
Teachers. They are not only personal traits; they are professional traits expected of a
teacher. In one word, these are all manifestations of professionalism, the hallmark of a
professional.

Synapse Strengtheners

Activity No. 1

Instructions: Prepare a matrix showing the qualities of a teacher as a “Person” and as a

“Professional”. Use a separate sheet for this activity. Submit your work to my personal account
in Facebook/messenger. See the sample below.

QUALITIES OF A TEACHER

As a Person

As a Professional

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Activity 2

1. Interview teachers who have taught for at least 5 years (50% female, 50 %
male). What they consider to be the biggest challenge in their life as teachers?

(Submit result of the interview thru the messenger/group chat)

You Are A Teacher

If I speak interestingly, effective, and well,

But do not understand my students
I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I know all of the methods and technique of teaching,
If I have complete faith that they will work,
So that I use them completely,
But think only of materials or techniques
Instead of how they can help my students,
I count for nothing.
If I go the second mile in my teaching,
Give up many activities,
But do it without understanding,
It does no good.
Love is very patient, very kind;
Love is not jealous; it does not put on airs;
It is never tyrannic, never;
Yet does insist on earth;
It does not become angry;
It is not resentful.
Love always expects the best for others;
It is gladdened when they live up to these expectations,
Slow to lose faith when they do not.
It will bear anything,
Hope for anything,
Endure anything.
This kind of love will never fail
If there are teaching methods, they will change;
If there are curricula, they will be revised.
For our knowledge is imperfect

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 And out teaching is imperfect,
And we are always looking for the better ways
Which an infinite God has placed ahead of us.
When I began to teach, I fumbled and failed;
Now I have put away some of my childish ways.
At present I am learning bit by bit;
But if I keep on seeking, I shall at last understand
As all along I myself have been understood.
So, faith, hope and love endure.
These are the great three
But the greatest of them is Love .

Which line of the poem you like the most? Why?

What mental portrait of the teacher in the classroom and the teacher in the community is
painted by the poem, “You are a Teacher?”

Read your name through the poem like this: Effer, You are a Teacher.

If Effer speaks interestingly, effectively and well

But does not understand his students
Effer is a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

(Read until “it is not resentful.”)

How did you feel when you read your name through the lines of the poem? Describe and
explain why.

Moral Dimensions of Teaching

Teacher’s professionalism has its own moral dimensions. Pre-service teachers

have to understand these moral dimensions to prepare themselves to become ethical
teachers. The following are the ethical dimensions of teaching according to Sanger
(2007).

a. Teachers as moral agents – the word “agent” means someone who makes
things happen thus, a travel agent arranges travel destinations for clients. In
teaching, teachers make the character development of learners happen. Such
explains why teachers as individual person cannot be separated from their
professions. The indivisibility rests on the idea that teachers carry in the
classroom their values orientation and belief system which they acquired from
their homes and families. The teacher and the person are one and the same. No
teacher can say that he/she is ethical in his/her public life, but not ethical in
his/her private life. The implication therefore is that an ethical teacher-
professional is an ethical person and vice versa. Thus, there must be congruence
between professional and personal values of teachers.
b. Teachers have moral purpose – “Purpose” means goal, reason, and intention
and in this respect, teaching has a moral goal or intention. In other words,
teaching as an activity is full of moral significance. The educational mission of
teaching which is developing and transforming learners to become the best
persons in inherently moral. Teachers are not only called to practice virtuously,

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 but they are expected to model, inspire, and even morally obliged to inculcate
moral virtues of conduct to their learners. Moreover, looking at the teacher as
having a moral purpose makes teaching not just a technical and pedagogical
activity. Rather, teachers are as having a moral purpose means creating greater
impact in the lives of the learners both formally and informally.
c. Teacher have the moral authority of practice – why do learners follow their
teachers? Where do the teachers’ authority, power, and influence come from?
Teachers have the moral authority to practice by virtue of their being
professional teachers and by being subject or knowledge experts. As professional
teachers, they are legitimated to tell learners what they have to do. They
instruct, guide, counsel, and discipline learners because they assume adult and
matured role in the classroom. On the other hand, as content area expert, they
decide and determine the learning of the learners. They show expertise and
competence in their subject matter because this is something they have acquired
from their formal and tough training in college. In practicing this authority,
teachers make moral choices. They determine the right thing that learners must
do and the essential knowledge they need to transmit to them.

Sample Situation:

While you are expounding your lesson of the Bill of Rights, one of your female
learners asks what her rights are, and she proceeds to narrate how she was sexually
molested by her teacher who happens to be your college colleague. While you gently
urge the learner to approach you after the class to discuss the matter more
confidently, there is no stopping her, and she tells the whole sordid story of abuse
and harassment. You know that bringing the matter to higher authorities may mean
the dismissal of a colleague, and urging the learner to file a criminal complaint would
in effect be inducing the learner to cause the prosecution of a colleague. On the other
hand, you care and feel very sympathetic for your learner who was his victim.

a. How do you proceed with this case?

b. What was your basis for making your decision?

Kinds of authority of teachers

The practice of teaching inevitably requires the exercise of power and authority.
In using their power and authority, teachers are able to regulate power relations and
use them for moral purposes.

According to Buzzelli and Johnson (2001), the moral and ethical responsibility of
teachers is grounded on two (2) kinds of authority as follows:

a. Being an authority in the classroom – this refers to the teachers’ ability to

direct action within the classroom. Teachers are authority figures inside the
classroom. They are vested with institutional power in telling what learners must

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 do and in making judgements, whether to punish and reward them (right to
decision). In short, this authority emanates from the professional authority of
teachers as teachers or surrogate parents of minor children. Learners perform
the instructions of their teachers not because they are right, but because they
are their teachers or second parents.
b. Being in authority in the classroom – this refers to the teachers’ status as the
possessor and transmitter of values and forms of knowledge. It is sometimes
referred to as knowledge or content authority. Teachers are not just authority
figures, but they are also authorized to pass on some forms of legitimated
knowledge to the youngsters. This happens because they assume expertise in thr
subject they teach. They have the power and authority in discerning what the
learners must learn, perform, and demonstrate through the teaching and
learning process. They decide on the topics to be stressed in class, including the
method of teaching them. They customize or personalize their lessons, which is
reflective of their depth and breadth of knowledge and creativity.

Essential Values in Teaching

The teachers are considered moral persons and moral professionals because they
develop the moral sensibilities of the learners. Because of this, they ought to profess
ethical principles and virtues in their daily duties. They ought to become moral
educators, both by deliberate instruction and modelling. They have to live out what
they teach in words, actions, and deeds. The consideration of teachers as moral agents
allows them to transcend from perceiving teaching as a mere technical, pedagogical,
disciplinary, and evaluative activity to a moral and ethical enterprise that has great
impact on the lives of the learners.

There are numerous values essential in the teaching profession. These values
make up the ethical standards for teaching. But the most fundamental values required
in teaching are as follows:

a. Care – is an encompassing value needed in the teaching profession. This value

includes compassion and acceptance for the uniqueness of the learners and
developing their potentials based on their differences. Learners who feel cared by
their teachers become more understanding and compassionate tom others. This
they carry on when they grow as adults because youngsters learn to care only
when they feel they are being cared for. This is short of saying, “you cannot give
what you do not have”. Besides, learners do not usually remember the theories,
concepts, and principles learned in the classroom, but they love reminiscing the
number of times they felt being cared by their teacher, especially in times of
failure, trouble, and loneliness. The care that teachers give and the intimate
relationship they build with the learners are the things that count most in the
teaching profession.
b. Trust – is showing confidence which removes apprehension and fear of
something or someone. Fundamentally, teaching profession is founded on trust.

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 Teachers’ professional relationship with their superiors, colleagues, learners,
parents, and the public is based on their dealing with others. Trusting teachers
are those who show confidence in others and are therefore secured in what they
know and do. On the other hand, distrusting teachers are insecure because they
doubt the inherent goodness of people around them and they are suspicious of
their intentions and actions.
c. Respect – is the intrinsic to the teaching profession. It means showing high
regard and value for the worth of someone or something. As teachers are
entrusted to care for the youngsters, they are expected to respect the dignity of
their learners and consider their emotional well-being and cognitive
development. Teachers who show respect to their learners, colleagues, school
authorities, and parents, manifest the true spirit of social justice and the dignity
of their profession. This is because respect is the glue that binds good
relationship and this holds true in a teacher-learner relationship.
d. Integrity – means consistency of teachers’ character in and out of school and in
their personal and public life. It is doing the right thing with or without anyone
present. It also means doing what is right, even if the other option is easy and
more beneficial. In teaching, teachers will always encounter ethical problems and
they need to exercise self-control and restraint in making their choices. The way
they deal with compromising situations is a demonstration of their integrity or
lack of it.
e. Fairness – means the absence of bias, prejudices, and discrimination. In the
teaching profession, teachers deal with diverse learners. these learners bring in
school their own religious beliefs, sociocultural orientations, economic status,
and the like. They too, are different in terms of mental ability, aspirations,
interests, learning needs, and goals in life. Since social diversity is a reality in
the classroom, teachers must treat their learners fairly and judiciously. They
must not judge them for who they are rather they must also be accorded the
same educational opportunity to meet the standards and the same educational
outcomes as they exit from school.
f. Responsibility – being responsible is taking accountability for one’s actions and
making possible the fulfillment of one’s duties. Responsible teachers are those
who come well prepared in class and take the obligation to deliver the
expectations of their profession, colleagues, school leaders, learners, parents,
and other stakeholders. Responsible teachers also take accountability for the
positive or negative consequences of their actions because this is the result of
their choices.

Concept Check:
Directions: Identify which value is referred to in each of the following statements.
Write the corresponding letter of the values in the blank provided before each
number.

A – Care B – HONESTY C – RESPONSIBILITY

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 D – TOLERANCE E – FAIRNESS F – INTEGRITY

______ 1. Accepting differences of classmates

______ 2. Treating learners equally
______ 3. Telling the truth to the teacher
______ 4. Making consistent behavior in and out of school
______ 5. Making the right choices in life
______ 6. Showing concern if learners are not doing as good as they should
______ 7. Advocating a war against discrimination
______ 8. Completing a required task on time
______ 9. Showing concern toward learners
______10. Standing by one’s principles, even in the midst of peer pressure

“Teaching Morally” and “Teaching Morality”

According to Fenstermacher, et all. (2009, teaching morally and teaching

morality are different. “Teaching morally” means instructing in a manner that is
consistent with general notions of what is good or right, that is, conducting oneself in a
way that has moral value. In this case, the teacher epitomizes a good or righteous
person, living the values, morals, and ethics he/she teaches.

On the other hand, “Teaching morality” means conveying and “downloading” to

learners what is good or right. It is promoting and advocating awareness of what is
right or wrong. In such case, the teacher provides another person the means of
becoming a good or righteous person but not necessarily living it.

Summary

To be effective in the teaching profession, teachers must possess personal traits such as caring,
forgiving, fair and compassionate, and so display a personal touch for all students. Caring teachers make
everyone feels he/she belongs. They are humble enough to admit mistakes. All of these personal traits emanate
from teachers’ genuine respect for others. The trait professionalism catches all the personal qualitied expected
of teachers.

A. Morality and the Foundational Moral Principle

Teacher should always be a person with a good moral character. I just had this
realization that teachers should have a self-assessment, in a way that they will try to know
the things that they have to improve morally. Morality is not just to know what is right
from wrong but it is also trying to make things right if it is wrong. A person should
have a good moral character, especially teachers even they are from the past, present, and
in the near future. The profession of being a teacher should provide us with our own
principles of morality. The identity of a teacher includes the moral character and the way
that they behave with their principles. It is not enough that one has the professional
license, because a true educator is educated and a true learner is a learned.

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Meaning of Foundational Moral Principle.

The word principle came from the Latin word, “princeps” which means “a source
or beginning.” A principle is, that on which something is based, founded, originated or
initiated. A foundational moral principle is, therefore, the universal norm upon which all
other principles on the rightness or wrongness of an action are based. It is the source
of morality.

Where is this foundational moral principle?

It is contained in the natural law. Many moralists, authors, and philosophers may
have referred to this foundation moral principle in different terms. Maybe acceptable to
believers and non- believers alike to refer to it as natural law.

What is the natural law? “It is the law written in the hearts of men.” (Romans 2:15) For
theists, it is “man’s share in the Eternal Law of God. St. Thomas defines it as “the light of
natural reason, whereby we discern what is good and what is evil… an imprint on us of the
divine light.” It is the law that says: “Do good and avoid evil.” This is the Foundational
Moral Principle.

All men and women, regardless of race and belief, have a sense of this foundational
moral principle. It is ingrained in man’s nature. “It is built into the design of human nature,
and woven into the fabric of the normal human mind.” Our act is moral when it is in
accordance with our human nature. Our act is immoral when it is contrary to our
human nature. Our intellect and free will, make us different from and above the beast.
We are inclined to do what we recognize is good, and avoid that which we recognize is evil.

Panizo, 1964 “Writings, customs, and monuments of the past, present generations
point out to this conclusion: that all people on earth, no matter how savage and illiterate,
have recognized a supreme law of divine origin commanding good and forbidding evil.”

The natural law that says “do good and avoid evil” comes in different versions.

Kung Fu Tsu “Do not do to others what you do not like others to do to you.” “Do to
others what you want them to do to you.” - Golden Rule of Christianity “Act in such a
way that your maxim can be the maxim for all.” - Immanuel Kant

RELIGIOUS VIEWS ON MORALITY. Christians, Buddhists, Islamic Korans

Christian’s Perspective: “Do to others what you want them to do unto you.” •
“Love God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your strength” and •
“Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” This golden rule is made more explicit
through the Ten Commandment and the Eight Beatitudes. These are summed up in the two
great commandments:

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 Buddhists’ Perspective “Hatred does not cease by hatred; hatred ceases only by
love.” The Buddhists state this through the eight-fold path. For them, they do good when
they: Strive to know the truth Resolve to resist evil Say nothing to hurt others Respect life,
morality and property Engage in a job that does not injure others Strive to free their mind
of evil Control their feelings and thoughts Practice proper forms of concentrations World
Book Encyclopedia, 1988.

Islamic Perspective Based on the Islamic Quran “forbids lying, stealing,

adultery and murder.” It also teaches “honor for parents, kindness to slaves, protection for
the orphaned and the widowed and charity to the poor. It teaches the virtues of faith in
God, patience, kindness, honesty, industry, honor, courage and generosity. It condemns
mistrust, impatience and cruelty. World Book Encyclopedia, 1988.

Teacher, as a person of good moral character According to the preamble of our Code
of Ethics as professional teachers… “Teachers are duly licensed professionals who possess
dignity and reputation with high moral values as well as technical and professional
competence. In the practice of their profession, they strictly adhere to, observe and practice
this set of ethical and moral principles, standard values.”

4 Ways of Describing Good Moral Character As described by one Christian author:

1. Being fully human – you have realized substantially your potential as human
person.
2. Being a loving person – you are caring in an unselfish and mature manner with
yourself, other people and God.
3. Being a virtuous person – you have acquired good habits and attitudes and you
practice them consistently in your daily life.
4. Being a morally mature person – you have reached a level of development
emotionally, socially, mentally, spiritually appropriate to your developmental stage.
-Cosgrave, William, rev. ed. 2004,78-79

A moral value is a universally accepted principle that governs the day to day living

of life. These principles are important in maintaining unity, harmony and honor between
people.

The universal moral values are those accepted by the international community.

While morals tend to be driven by personal beliefs and values, there are
certainly some common morals that most people agree on, such as:

 Always tell the truth.

 Do not destroy property.
 Have courage.
 Keep your promises.
 Do not cheat.

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  Treat others as you want to be treated.
 Do not judge.
 Be dependable.

VALUES FORMATION AND YOU

Values formation starts in early childhood and the way we practice the value
becomes our attitude. Influences are one of the factors that provide us the value that we
have. There are known three dimensions of values and these are the cognitive, affective
and behavioral. In cognitive dimension, it is a taught value that needs further understanding
why do we have to value and acquire that VALUE. Affective domain is not enough to know
the value because it includes the conscience of the person if he/she didn’t have the right
values. The evidence of valuing a value is living with it, and that is a behavioral dimension.

Transcendent Value

According to the idealist group, Transcendent values are values that remained
unchanged amidst changing times. Transcendent because they are beyond
changing times, beyond space and people. Examples of these are values of love, care
and concern for our fellowmen. Values are both caught and taught. We may not be able
to hear our fathers’ advice “do not smoke” because what he does speak louder than what he
says. The living examples of good men and women at home, school and society have far
greater influence on our value formation than those well-prepared lectures on values
excellently delivered by experts who may sound like “empty gongs and clanging
cymbals”. We must understand the value that we want to acquire. We need to know why
we have to value such. Values are in the affective domain of objectives. In themselves
they have an affective dimension. Values also have a behavioral dimension. In fact, living by
the value is the true acid test if we really value like honesty.

B. Teachers as Persons of Good Moral Character

As laid down in the preamble of our Code of Ethics of Professional Teachers,

teachers are duly licensed professionals who possess dignity and reputation with high
moral values as well as technical and professional competence.

Generally, value has been taken to mean moral ideas, general conceptions or
orientations towards the world or sometimes simply interests, attitudes, preferences, needs,
sentiments and dispositions. But sociologists use this term in a more precise sense to mean
“the generalized end which has the connotations of rightness, goodness or inherent
desirability”.

These ends are regarded legitimate and binding by society. They define what is
important worthwhile and worth striving for. Sometimes, values have been interpreted to

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mean “such standards by means of which the ends of action are selected”. Thus, values are
collective conceptions of what is considered good, desirable, and proper or bad, undesirable,
and improper in a culture.

According to M. Haralambos (2000), “a value is a belief that something is good

and desirable”. For R.K. Mukerjee (1949) (a pioneer Indian sociologist who initiated the
study of social values), “values are socially approved desires and goals that are internalized
through the process of conditioning, learning or socialization and that become subjective
preferences, standards and aspirations”. A value is a shared idea about how something is
ranked in terms of desirability, worth or goodness.

Familiar examples of values are wealth, loyalty, independence, equality, justice,

fraternity and friendliness. These are generalized ends consciously pursued by or held up to
individuals as being worthwhile in themselves. It is not easy to clarify the fundamental
values of a given society because of their sheer breadth.

Characteristics:

Values may be specific, such as honoring one’s parents or owning a home or they
may be more general, such as health, love and democracy. “Truth prevails”, “love thy
neighbor as yourself, “learning is good as ends itself are a few examples of general values.
Individual achievement, individual happiness and materialism are major values of modern
industrial society.

Value systems can be different from culture to culture. One may value
aggressiveness and deplores passivity, another the reverse, and a third gives little attention
to this dimension altogether, emphasizing instead the virtue of sobriety over emotionality,
which may be quite unimportant in either of the other cultures. The values of hard work and
individual achievement are often associated with industrial capitalist societies.

The values of a culture may change, but most remain stable during one person’s
lifetime. Socially shared, intensely felt values are a fundamental part of our lives. Values are
often emotionally charged because they stand for things, we believe to be worth defending.
Often, this characteristic of values brings conflict between different communities or societies
or sometimes between different persons.

Most of our basic values are learnt early in life from family, friends, neighborhood,
school, the mass print and visual media and other sources within society. These values
become part of our personalities. They are generally shared and reinforced by those with
whom we interact.

The main functions of values are as follows:

1. Values play an important role in the integration and fulfillment of man’s basic
impulses and desires in a stable and consistent manner appropriate for his living.

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 2. They are generic experiences in social action made up of both individual and social
responses and attitudes.
3. They build up societies, integrate social relations.
4. They mold the ideal dimensions of personality and range and depth of culture.
5. They influence people’s behavior and serve as criteria for evaluating the actions of
others.
6. They have a great role to play in the conduct of social life.
7. They help in creating norms to guide day-to-day behavior.

Types:

Values can be classified into two broad categories:

(1) Individual values:

These are the values which are related with the development of human personality
or individual norms of recognition and protection of the human personality such as honesty,
loyalty, veracity and honor.

(2) Collective values:

Values connected with the solidarity of the community or collective norms of

equality, justice, solidarity and sociableness are known as collective values.

Values can also be’ categorized from the point of view of their hierarchical
arrangement:

(1) Intrinsic values:

These are the values which are related with goals of life. They are sometimes known
as ultimate and transcendent values. They determine the schemata of human rights and
duties and of human virtues. In the hierarchy of values, they occupy the highest place and
superior to all other values of life.

(2) Instrumental values:

These values come after the intrinsic values in the scheme of gradation of values.
These values are means to achieve goals (intrinsic values) of life. They are also known as
incidental or proximate values.

How are Values Formed?

Value formation is the confluence of our personal experiences and particular

culture we are entwined in. Values are imposed from our family in childhood and
reinforced through culture and life experiences. The value of, for example, kindness was
imposed on me from my parents, and reinforced throughout early childhood. Our personal

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experiences growing up reinforced the value of kindness as we experienced the adaptive
effects of showing kindness and the maladaptive effects when choosing malice over
kindness. All through our upbringing, both our personal experiences and cultural
surroundings both reinforced the value of kindness.

Our culture plays a huge role in our value formation. Culture gives us a
community and shared reality so that we can cooperate in activities and customs
that give meaning, purpose, and significance to our existence. Culture gives us
prescriptions for appropriate conduct so that we can learn best how to get along with
others.

Why is Values Formation Important?

Our values are important because they help us to grow and develop. They help us to

create the future we want to experience. Every individual and every organization are
involved in making hundreds of decisions every day.

Some Types of Core Values

 Dependability.
 Reliability.
 Loyalty.
 Commitment.
 Open-mindedness.
 Consistency.
 Honesty.
 Efficiency.

The Dimensions of Values

The system of values of the agent's society forms the external standard for judging
the relative importance of the agent's commitments.

There are three dimensions of value:

1. universally human,
2. cultural that vary with societies and times; and
3. personal that vary with individuals.

Each dimension has a standard for judging the adequacy of the relevant values.
Human values are adequate if they satisfy basic needs; cultural values are adequate if they
provide a system of values that sustains the allegiance of the inhabitants of a society; and
personal values are adequate if the conceptions of well‐being formed out of them enable
individuals to live satisfying lives. These values conflict and our well‐being require some way
of settling their conflicts, but there is no universal principle for settling the conflicts; it can

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only be done by attending to the concrete features of particular conflicts. These features
vary with circumstances and values.

10 Moral Values for Children to Lead a Great Life

 Respect. Many parents make the mistake of teaching their children only about
respect for elders, but that is wrong.

 Family. Family is an integral part of kids' lives.

 Adjusting and Compromising.

 Helping Mentality.

 Respecting Religion.

 Justice.

 Honesty.

 Never Hurt Anyone.

The Role of the School in Values Formation

All of us often encounter confusion about our values. But for our kid’s today, conflicts
on values are more acute. With these, how can they learn to live decently and with integrity
when the world surrounding him is full of conflict. Thus, the school must give importance in
the values formation of each learner because next to the church and the home, the school is
served as an influential institution in molding the attitudes of a person.

School must then offer relevant experiences and curriculum to their learners that
they would be able to face the challenges and realities of life. Schools must focus on
providing not only the best education to their pupils but the best training and the best
formation to their pupils. Yet at present, most schools are centered in just giving head
knowledge to their learners and often set aside the values formation of their pupils.

May we be enlightened that those pupils learn values the way, we educators
teach them and also the way we live to what we know. The school where we are in
need to understand this and the its role in the values formation of each child entrusted in
our hands.

C. Value Formation

1. Cognitive, affective and psychomotor dimensions

Value formation includes formation in the cognitive, affective and behavioral aspects.
Since values are caught, it is up to you how to enrich yourself with values that could help
you to be a better person. You have to grow in knowledge and in wisdom and in your
sensitivity and openness to the variety of value experiences in life.

2. Training the Intellect and Will

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Intellect, will, and feelings in the process of fulfillment

The adequate assimilation of values depends above all on the intellect and the will.
Let us resort here again to a parallel with how the body works. Just as the feet must be fit
for walking (and need exercise to do so), and the eyes for seeing, and the mouth or the
stomach for feeding - and if they are not healthy or adequate, a person will suffer in his
physical life - so the intellect and will need to be exercised and developed in a way
consistent with their purpose. Otherwise, they may not develop; they may end up in a
warped condition and with an altered operation whose effect is to hinder rather than favor a
person's fulfillment. The person who tries to feed his body with anything and everything can
die of poisoning, or at least become chronically undernourished as a result of an inadequate
diet. So too, the real development of the spiritual faculties requires healthy and proper
nourishment.

A person has to exercise, develop, and mature the mind and the will. They need to
be fed with their own distinctive sustenance, and be safeguarded against what can
undermine or damage their proper operation and the psychic health of the person. Truth is
the nourishment of the mind; goodness, that of the will. These are fundamental principles
which we will briefly try to justify and illustrate. Their full understanding and acceptance can
only come about as a result of further reading, and above all of further personal reflection
on the part of the reader.

Working from the basic principles enunciated, let us outline what is involved in this
need to form and develop intellect and will.

The food of the mind is truth, a food which it naturally seeks. All relativisms and
skepticisms notwithstanding, it is practically speaking almost impossible to deny this
principle. Everyone considers - and uses - the mind as an instrument for pursuing and
reaching the truth, at least in certain concrete areas of study: mathematics, physical
sciences, etc. In fact, to discriminate between truth and falsehood is the recognized function
of the intellect. Truth is the value that the mind looks for.

Man is constantly seeking truth. Scientifically established truths are a condition of

progress in all areas of applied technology. The everyday existence of the individual
depends on a grasp of many elementary physical and experiential truths (an electric cable
can take a person's life; so, each in its own way, can contaminated water or thin ice). Truth
in communication is a condition of any social life with a minimum of mutual trust or
confidence - which can only exist to the extent that one is convinced that people in general
do not lie, or that newspapers do not deliberately spread false news. All of these can be
described as "truths of life", at times even as truths of survival.

We are used to applying a "true or false" criterion as a means of testing or improving

people's knowledge of mathematics, physics, geography, history, civics, etc. Those who
cannot distinguish true from false are poorly qualified to protect and develop their own life,
and utterly unqualified to guide others - if that is also their mission. This is particularly

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evident in the directly physical field. Serious harm can be done by the parent or teacher
who does not know that electricity is dangerous or that exhaust fumes can kill. These are
objective principles or true laws not just of physical growth but of survival that, if known,
protect the life of the body. People, especially young people, do not normally know these
truths by instinct and so need to be taught.

How far can one apply the true/false criterion to values, especially to values
in behavior? Are there psychic or moral laws or principles that should guide the process of
self-fulfillment, fostering the health of our spirit or even safeguarding what is necessary
for its "survival"? "Selfishness narrows our mind and sympathies"; "Jealousy
stifles our response to values"; "Racist propaganda breeds intolerance";
"Pornography can lead to obsession and an inability to love". Are such principles
valid? Are they important? Are they true? Should they be taught? Can they simply be
dismissed as pertaining to the ethical or moral order, and therefore not to the field of
anthropology? Or should they too not be regarded as valid anthropological guidelines for the
achievement of true human fulfillment?

Formation of the mind; recognizing the truth in a value

Since values are our focal point of interest, we hold that the mind should be formed
so that it is an effective faculty for discovering genuine or true values: distinguishing
between those which are worth more and those which, being inferior, are worth less (as
noted earlier, one needs to have a scale of values, because not all values are of equal
"value"), spotting and being able to resolve possible conflicts between certain values,
discerning, when necessary, what is a true value from that which, perhaps despite
appearances, is not. All of this enters into the process of forming the intellectual faculty;
and to the extent that it is accomplished, the man or woman "of criterion" emerges.

The power of the intellect varies greatly from person to person. Some minds are
quick, others slow; some deep, others superficial. The speculative mind can be distinguished
from the practical. Some minds seem more suited for a particular field: mathematics,
business ... Intellectual qualities combine in the most varied ways. A person with a slow
mind can have the ability to reason deeply (if he works at it), while another may have a
quick understanding that remains on the surface of things. In any case, the simple fact of
being very intelligent is not enough to guarantee a person's fulfillment. A first-class
intelligence can be used by a criminal to plan a robbery, a murder or an act of terrorism.

The mind has its enemies: lies or deception from without, by which a person of little
intellectual perception is convinced by a wrong (although perhaps cleverly presented)
argument, to embrace false theoretical or practical principles in life (racial intolerance,
social discrimination); lies from inside or self-deception by which a person, out of
selfishness or pride, "re-makes" or models a "truth of one's own" that is easier to
assimilate.

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 In the last chapter we said that there has to be a capacity for digesting truth, even
truth that is unpleasant. With relation to "unpleasant" truths, there also has to be
a willingness to digest them, and if necessary, a determination to do so.

One can spit out such a truth at the first taste of unpleasantness, refusing even to
consider if it is nourishment for the mind. One can begin to discover its unpleasantness after
having swallowed it, and then refuse to assimilate it. But an undigested or half-digested
truth of this nature does not easily pass out of the intellectual system. It remains; and,
even with renewed rejection, it tends to remain - with little or no interior profit; just an
uncomfortable feeling of something not properly assimilated.

Nevertheless, its continuing presence inside justifies some hope that the person may
one day make up his mind to accept and absorb it, along with its demanding but beneficial
consequences.

There is also skepticism or intellectual distrust which leads a person to an attitude of

habitual doubt or uncertainty toward everything - producing a paralysis of thought that is a
manifest handicap for life.

Truth attracts the mind; however, it never makes a forced entrance. The way in
needs to be open - not blocked by bias or inertia. And there must be a positive disposition
to welcome truth. It is necessary to be on special guard against prejudice, which becomes
operative whenever an already formed judgment is allowed to determine in advance the
consideration of a question, in such a way that this pre-judgment effectively excludes any
alternative proposition from gaining access to the central tribunal of the mind.

Formation of the will; choosing the goodness of a value

The function of the intellect is to allow us to discover the truth: the real essence of
things and ideas. Thus, we can acquire information in order first to distinguish and so to be
in a better position to choose: "this is good; that other option is not so good, or perhaps is
actually bad". This is what is meant by having criterion.

Acting calls for choosing. Now, our existential choices are seldom the simple result of
a detached intellectual appraisal (whereby we understand that a proposal is clever, or that a
way of acting is not honest); our decisions tend to correspond even more to subjective and
interested motivations. This job suits me better than the other; I prefer to go out with X
rather than Y because I like him or her more.

So, we normally choose on the basis not merely of the truth ascertained but as
much, or perhaps even more, of the goodness seen (or thought to be seen, or wanted to be
seen) in the object proposed for a possible choice. The election or final choice depends on
the will, whose tendency is to adhere to what presents itself as good. If the nourishment of
the mind is truth, that of the will is goodness: nourishment that the will also seeks in a
natural way.

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 In human choice the action of the will is of course not by any means just of
attraction or acceptance. It is also of rejection. This is so in the elementary sense already
noted, that each concrete choice involves the rejection of all the alternative choices present
at least at that moment. But it may also be so in the much more important sense that the
will can quite deliberately reject a possible choice, even though the person is strongly
attracted towards it.

Human fulfillment, then, appears as an intellectual-volitive process in which the

discerning mind penetrates to the truth of values, and the upright will is drawn to the
goodness they contain.

The matter would be straightforward and uncomplicated if the mind always

distinguished the truth of situations and values with accuracy, and the will were always
unfailingly drawn by the real goodness that is discovered there. Unfortunately, experience
teaches us those things are by no means so simple in reality. On the one hand, our mind is
often slow to recognize the truth. But, even more importantly, at times it goes astray in its
reasoning and takes to be true what is in fact false, or as right what is in fact wrong.

These errors of the mind have an effect on the will. A likely consequence is that the
will is mistakenly drawn to prefer some inferior good or value to one that is greater. But the
complexity of the matter does not rest there. The fact is that even though the mind may be
quite clear and certain in its judgment of what is a true and right value, the will can
nevertheless choose in contradiction to the mind, making a wrong choice - wrong, that is,
from the standpoint of truth. In other words, the will can take over or "hijack" the mind
somewhere along the process of discerning what is true and good. There is something here
that merits closer scrutiny.

Interrelation between mind and will

Existential decisions - the choices that shape a life - ought to proceed from the
intellect, committed to its task of discerning the positive or negative value that every reality
or possibility offers; and from the will, freely attracted by the good that is presented to it.
Reasonably enough, then, one can ask whether the mind and they will carry the same
weight in each decision, or whether one of the two is predominant.

It is often maintained that the mind plays the principal role in the elective process.
This view tends to describe the will as a blind faculty which necessarily chooses what the
intellect sets before it as a value or a good. This may be an over-simplification, which fails
to correspond to the complexity of the human operation. Each human decision is after all to
be attributed ultimately not to the faculties - intellect or will - but to the person who thinks
and wants. The mind influences the will; but the opposite is also true. And perhaps more
attention needs to be paid to the decisive role which the will can play in the evaluations
made by the intellect.

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 The process of fulfillment is not mainly intellectual in character; it is also voluntary.
In fact, the will's response is probably the more critical aspect of the process. One cannot
love what one does not know; but one may not know what one ought to love. One can
even want not to know what one ought to love.

"Easy" and "difficult" truths

An underlying point needs to be considered here, and perhaps it could be best

expressed as follows. There exist "easy" truths - so elementary and obvious that the rudest
mind can grasp them immediately; and perhaps also so pleasant to learn that there is no
resistance to their acceptance. There also exist "difficult" truths; and this too in various
ways. The difficulty can be no more than the jolt given to vanity, as when a girl's pleasant
self-image is upset by hearing that someone else is considered particularly attractive.

The difficulty, which is not always so easy to manage, may have nothing to do with
the emotions but be of an exclusively intellectual nature - in the sense that a special effort
of the mind and perhaps special intellectual penetration are required if the truth of a matter
is to be discovered or understood. The solution to the difficulty may seem important to the
person; or may be of little real interest to him or her.

But there are other "difficult truths" whose peculiar difficulty presents itself not to
the intellect but to the will. This can occur when the truths in question - if faced up to and
acknowledged - involve practical consequences which the will may be reluctant to accept.

Truth always moves man. It does not however always move him to pleasure,
because some truths are unpleasant. Then it is easy not to want to face them. There is no
great change of perspective in adding that "difficult goods" equally exist: "goods" that
contain some deep values which also attract the will but whose attainment requires no small
effort; for instance, because it demands resisting a strong impulse. Our will needs to be
vigorous because it must often not only choose good but also reject evil, above all attractive
evil.

In the world today there are many people who, it seems, sincerely consider that
abortion injures no one, and is indeed a human right. How do they not see that the being in
the womb is a new individual, belonging to the human species? Without wishing to make
general judgments, it is hard to avoid positing as explanation that, at least in some cases
and maybe unconsciously, they do not want to see it; or, perhaps more exactly, they want
not to see it. The scientific-biological demonstration of the separate human life of the fetus
is beyond question. But what most probably happens is that when these scientific reasons
are about to come up for intellectual consideration, it is the will which shifts attention in
another direction. It is the will - the "persona volens" - which does not permit continued
reflection along a way that could lead to unwelcome and therefore unwanted conclusions.

Normal sexual-conjugal intimacy is a physical good and also a human and ethical
good. There is no difficulty in explaining the physical good - in its human sense of giving

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privileged expression to the uniqueness of matrimonial love - and in justifying the choice of
this good by an act of the will; always provided the ethical good is respected. An extra-
conjugal sexual relationship can present itself in the guise of a physical good, but not of an
ethical good. As a consequence, the tendency - the temptation - can arise to look for
"reasons" to make the relationship ethical; and to let oneself be convinced by these
reasons. Here enter questions of the disinterestedness, sincerity and truthfulness of the
"intellectual look".

This is why the relationship between "mind and truth" cannot be considered without
reference to the intimately connected relationship between "will and good". Whoever does
not want to see the truth will never see it.

No analysis of the calculations and choices that enter into human decisions can
neglect two powerful factors which easily make their presence felt: the pride of the intellect,
capable of disfiguring the good it presents to the will; and the selfishness of the will,
capable of preventing the mind from recognizing the truth.

Here we must add that it is not possible to refuse to adhere to truth-goodness

without compromising one's own integrity and very identity. The inherent power and
intimate authority of the truth send a powerful call for acceptance to all that is best and
most honest in man. To withhold one's adhesion is to shake one's values to their
foundation.

In the end, each becomes what he has chosen; in this sense, man forms himself.
But to form ourselves truly, there is need for coherence: i.e., conformity between values
and behavior. Lack of coherence occurs when "a person's encounter with truth is weak,
because it does not go far enough to inspire his conduct". This will inevitably happen to
people who grow accustomed to examining matters in a superficial way, without wanting to
reach a deeper judgment about the value of things and events. It will happen just as much
to whoever thinks of "assimilation" of values as a merely mental process. The greatest
values will not enrich us unless we let them shape and - where necessary - change our
behavior as well as our outlook.

These considerations confirm that fulfillment is fundamentally more an interior than

an exterior matter; it must be appraised with reference to the personal inner life of each
one. It is according to one's response to values that the question of whether one has found
fulfillment in life or not must be resolved.

This could naturally lead us to consider the subject of virtue. However, as we have
said, our purpose is to raise questions rather than to offer answers; this is especially so in
the field of ethics. So, we will just note here that virtue implies orderly growth in effective
capacity for values: capacity to know truth and to choose or do good. The moral dimension
of choices or actions matters, because without an ethically positive response to values a
person ceases to grow.

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Affectivity in the process of personal growth

Personal life would never be fully human if it were exclusively intellectual and
voluntary. The development-fulfillment of the person does not depend only on the mind
and the will, and their healthy interaction. Another factor sways or influences our choices;
that is "heart" or, more precisely, feelings. Man is not pure intellect or pure will; he is also
made up of emotions and passions. In many situations, the first movement towards acting
that a person undergoes, even before any intellectual evaluation of the action itself or any
freely willed choice in its regard, may be one of fear or pity or anger.

"Affectivity" - that emotional reaction which involves body and soul together - needs
to find its proper place in personal growth, for it forms an integral part of the dynamism by
which the human person develops.

Emmanuel Kant, at one extreme, and Hegel at the other, considered feelings a
weakness. Today we are more aware of their importance; yet the rehabilitation of the
emotions also runs the risk of failing to grasp the necessary synthesis and integration of the
principal elements conforming the human "psyche".

It is certainly true that neither the mind alone nor the will alone can achieve human
fulfillment. But neither can affectivity-feeling on its own. The three should go together; in
proper order and interrelation. Affectivity is not higher or more trustworthy than the mind or
the will. Nor is it (despite some psychological theories) a third faculty in its own right, on
the same level as the intellect and will. It is true that both mind and will can be in an
unhealthy state; and then a person's affectivity might seem to remain the only resource or
support. But it is a deceptive and precarious resource: "because if the intellect has failed, if
the will has failed, how can one expect affectivity to succeed? Isolated affectivity is to be
trusted very much less than the two human faculties just mentioned; it is more a passivity
than a type of power ... What happens quickly when one tries to live on the basis of
feelings, is that these recoil on coming into contact with the rigidness of reality, and the
result is total disorder. Paradoxically, in an elaborate world of instrumental organization, the
affective person goes adrift and dissolves".

Pure rationalism can be cold: farsighted perhaps, but incapable of the necessary
practical sacrifice to motivate itself and to inspire others. Voluntarism too can be merciless:
deciding and executing without principle or respect for the rights of others. Pure
emotionalism can leave a person at the mercy of feelings and of the ability of skilled
practitioners to take advantage of these feelings (modern publicity thrives on the
predominant cultural sentimentalism). Paradoxically, too, it limits one's capacity to
appreciate other people and to respond to their values or needs. It is good to feel with
others in their sufferings, and thus to be moved by compassion. Today, however, it is not
infrequent to come across people with a great capacity for compassion, but without the will-
power and persevering generosity to turn momentary compassion into any enduring help to
others.

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 To go wherever your heart leads you, is in the end to be led this way or that by
passing moods of sympathy or antipathy. Those who make this their philosophy easily fool
themselves into a comforting conviction of being warm-hearted, while in fact they are
circling more and more tightly around themselves, becoming less capable of any lasting
loyalty or service to others and equally powerless to explain the ultimate loneliness into
which their life leads them.

Affectivity is healthy when it responds adequately - in its own proper way - to the
values present in every person and situation. Its response will be inadequate if it is not the
result of a mature intellectual judgment; and will be inconstant if it is not sustained by the
generous determination of the will. So, even allowing for the special importance of
affectivity, it will only play its due place in human development under the guidance of a
properly formed mind and a soundly oriented will.

Apathy, as we have noted, is a powerful enemy of personal development. But the

remedy to an apathetic approach - say, to a person's marriage, family or job - does not lie
in seeking an accession of feeling or sympathy or enthusiasm - which in all likelihood will
not come. An effective remedy will depend on a decision of the will based on the conscious
discovery of new motives. A person is at the end of his tether not if he lacks enthusiasm for
life, but if he can find no motive for living.

It is nevertheless true that, in many cases today, affectivity may prove decisive for
the rediscovery of the way of fulfillment. When a person has set out on a wrong road, the
sense of being blind and the feeling of being lost increase as the road is pursued, also
because it leads into darkness and isolation. Then it is most probably the dissatisfaction of
the heart which can turn a person back in search of light and the warm companionship of
shared values.

No proof that a person is lost is likely to be of any effect so long as he is happy to be

so. But such happiness is too strange a thing to last. One's own life is too serious and
immediate a matter for anyone to remain indefinitely unaware of or unconcerned about
being lost in it.

Value formation is a training of the intellect and will. Your value formation in essence
is a training of your intellect and will, your cognitive and rational appetitive powers,
respectively. Your intellect discerns a value and presents it to the will as a right or wrong
value. Virtuous versus vicious life and their effect on the will. In short, a virtuous life
strengthens you to live by the right values and live life of abundance and joy while
a vicious life leads you to perdition and misery.

3. Max Scheler’s Hierarchy of Values

Based on Scheler’s hierarchy of values, the highest values are those that pertain
to the Supreme Being while the lowest values are those that pertain to the sensual
pleasures. We act and live well if we stick to Scheler’s hierarchy of values. We will live
miserably if we distort Scheler’s hierarchy of values.

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 4. Values Hierarchy

Max Scheler outlined a hierarchy of values. Our hierarchy of values is shown in our
preferences and decisions. Scheler’s hierarchy of values arranged from the lowest to the
highest as shown below:
Pleasure Values
- the pleasant against the unpleasant
- the agreeable against the disagreeable
 Sensual feelings
 Experiences of pleasure or pain

Vital Values
- values pertaining to the well-being either of the individual or of the
community
 Health
 Vitality
 Values of vital feeling
 Capability
 Excellence

Spiritual Values
- values independent of the whole sphere of the body and of the environment:
- Grasped in spiritual acts of preferring, loving and hating
 Aesthetic values: beauty against ugliness
 Values of right and wrong
 Values of pure knowledge

Values of the Holy

– appear only in regard to objects intentionally given as “absolute objects”
 Belief
 Adoration
 Bliss

D. Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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 Preamble

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all
members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which
have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings
shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been
proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to

rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule
of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in
fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal
rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better
standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the
United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and
fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest

importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF

HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to
the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly
in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and
freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal
and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States
themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction. 

Article 1.
 
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with
reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.
 
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without
distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be
made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or

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territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or
under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3.
 
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4.
 
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited
in all their forms.

Article 5.
 
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.

Article 6.
 
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7.
 
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection
of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this
Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.
 
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts
violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9.
 
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10.
 
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and
impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal
charge against him.

Article 11.
 
(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until
proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees
necessary for his defense.

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(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which
did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it
was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at
the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12.
 
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or
correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the
protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13.
 
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of
each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his
country.

Article 14.
 
(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-
political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15.
 
(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his
nationality.

Article 16.
 
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion,
have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to
marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending
spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to
protection by society and the State.

Article 17.
 
(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18.
 

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Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes
freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice,
worship and observance.

Article 19.
 
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to
hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas
through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20.
 
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21.
 
(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through
freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be
expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage
and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22.
 
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to
realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with
the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights
indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23.
 
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable
conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring for
himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if
necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his
interests.

Article 24.
 

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Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours
and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25.
 
(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of
himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary
social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability,
widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children,
whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26.
 
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary
and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and
professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be
equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the
strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote
understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and
shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their
children.

Article 27.
 
(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to
enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting
from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28.
 
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set
forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29.
 
(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of
his personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such
limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and
respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of
morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

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(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and
principles of the United Nations.

Article 30.

 
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person
any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of
the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

Unit 5 – The Teacher as a Professional

“Professionalism: It’s Not the job you Do, it’s HOW you DO the job.” Anonymous

Teachers spend at least 6 hours a day, 5 days a week in 10 months of the school
year with students. Practically, considering the 8-hour sleeping time at home, teachers
spend more time with students than parents. That’s why parents expect so much of
teachers.

Teachers have tremendous power to influence students. Society as a whole

expect much from teachers and schools. Often when the young do not behave as
expected, the question raised by parents “Is that the way you are taught in
school?”

What does it mean to be a professional teacher?

Being a professional teacher means being knowledgeable and enthusiastic about

one's materials, creating a supportive and respectful classroom environment, building
authentic relationships with and advocating for students, being organized and planning
ahead, remaining open to new ideas and continuing to learn, appreciating diversity, and
making complicated subject matter engaging and understandable for students.

The idea of being a "professional" teacher reaches into so many different

aspects of this diverse career. Here are some things for you to consider in this
descriptor.

First, professional teachers maintain the confidence of their students and parents.
Legally, teachers are forbidden from disclosing anything related to the performance of their
students. This sounds simple in theory but can prove tricky in implementation. Should
teachers praise the students who made an A grade on the last test? Should they note the
student who gained 25 points on the last quarterly standardized test? Should the students
with an A average be able to choose preferential seating? There are no concrete answers for
these situations, so teachers need to assess each class of learners individually to determine
possible benefits or any harm that could come from divulging such vague references to how
some students have performed (and, therefore, how some students have not performed).

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 Second, professional teachers maintain a sense of authority and composure in all
educational settings. They look, act, and interact with respect and the ultimate sense of
purpose. They know when it is okay to conduct class more informally and can then reign
students in. They do not waste class time and do not allow students to take control of the
class and waste class time, either.

Third, professional teachers know their students well enough to be able to modify
content when needed. These teachers are connected to their students—not just the content.
They are aware, for example, that a student's brother has just been shot to death and
quickly adjust the planned curriculum for reading Lord of the Flies in that class period. They
are aware of the accident involving friends of a student and do not show the planned video
on World War II. They know that a student in an elementary class hasn't quite grasped the
permanence of numbers and provide that student with a different math activity than the
rest of the class. They are able to adjust based on their students' needs.

Fourth, professional teachers know their content well. This doesn't mean that they
know all the answers, and they are also willing to admit that and seek out additional
resources when needed. But in class, they are most often a competent resource, filling
instructional time with engaging content that engages everyone from visual to kinesthetic
learners. Students know that their teacher is capable of delivering the instruction well.
Professional teachers take complicated subjects and make them seem easy.

Fifth, professional teachers build authentic relationships with their students and
students' parents. They spend time getting to know what motivates their students—far
beyond the interest surveys at the beginning of the year. They build the curriculum around
this knowledge and allow students to make some of their own choices about how and what
they want to learn. Teachers help students to feel valued in their own educational process
and engage in meaningful conversations about things that motivate them outside the
classroom. They appreciate the diversity created by each student in the class and tap into
that knowledge to create an environment of respect and group support.

Sixth, professional teachers are discerning toward the pedagogy that comes their
way. They learn that there are statistics to back up any opinion and that, truly, educational
philosophies swing far left and then back right again if they stay in the profession long
enough. With this knowledge, they begin to rely on their own sense of pedagogy. They rely
on the successful experiences they have built with former students as they shape their
views. This doesn't mean that they never listen to new ideas and thoughts, but they do
learn that every new idea isn't credible or based in experience of that particular school with
those particular students in that particular social context.

Seventh, professional teachers openly appreciate diversity. They build it into their
curriculum. They openly acknowledge the strengths of various leaders in that subject or
field, and they make sure that students, regardless of their abilities or religion or race, can

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see themselves as part of the success story that has been written in education through the
content and experts they are introduced to.

Eighth, professional teachers make sure students know that they, too, are still
learning. They share what they learned in their latest professional development. They
enthusiastically share an article they found that relates to the subject being studied and
what they personally learned, even as an expert in the field, from the article. They are
willing to say, "I don't know. Let's find that answer together."

Professional teachers are the ones who are highly respected, because they are
leaders both among other teachers and among students.

Part II. Laws that Govern the Philippine Educational System

A. The Professionalization of Teaching

1. Decree Professionalizing Teaching (PD 1006)

Signed on September 22, 1976

MALACAÑANG 
MANILA

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO 1006

PROVIDING FOR THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF TEACHERS, REGULATING THEIR

PRACTICE IN THE PHILIPPINES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

WHEREAS, the Constitution provides that “All educational institutions shall be under the
supervision of; and subject to regulation by, the State”, and requires that “the State shall
establish and maintain a complete, adequate and integrated system of education relevant to
the goals of national development”;

WHEREAS, in the pursuit on these objectives, the Department of Education and Culture has
adopted ways and means of overseeing all the educational institutions in the country;

WHEREAS, this supervisory function of the DEC has been primarily beamed towards
ensuring that the educational institutions inculcate in the studentry love of the country,
teach the duties of citizenship, and develop moral character, personal discipline, and
scientific, technological and vocational efficiency;

WHEREAS, to implement these objectives, the institutions have relied upon their teachers
whose direct and continuing interaction with the young people and the children make them
potent forces for the development of proper attitudes among the citizenry;

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WHEREAS, this accounts for the tremendous growth of the teaching population, comprising
in the civil service sector alone more than 300,000 teachers deployed all over the country;

WHEREAS, to insure that in the immediacy and urgency of teacher recruitment qualitative
requirements are not overlooked, it has become necessary to regulate the teaching
profession;

WHEREAS, although teaching requires a number of years of collegiate study, it is the only
course that it is not yet considered a profession;

WHEREAS, in recognition of the vital role of teachers in nation-building and as an incentive

to raise the morale of teachers, it is imperative that they be considered as professionals and
teaching be recognized as a profession.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the

powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby decree and order:

Section 1. Title. This Decree shall be known as the Decree Professionalizing Teaching.

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. It is hereby declared a policy that teacher education shall
be given primary concern and attention by the government and shall be of the highest
quality, and strongly oriented to Philippine conditions and to the needs and aspirations of
the Filipino people even as it seeks enrichment from adoptable ideas and practices of other
people.

Section 3. Definition of Terms. As used in this Decree, the following shall be construed as
follows:

(a) Teaching refers to the profession primarily concerned with the classroom instruction, at
the elementary and secondary levels, in accordance with the curriculum prescribed by
National Board of Education, whether on part-time or full-time basis in the public or private
schools.

(b) Teachers refers to all persons engaged in teaching at the elementary and secondary
levels, whether on a full-time or part-time basis, including guidance counselors, school
librarians, industrial arts or vocational teachers and all other persons performing
supervisory and/or administrative functions in all schools in the aforesaid levels and legally
qualified to practice teaching under this Decree.

(c) Board refers to the National Board for Teachers duly constituted under this Decree.

Section 4. Creation of the National Board for Teachers. There is hereby created a National
Board for Teachers, hereinafter called the Board, to be composed of the following:

1) Secretary of Education and Culture

Co-Chairman
2) Chairman, Civil Service Commission

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3) Commissioner, Professional Regulations Commission
4) Two members representing the private sector to be appointed by Member
the President

Section 5. Powers and Duties. The Board shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) Appoint a set of examiners for every examination who will determine and prepare the
contents of the Board examination for teachers, hereinafter referred to as examination, in
the elementary and secondary levels of instruction, to be held at least once a year;

(b) Determine and fix the places and dates of examination, appoint supervisors and room
examiners from among the employees of the Government who shall be entitled to a daily
allowance to be fixed by the Board for every examination day actually attended, use the
buildings and facilities of public and private schools for examination purposes, approve
applications to take examination, and approve the release of examination results;

(c) Look from time to time into the conditions affecting the practice of the teaching
profession, adopt such measures as may be deemed proper for the enhancement of said
profession, and/or maintenance of the professional standards and ethics;

(d) Issue, suspend, revoke, replace or reissue Professional Teachers Certificate, and
administer oaths;

(e) Appoint, subject to the provisions of existing laws, such officials and employees as are
necessary in the effective performance of its functions and responsibilities, prescribe their
duties and fix their compensation;

(f) Prescribe and collect examination and other fees as it may deem proper; and

(g) Promulgate rules and regulations, and exercise such other powers, functions and duties
as may be necessary to carry into effect the purposes of this Decree.

Section 6. Qualification requirements for examination applicants. No applicant shall be

admitted to take the examination unless, on the date of filing of the application, he shall
have complied with the following requirements:

(a) Except those who have been engaged in teaching as herein defined for at least five
years in schools in the Philippines not organized exclusively for nationals of a foreign
country at the time of the effectivity of this Decree, the applicant must be a citizen of the
Philippines;

(b) That he is of good moral character;

(c) That he is free from any physical and/or mental defect which will incapacitate him to
render efficient service; and

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(d) That he possesses the following minimum educational qualifications:

1) For teachers in the kindergarten and elementary grades, Bachelor’s degree in Elementary
Education (B.S.E.Ed.) or its equivalent;

2) For teachers of the secondary schools, Bachelor’s degree in Education or its equivalent
with a major and minor, or a Bachelor’s degree in Arts or Sciences with at least eighteen
units in professional education; and

3) For teachers of secondary vocational and two-year technical courses, Bachelor’s degree
in the field of specialization with at least eighteen units in professional education.

All applications shall be filed with an office or offices designated by the Board, preferably the
offices of the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Education and Culture.

These offices shall screen and approve such applications and issue the corresponding
permits to take the examination to qualify applicants.

Section 7. Appointment of examiners. The Board shall appoint a set of examiners for every
examination who are recognized authority in teacher education, and their names shall not
be disclosed until after the release of the results of the examination. They shall each receive
as compensation the sum of not less than P5.00 for each examinee as may be determined
by the Board but in no case shall each examiner receive more than P18,000 per
examination. Any examiner who is in the service of the Government shall receive the
compensation herein provided in addition to his salary.

Section 8. Scope of the examination. The examination shall consist of written tests, the
scope of which shall be determined by the Board, taking into consideration the teaching plan
of the schools legally constituted in the Philippines.

Section 9. Ratings in the examination. In order that a candidate may be deemed to have
successfully passed the examinations, he must have obtained a general average of at least
70 per cent in all subjects, with no rating below 50 per cent in any subject.

Section 10. Report of the results of examination. The examiners shall report the ratings
obtained by each candidate to the Board within 150 days after the last day of the
examination, unless extended by the latter.

Section 11. Issuance of Certificates. Teachers who have passed examinations given by the

Civil Service Commission or jointly by the Civil Service Commission and the Department of
Education and Culture shall be considered as having passed the board examinations for
teachers. The Board may consider their certificates of rating as certificates of eligibility or
issue an entirely new certificate upon registration of the teacher and payment of the
corresponding fees.

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This provision shall likewise apply to those teachers who have permanent appointment
under the Magna Carta For Public School Teachers and all others who may be qualified for
registration as professional teachers under this Decree.

Section 12. Registration. The Civil Service Commission shall, as an arm of the Board,

register holders of Professional Teacher Certificate which registration shall evidence that the
registrant is entitled to all the rights and privileges of a Professional Teacher until and
unless the certificate is suspended or canceled by the Board for just cause.

Section 13. Reissuance of revoked certificates and replacement of lost certificates. The

Board may, for reason of equity and justice, and upon proper application therefor, issue
another copy, original or duplicate, upon payment of the required fee, of a certificate which
has been revoked. A new certificate to replace a lost, destroyed or mutilated certificate may
be issued subject to the rules of the Board.

Section 14. Registration by reciprocity. The Civil Service Commission shall, upon approval

of the Board, effect the registration, without examination, of a teacher validly registered
under the laws of any foreign state or country; Provided, That the requirements for
registration in said foreign state or country are substantially the same as those required and
contemplated by this Decree, and the laws of such foreign state or country allow citizens of
the Philippines to practice the profession on the same basis and grant the same privileges
as the citizens or subjects of such foreign state or country; Provided finally, That the
applicant shall submit competent and conclusive documentary evidence, confirmed by the
Department of Foreign Affairs, showing that his country’s existing laws permit citizens of the
Philippines to practice teaching profession under the rules and regulations governing citizens
thereof.

Section 15. Prohibition. Three years after the effectivity of this Decree, no person shall
engage in teaching and/or act as a teacher as defined in this Decree, whether in the public
or private elementary or secondary school, unless he is holder of a Professional Teacher
Certificate or is considered a Professional Teacher under this Decree.

Section 16. Penal Provision. Any person who shall practice the teaching without a valid
Professional Teacher Certificate, or any person presenting as his or her own the certificate
of another, or any person giving any false or forged evidence in order to obtain a
Professional Teacher Certificate or admission to an examination, or any person assuming
himself as a registered professional teacher or any person violating any provision of this
Decree shall be penalized by a fine of not less than One Thousand Pesos nor more than Five
Thousand Pesos with subsidiary imprisonment or to suffer an imprisonment of not less than
six months nor more than two years, or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion
of the Court.

Section 17. Repealing Clause. All Acts, Decrees, Executive Orders, Administrative Orders,

rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Decree are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

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Section 18. Separability Clause. In case any provision of this Decree or any portion thereof
is declared unconstitutional by a competent court, other provisions shall not be affected
thereby.

Section 19. Effectivity. This Decree shall take effect January 1, 1977.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 22nd day of September, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen
hundred and seventy-six.

(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) JACOBO C. CLAVE

Presidential Executive Assistant

Source: Malacañang Records Office

2. The Philippine Teachers’ Professionalization Act (RA 7836)

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7836

AN ACT TO STRENGTHEN THE REGULATION AND SUPERVISION OF THE PRACTICE

OF TEACHING IN THE PHILIPPINES AND PRESCRIBING A LICENSURE
EXAMINATION FOR TEACHERS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

ARTICLE I
TITLE

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the "Philippine Teachers
Professionalization Act of 1994."

Sec. 2. Statement of Policy. — The State recognizes the vital role of teachers in nation-
building and development through a responsible and literate citizenry. Towards this end, the
State shall ensure and promote quality education by proper supervision and regulation of
the licensure examination and professionalization of the practice of the teaching profession.

Sec. 3. Objectives. — This Act has the herein objectives:

(a) The promotion, development and professionalization of teachers and the teaching
profession; and

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(b) The supervision and regulation of the licensure examination.

Sec. 4. Definition of Terms. — For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall
mean:

(a) "Teaching" — refers to the profession concerned primarily with classroom instruction,
at the elementary and secondary levels in accordance with the curriculum prescribed by the
Department of Education, Culture and Sports, whether on part-time or full-time basis in the
private or public schools.

(b) "Teachers" — refers to all persons engaged in teaching at the elementary and
secondary levels, whether on full-time or part-time basis, including industrial arts or
vocational teachers and all other persons performing supervisory and/or administrative
functions in all schools in the aforesaid levels and qualified to practice teaching under this
Act.

(c) "Board" — refers to the Board for Professional Teachers duly established and
constituted under this Act.

(d) "Commission" — refers to the Professional Regulation Commission.

ARTICLE II BOARD FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS

Sec. 5. Creation and Composition of the Board. — There is hereby created under this
Act a Board for Professional Teachers, hereinafter called the Board, a collegial body under
the general supervision and administrative control of the Professional Regulation
Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Commission, composed of five (5) members who
shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines from among the recommendees
chosen by the Commission. The recommendees shall be chosen from the list of nominees
selected by the accredited association of teachers, who duly possess all the qualifications
prescribed in Section 8 of this Act.

The chairman and the voice-chairman of the Board shall be appointed from these five (5)
members by the President: Provided, That the members of the first Board appointed under
this Act shall be automatically registered as professional teachers and issued with the
certificate of registration and professional license upon payment of the fees for examination,
registration, and other fees prescribed by the Commission.

Sec. 6. Duties and Function of the Board. — The Board shall have the following duties
and functions:

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(a) Promulgate, administer and enforce rules and regulations necessary for carrying out the
provisions of this Act in accordance with the charter of the Professional Regulation
Commission;

(b) Determine and fix the frequency, dates, and places of examination, appoint supervisors,
proctors, and other personnel as needed who shall be entitled to a daily allowance to be
fixed by the Board for every examination day actually attended, use buildings and facilities
of public or private schools for examination purposes;

(c) Issue, suspend, or revoke the certificate of registration for the practice of the teaching
profession;

(d) Prescribe and collect examination and other fees as it may deem proper;

(e) Prescribe and/or adopt a code of ethical and professional standards for the practice of
the teaching profession. Such ethical standards, rules and regulations to take effect sixty
(60) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general
circulation;

(f) Administer oaths in connection with the administration of this Act;

(g) Supervise and regulate the registration, licensure and practice of professional teachers
in the Philippines;

(h) Adopt an official seal of the Board;

(i) Look into the conditions affecting the practice of the teaching profession and whenever
necessary, adopt such measures as may be deemed proper for the enhancement and
maintenance of high professional and ethical standards of the profession;

(j) Ensure that all educational institutions offering elementary and secondary education
comply with the essential requirements for curricula, faculty and facilities for the elementary
and secondary levels;

(k) Investigate such violations of this Act, the rules and the code of ethical and professional
standards for professional teachers as it may come to the knowledge of the Board, and for
this purpose, to issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum to secure the appearance of
witnesses and the production of documents in connection therewith; and

(l) Discharge such other powers, duties and functions as the Board may deem necessary for
the practice of the teaching profession and the upgrading, enhancement, development and
growth of education in the Philippines.

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Sec. 7. Term of Office. — The members of the Board shall hold office for a term of three
(3) years from the date they assume office: Provided, That the first appointees to the Board
under this Act shall hold office according to the following terms: one (1) member shall serve
for one (1) year; one (1) member for two (2) years; the chairman, vice-chairman, and one
(1) member for three (3) years. Vacancies shall be served for the unexpired term only. No
person who has served for two (2) consecutive terms shall be eligible for reappointment.
Appointment to fill an unexpired term shall be considered an appointment to a complete
term. The chairman or any member shall take his oath of office prior to the performance of
his duties.

Sec. 8. Qualification of Board Members. — Each Board member must at the time of his
appointment:

(a) Be a citizen and resident of the Philippines;

(b) Be at least thirty-five (35) years of age, of proven integrity, and possessed of high
moral values in his personal as well as professional conduct and has not been convicted of
any offense involving moral turpitude;

(c) Be a holder of the degree of Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science in Education and
preferably a holder of a master's or doctorate degree in education, or their equivalents,
from a university, school, college, academy or institute duly constituted, recognized and/or
accredited by the Philippine government;

(d) Be a professional teacher with a valid certificate of registration and valid professional
license, save those members who shall compose the first Board for Professional Teachers;

(e) Has been a professional teacher in the active practice of the teaching profession for at
least ten (10) years in the elementary and secondary level; and

(f) Not be an official or member of the faculty of, nor have pecuniary interest in any
university, college, school, or institution conferring a bachelor's degree in education or its
equivalents for at least three (3) years prior to his appointment, and neither connected with
a review center or with any group or association where review classes or lectures in
preparation for the licensure examination are offered or conducted. Provided, however,
That, the membership to the Board shall be evenly distributed to cover all levels of
education, including equitable representation of the different fields of specialization.

Sec. 9. Compensation of the Board. — The chairman, vice-chairman, and members of

the Board shall receive compensation comparable to the compensation received by existing
regulatory boards under the Professional Regulation Commission, computed on the basis of
the number of examinees/candidates.

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Sec. 10. Supervision of the Board and Custodian of its Records. — The Board shall be
under the supervision and control of the Commission. All records, including applications for
examination, examination papers and results, minutes of deliberation, administrative cases
and investigative cases and investigations involving professional teachers shall be kept by
the Commission.

Sec. 11. Secretariat and Support Services. — The Professional Regulation Commission,
through its chairman, shall provide the secretariat and other support services to implement
effectively the provisions of this Act.

Sec. 12. Removal of a Board Member. — The chairman or any member of the Board may
be removed by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation of the Commission for
neglect of duty, incompetence, unprofessional, unethical, immoral or dishonorable conduct,
commission or toleration of irregularities in the examination, after having been given the
opportunity to defend himself in a proper administrative investigation. In the course of
investigation, the President may preventively suspend the respondent.

ARTICLE III EXAMINATION AND REGISTRATION

Sec. 13. Examination, Registration and License Required. — Except as otherwise

specifically allowed under the provisions of this Act, all applicants for registration as
professional teachers shall be required to undergo a written examination which shall be
given at least once a year in such places and dates as the Board may determine upon
approval by the Commission. A valid certificate of registration and a valid professional
license from the Commission are required before any person is allowed to practice as a
professional teacher in the Philippines, except as otherwise allowed under this Act.

Sec. 14. Scope of Examination. — The examinations for the elementary and secondary
school teachers shall be separate. The examination for teachers in the elementary level
shall consist of two (2) parts, namely: professional education and general education. The
examination for teachers in the secondary level shall consist of three (3) parts, namely:
professional education, general education, and field of specialization.

Sec. 15. Qualification Requirements of Applicants. — No applicant shall be admitted to

take the examination unless, on the date of filing of the application, he shall have complied
with the following requirements:

(a) A citizen of the Philippines or an alien whose country has reciprocity with the Philippines
in the practice of the teaching profession;

(b) At least eighteen (18) years of age;

(c) In good health and of good reputation with high moral values;

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(d) Has not been convicted by final judgment by a court for an offense involving moral
turpitude;

(e) A graduate of a school, college or university recognized by the government and

possesses the minimum educational qualifications, as follows:
(1) For teachers in preschool, a bachelor's degree in early childhood education
(BECED) or its equivalent;
(2) For teachers in the elementary grades, a bachelor's degree in elementary
education (BSEED) or its equivalent;
(3) For teachers in the secondary grades, a bachelor's degree in education or its
equivalent with a major and minor, or a bachelor's degree in arts and sciences with at least
ten (10) units in professional education; and
(4) For teachers of vocational and two-year technical courses, a bachelor's degree in
the field of specialization or its equivalent, with at least eighteen (18) units in professional
education.

Sec. 16. Report of the Results of the Examination. — The Board shall, within one
hundred twenty (120) days after the examination, report the ratings obtained by each
candidate to the Professional Regulation Commission for approval and appropriate action.

Sec. 17. Issuance of Certificate of Registration and Professional License. — The

registration of a professional teacher commences from the date his name is enrolled in the
roster of professional teachers.

Every registrant who has satisfactorily met all the requirements specified in this Act shall,
upon payment of the registration fee, be issued a certificate of registration as a professional
teacher bearing the full name of the registrant with serial number and date of issuance
signed by the chairman of the Commission and the chairman, vice-chairman, and members
of the Board, stamped with the official seal, as evidence that the person named therein is
entitled to practice the profession with all the rights and privileges appurtenant thereto. The
certificate shall remain in full force and effect until withdrawn, suspended and/or revoked in
accordance with law.

A professional license signed by the chairman of the Commission and bearing the
registration number and date of issuance thereof and the month of expiry or renewability
shall likewise be issued to every registrant who has paid the annual registration fees for
three (3) consecutive years. This license shall serve as evidence that the licensee can
lawfully practice his profession until the expiration of its validity.

Sec. 18. Oath Before Practice. — Every registrant shall be required to take his
professional oath before practicing as a professional teacher.

Sec. 19. Periodic Merit Examination of Teachers. — To encourage continuing

professional growth and development and to provide additional basis for merit promotion, in

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addition to their performance rating, teachers may take an oral and written examination at
least once in five (5) years as basis for merit promotion. In taking this examination, no fee
shall be required.

Sec. 20. Failure to Pass the Merit Examination. — If a teacher fails to pass the merit
examination, he or she shall be allowed to take the examination for a second time. Should
he or she fail to pass the merit examination for the second time, then he or she shall be
required to take a DECS accredited refresher course or program before being allowed to
retake the examination. Failure of any permanent teacher to pass the merit examination
shall not, however, be used as a ground for his/her dismissal or demotion.

Sec. 21. Incentives. — Teachers who pass the merit examination shall:

(a) Be awarded a diploma of merit by the Board;

(b) Earn merit points for purposes of promotion in salary or to a higher position or grade
level;

(c) Be placed in the priority list for government scholarship; and

(d) Enjoy such other benefits as may be promulgated by the Board. Similar incentives shall
be given to teachers who make inventions, develop new methods of teaching, write a book
or books and create works of artistic merit.

Sec. 22. Integration of the Teaching Profession. — The teaching profession shall be
integrated into one national organization which shall be recognized by the Board and the
Commission as the one and only integrated and accredited association of professional
teachers. Upon registration with the Board, every professional teacher shall be encouraged
to become a member of the integrated national organization. Those who have been
registered with the Board but are not members of the said integrated organization shall be
allowed to register as members of the said integrated organization within three (3) years
after the effectivity of this Act. Membership in the integrated organization shall not be a bar
to membership in other associations of the teaching profession. The professional teachers
shall receive the benefits and privileges appurtenant to their membership in the said
integrated and accredited organization of professional teachers only upon payment of the
required membership fees and dues.

Sec. 23. Revocation of the Certificate of Registration, Suspension from the Practice
of the Teaching Profession, and Cancellation of Temporary or Special Permit. — The
Board shall have the power, after due notice and hearing, to suspend or revoke the
certificate of registration of any registrant, to reprimand or to cancel the temporary/special
permit of a holder thereof who is exempt from registration, for any of the following causes:

(a) Conviction for any criminal offense by a court of competent jurisdiction;

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(b) Immoral, unprofessional or dishonorable conduct;

(c) Declaration by a court of competent jurisdiction for being mentally unsound or insane;

(d) Malpractice, gross incompetence, gross negligence or serious ignorance of the practice
of the teaching profession;

(e) The use of or perpetration of any fraud or deceit in obtaining a certificate of registration,
professional license or special/temporary permit;

(f) Chronic inebriety or habitual use of drugs;

(g) Violation of any of the provisions of this Act, the rules and regulations and other policies
of the Board and the Commission, and the code of ethical and professional standards for
professional teachers; and

(h) Unjustified or willful failure to attend seminars, workshops, conferences and the like or
the continuing education program prescribed by the Board and the Commission. The
decision of the Board to revoke or suspend a certificate may be appealed to the regional
trial court of the place where the Board holds office within fifteen (15) days from receipt of
the said decision or of the denial of the motion for reconsideration filed in due time.

Sec. 24. Registration by Reciprocity. — No teacher of a foreign nationality shall be

admitted to the examination, or be given a certificate of registration or be entitled to any of
the rights and privileges provided under this Act; unless the country or state of which he is
a subject permits Filipino professional teachers to practice within its territorial limits on the
same basis as subjects or citizens of said country or state: Provided, that the requirements
of certification of teachers with said foreign state or country are substantially the same as
those required and contemplated under this Act: Provided, further, That the laws of such
state or country grant the same privilege to Filipino professional teachers on the same basis
as the subject or citizens of such foreign country or state.

Sec. 25. Roster of Professional Teachers. — A roster of professional teachers containing

the names and addresses of professional teachers, date of registration or issuance of
certificate, and other data which in the opinion of the Board may appear pertinent shall be
maintained. Copies of the roster shall be provided by the Commission to the Board, the
Department of Education, Culture and Sports, and the integrated and accredited
organization of professional teachers.

Sec. 26. Registration and Exception. — Two (2) years after the effectivity of this Act, no
person shall engage in teaching and/or act as a professional teacher as defined in this Act,
whether in the preschool, elementary or secondary level, unless he is a duly registered

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professional teacher, and a holder of a valid certificate of registration and a valid
professional license or a holder of a valid special/temporary permit.

Upon approval of the application and payment of the prescribed fees, the certificate of
registration and professional license as a professional teacher shall be issued without
examination as required in this Act to a qualified applicant, who at the time of the approval
of this Act, is:

(a) A holder of a certificate of eligibility as a teacher issued by the Civil Service Commission
and the Department of Education, Culture and Sports; or

(b) A registered professional teacher with the National Board for Teachers under the
Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) pursuant to Presidential Decree No.
1006; or

(c) Not qualified under paragraphs one and two but with any of the following qualifications.
to wit:

(1) An elementary or secondary teacher for five (5) years in good standing and a
holder of Bachelor of Science in Education or its equivalent; or
(2) An elementary or secondary teacher for three (3) years in good standing and a
holder of a master's degree in education or its equivalent.

Provided, That they shall be given two (2) years from the organization of the Board
for professional teachers within which to register and be included in the roster of
professional teachers: Provided, further, That those incumbent teachers who are not
qualified to register without examination under this Act or who, albeit qualified, were unable
to register within the two-year period shall be issued a five-year temporary or special
permit from the time the Board is organized within which to register after passing the
examination and complying with the requirements provided this Act and be included in the
roster of professional teachers: Provided, furthermore, That those who have failed the
licensure examination for professional teachers shall be eligible as para-teachers and as
such, shall be issued by the Board a special or temporary permit, and shall be assigned by
the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) to schools as it may determine
under the circumstances.

ARTICLE IV - PROVISIONS RELATIVE TO THE PRACTICE OF

THE TEACHING PROFESSION

Sec. 27. Inhibition Against the Practice of the Teaching Profession. — Except as
otherwise allowed under this Act, no person shall practice or offer to practice the teaching
profession in the Philippines or be appointed as teacher to any position calling for a teaching
position without having previously obtained a valid certificate of registration and a valid
professional license from the Commission.

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Sec. 28. Penal Provisions. — The following shall be punishable by a fine of not less than
Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) nor more than Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000.00) or
imprisonment of nor less than six (6) months nor more than five (5) years, or both, at the
discretion of the court:

(a) Any person who practices the teaching profession in the Philippines without being
certified in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

(b) Any person who represents or attempts to use as his own certificate of registration that
of another;

(c) Any person who gives any false, or fraudulent evidence of any kind to the Board or any
member thereof in obtaining a certificate of registration as teacher;

(d) Any person who impersonates any registrant of the same or different name;

(e) Any person who uses a revoked or suspended certificate of registration;

(f) Any person who, in connection with his name, otherwise assumes, uses or advertises
any title or description tending to convey or conveys the impression that he is a teacher
without holding a valid certificate; and

(g) Any person who violates or who abets the violation of any of the provisions of this Act.
The penalty of fine or imprisonment or both, as provided in this section, shall also apply to
any school official who shall cause or be responsible for the commission of any of the above-
enumerated acts.

Sec. 29. Appropriations. — Such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of
this Act shall be included in the 1996 General Appropriations Act and thereafter.

Sec. 30. Implementing Guidelines. — The Board shall formulate and adopt the necessary
guidelines for the effective implementation of the provisions of this Act within sixty (60)
days of its approval. The Board shall submit to both Committees on Education, Arts, and
Culture; and the Committees on Civil Service and Professional Regulation of the Senate and
House of Representatives, copies of the implementing rules and guidelines within thirty (30)
days after its promulgation. Any violation of this section shall render the official/s concerned
liable under Republic Act No. 6713, otherwise known as the "Code of Conduct and Ethical
Standards for Public Officials and Employees" and other pertinent administrative and/or
penal laws.

Sec. 31. Transitory Provision. — All incumbent teachers in both the public and private
sector not otherwise certified as professional teachers by virtue of this Act, shall be given
(5) years temporary certificates from the time the Board for Professional Teachers is
organized within which to qualify as required by this Act and be included in the roster of

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professionals. Provided, however, That the Professional Board Examination for
Teachers (PBET) shall still be administered by the Civil Service Commission and the
Department of Education, Culture and Sports for the year 1995.

Sec. 32. Separability Clause. — If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act or
the application of such section or provision to any person or circumstance is declared
unconstitutional or invalid, no other section or provision of this Act shall be affected
thereby.

Sec. 33. Repealing Clause. — All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, rules and
regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed
or modified accordingly.

Sec. 34. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following its
complete publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved: December 16, 1994

3. Amendments to certain Sections of R.A. 7836 (RA 9293)

[REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9293]

AN ACT AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED SEVENTY-EIGHT

HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIX (R.A. NO. 7836), OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE “PHILIPPINE
TEACHERS PROFESSIONALIZATION ACT OF 1994”

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress

assembled:

SECTION 1. Section 15, (e) (3) of Republic Act No. 7836 is hereby amended as follows:

“SEC. 15. Qualification Requirements of Applicants. – No applicant shall be admitted to take

the examination unless, on the date of filing of the application, he shall have complied with
the following requirements:

“(e) A graduate of a school, college or university recognized by the government and

possesses the minimum educational qualifications, as follows:

(1) For teachers in preschool, a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education (BECED) or
its equivalent;

(2) For teachers in the elementary grades, a bachelor’s degree in elementary education
(BSEED) or its equivalent;

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(3) For teachers in the secondary grades, a bachelor’s degree in education or its equivalent
with a major and minor, or a bachelor degree in arts and sciences with at least eighteen
(18) units in professional education; and

(4) For teachers of vocational and two-year technical courses, a bachelor’s degree in the
field of specialization or its equivalent, with at least eighteen (18) units in professional
education.”

SEC 2. Section 26 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 26. Registration and Exception. – No person shall engage in teaching and/or act as a
professional teacher as defined in this Act, whether in the preschool, elementary or
secondary level, unless the person is a duly registered professional teacher, and a holder of
a valid certificate of registration and a valid professional license or a holder of a valid
special/temporary permit.

Upon approval of the application and payment of the prescribed fees, the certificate of
registration and professional license as a professional teacher shall be issued without
examination as required in this Act to a qualified applicant, who is:

(a) A holder of a certificate of eligibility as a teacher issued by the Civil Service Commission
and the Department of Education, Culture and Sports; or

(b) A registered professional teacher with the National Board for Teachers under the
Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) pursuant to Presidential Decree No.
1006.

Professional teachers who have not practiced their profession for the past five (5) years
shall take at least twelve (12) units of education courses, consisting of at least six (6) units
of pedagogy and six (6) units of content courses, or the equivalent training and number of
hours, to be chosen from a list of courses to be provided by the Board and the Department
of Education, before they can be allowed to practice their profession in the country.

Those who have failed the licensure examination for professional teachers, with a rating of
not lower than five percentage points from the passing general average rating, shall be
eligible as para-teachers upon issuance by the Board of a two-year special permit,
renewable for a non-extendible period of two (2) years. The para-teachers shall be assigned
to areas where there is a shortage or absence of a professional teacher, as identified and
provided by the Department of Education and the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) education department to the Board for professional teachers and to the
Commission. The special permit shall indicate the area of assignment of the para-teacher.

A special permit may also be issued by the Board to a person who has excelled and gained
international recognition and is a widely acknowledged expert in his or her respective field
of specialization.”

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 SEC 3. Section 31 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 31. Transitory Provision. – Special permits, with a validity of three (3) and five (5)
years, issued to para-teachers by the Board for Professional Teachers before the effectivity
of this Act shall be allowed to expire based on the period granted therein: Provided, That
only special permits with a validity of three (3) years may be renewed upon expiration for a
non-extendible period of two (2) years.”

SEC 4. References to the term “Department of Education, Culture and Sports”, in section 4
(a) and section 25, and the term “DECS” in section 20, of the same Act, are hereby
amended to read as “Department of Education” and “DepEd”, respectively.

SEC 5. Separability Clause. – If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act or the
application of such section or provision to any person or circumstance is declared
unconstitutional or invalid, no other section or provision of this Act shall be affected
thereby.

SEC 6. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, circulars, administrative orders, rules and
regulations, and other issuances which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC 7. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect upon approval.

Approved,

(Sgd.) JOSE DE VENECIA JR.

Speaker of the House (Sgd.) FRANKLIN M. DRILON
of Representatives President of the Senate

This Act, which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 2698 and House Bill No. 5411 was finally
passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on February 6, 2004 and February
7, 2004, respectively.

(Sgd.) ROBERTO P. NAZARENO

Secretary General (Sgd.) OSCAR G. YABES
House of Representatives Secretary of the Senate

Approved: APR 21 2004

(Sgd.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO

President of the Philippines

B. Professional Ethics

1. Code of Conduct for Professional Teachers

Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers

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Pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (e). Article 11, of R. A. No. 7836. otherwise
known as the Philippines Professionalization Act of 1994 and Paragraph (a), section 6.
P.D. No. 223. as amended, the Board for Professional Teachers hereby adopt the Code
of Ethics for Professional Teachers.

PREAMBLE

Teachers are duly licensed professionals who possesses dignity and reputation with high
moral values as well as technical and professional competence in the practice of their noble
profession, they strictly adhere to. observe, and practice this set of ethical and moral
principles, standards, and values.

ARTICLE I – SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

Section 1. The Philippine Constitution provides that all educational institution shall offer
quality education for all competent teachers committed of its full realization. The provision
of this Code shall apply, therefore, to all teachers in schools in the Philippines.

Section 2. This Code covers all public and private school teachers in all educational
institutions at the preschool, primary, elementary. and secondary levels whether academic,
vocational, special, technical, or non-formal. The term “teacher” shall include industrial arts
or vocational teachers and all other persons performing supervisory and /or administrative
functions in all school at the aforesaid levels, whether on full time or part-time basis.

ARTICLE II – THE TEACHER AND THE STATE

Section 1. The schools are the nurseries of the future citizens of the state: each teacher is
a trustee of the cultural and educational heritage of the nation and is under obligation to
transmit to learners such heritage as well as to elevate national morality, promote national
pride, cultivate love of country, instill allegiance to the constitution and for all duly
constituted authorities, and promote obedience to the laws of the state.

Section 2. Every teacher or school official shall actively help carry out the declared policies
of the state, and shall take an oath to this effect.

Section 3. In the interest of the State and of the Filipino people as much as of his own.
every teacher shall be physically, mentally and morally fit.

Section 4. Every teacher shall possess and actualize a full commitment and devotion to
duty.

Section 5. A teacher shall not engage in the promotion of any political, religious, or other
partisan interest, and shall not. directly or indirectly, solicit, require, collect, or receive any
money or service or other valuable material from any person or entity for such purposes

Section 6. Every teacher shall vote and shall exercise all other constitutional rights and
responsibility.

Section 7. A teacher shall not use his position or facial authority or influence to coerce any
other person to follow any political course of action.

Section 8. Every teacher shall enjoy academic freedom and shall have privilege of
expounding the product of his researches and investigations: provided that, if the results
are inimical to the declared policies of the State, they shall be brought to the proper
authorities for appropriate remedial action.

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ARTICLE III – THE TEACHER AND THE COMMUNITY

Section 1. A teacher is a facilitator of learning and of the development of the youth: he
shall, therefore, render the best service by providing an environment conducive to such
learning and growth.

Section 2. Every teacher shall provide leadership and initiative to actively participate in
community movements for moral, social, educational, economic and civic betterment.

Section 3. Every teacher shall merit reasonable social recognition for which purpose he
shall behave with honor and dignity at all times and refrain for such activities as gambling,
smoking, drunkenness, and other excesses, much less illicit relations.

Section 4. Every teacher shall live for and with the community and shall, therefore, study
and understand local customs and traditions in order to have sympathetic attitude,
therefore, refrain from disparaging the community.

Section 5. Every teacher shall help the school keep the people in the community informed
about the school’s work and accomplishments as well as its needs and problems.

Section 6. Every teacher is intellectual leader in the community, especially in the barangay.
and shall welcome the opportunity to provide such leadership when needed, to extend
counseling services, as appropriate, and to actively be involved in matters affecting the
welfare of the people.

Section 7. Every teacher shall maintain harmonious and pleasant personal and official
relations with other professionals, with government officials, and with the people,
individually or collectively.

Section 8. A teacher possess freedom to attend church and worships as appropriate, but
shall not use his positions and influence to proselyte others.

ARTICLE IV – A TEACHER AND THE PROFESSION

Section 1. Every teacher shall actively ensure that teaching is the noblest profession, and
shall manifest genuine enthusiasm and pride in teaching as a noble calling.

Section 2. Every teacher shall uphold the highest possible standards of quality education,
shall make the best preparations for the career of teaching, and shall be at his best at all
times and in the practice of his profession.

Section 3. Every teacher shall participate in the Continuing Professional Education (CPE)
program of the Professional Regulation Commission, and shall pursue such other studies as
will improve his efficiency, enhance the prestige of the profession, and strengthen his
competence, virtues, and productivity in order to be nationally and internationally
competitive.

Section 4. Every teacher shall help, if duly authorized, to seek support from the school, but
shall not make improper misrepresentations through personal advertisements and other
questionable means.

Section 5. Every teacher shall use the teaching profession in a manner that makes it
dignified means for earning a descent living.

ARTICLE V – THE TEACHERS AND THE PROFESSION

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Section 1. Teacher shall, at all times, be imbued with the spirit of professional loyalty,
mutual confidence, and faith in one another, self-sacrifice for the common good, and full
cooperation with colleagues. When the best interest of the learners, the school, or the
profession is at stake in any controversy, teacher shall support one another.

Section 2. A teacher is not entitled to claim credit or work not of his own. and shall give
due credit for the work of others which he may use.

Section 3. Before leaving his position, a teacher shall organize for whoever assumes the
position such records and other data as are necessary to carry on the work.

Section 4. A teacher shall hold inviolate all confidential information concerning associates
and the school, and shall not divulge to anyone documents which has not been officially
released, or remove records from the files without permission.

Section 5. It shall be the responsibility of every teacher to seek correctives for what he
may appear to be an unprofessional and unethical conduct of any associates. However, this
may be done only if there is incontrovertible evidence for such conduct.

Section 6. A teacher may submit to the proper authorities any justifiable criticism against
an associate, preferably in writing, without violating the right of the individual concerned.

Section 7. A teacher may apply for a vacant position for which he is qualified: provided
that he respects the system of selection on the basis of merit and competence: provided,
further, that all qualified candidates are given the opportunity to be considered.

ARTICLE VI – THE TEACHER AND HIGHER AUTHORITIES IN THE PROFESSIONS

Section 1. Every teacher shall make it his duties to make an honest effort to understand
and support the legitimate policies of the school and the administration regardless of
personal feeling or private opinion and shall faithfully carry them out.

Section 2. A teacher shall not make any false accusations or charges against superiors,
especially under anonymity. However, if there are valid charges, he should present such
under oath to competent authority.

Section 3. A teacher shall transact all official business through channels except when
special conditions warrant a different procedure, such as when special conditions are
advocated but are opposed by immediate superiors, in which case, the teacher shall appeal
directly to the appropriate higher authority.

Section 4. Every teacher, individually or as part of a group, has a right to seek redress
against injustice to the administration and to extent possible, shall raise grievances within
acceptable democratic possesses. In doing so. they shall avoid jeopardizing the interest and
the welfare of learners whose right to learn must be respected.

Section 5. Every teacher has a right to invoke the principle that appointments, promotions,
and transfer of teachers are made only on the basis of merit and needed in the interest of
the service.

Section 6. A teacher who accepts a position assumes a contractual obligation to live up to
his contract, assuming full knowledge of employment terms and conditions.

ARTICLE VII – SCHOOL OFFICIALS TEACHERS AND OTHER PERSONNEL

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Section 1. All school officials shall at all times show professional courtesy, helpfulness and
sympathy towards teachers and other personnel, such practices being standards of effective
school supervision, dignified administration, responsible leadership and enlighten directions.

Section 2. School officials, teachers, and other school personnel shall consider it their
cooperative responsibility to formulate policies or introduce important changes in the system
at all levels.

Section 3. School officials shall encourage and attend the professional growth of all
teachers under them such as recommending them for promotion, giving them due
recognition for meritorious performance, and allowing them to participate in conferences in
training programs.

Section 4. No school officials shall dismiss or recommend for dismissal a teacher or other
subordinates except for cause.

Section 5. School authorities concern shall ensure that public school teachers are employed
in accordance with pertinent civil service rules, and private school teachers are issued
contracts specifying the terms and conditions of their work: provided that they are given, if
qualified, subsequent permanent tenure, in accordance with existing laws.

ARTICLE VIII – THE TEACHERS AND LEARNERS

Section 1. A teacher has a right and duty to determine the academic marks and the
promotions of learners in the subject or grades he handles; such determination shall be in
accordance with generally accepted procedures of evaluation and measurement. In case of
any complaint, teachers concerned shall immediately take appropriate actions, of serving
due process.

Section 2. A teacher shall recognize that the interest and welfare of learners are of first
and foremost concerns, and shall deal justifiably and impartially with each of them.

Section 3. Under no circumstance shall a teacher be prejudiced nor discriminated against

by the learner.

Section 4. A teacher shall not accept favors or gifts from learners, their parents or others
in their behalf in exchange for requested concessions, especially if undeserved.

Section 5. A teacher shall not accept, directly or indirectly, any remuneration from tutorials
other what is authorized for such service.

Section 6. A teacher shall base the evaluation of the learner’s work only in merit and
quality of academic performance.

Section 7. In a situation where mutual attraction and subsequent love develop between
teacher and learner, the teacher shall exercise utmost professional discretion to avoid
scandal, gossip and preferential treatment of the learner.

Section 8. A teacher shall not inflict corporal punishment on offending learners nor make
deductions from their scholastic ratings as a punishment for acts which are clearly not
manifestation of poor scholarship.

Section 9. A teacher shall ensure that conditions contribute to the maximum development
of learners are adequate, and shall extend needed assistance in preventing or solving
learner’s problems and difficulties.

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ARTICLE IX – THE TEACHERS AND PARENTS

Section 1. Every teacher shall establish and maintain cordial relations with parents, and
shall conduct himself to merit their confidence and respect.

Section 2. Every teacher shall inform parents, through proper authorities, of the progress
and deficiencies of learner under him. exercising utmost candor and tact in pointing out
learners deficiencies and in seeking parent’s cooperation for the proper guidance and
improvement of the learners.

Section 3. A teacher shall hear parent’s complaints with sympathy and understanding, and
shall discourage unfair criticism.

ARTICLE X – THE TEACHER AND BUSINESS

Section 1. A teacher has the right to engage, directly or indirectly, in legitimate income
generation: provided that it does not relate to or adversely affect his work as a teacher.

Section 2. A teacher shall maintain a good reputation with respect to the financial matters
such as in the settlement of his debts and loans in arranging satisfactorily his private
financial affairs.

Section 3. No teacher shall act, directly or indirectly, as agent of, or be financially
interested in. any commercial venture which furnish textbooks and other school
commodities in the purchase and disposal of which he can exercise official influence, except
only when his assignment is inherently, related to such purchase and disposal: provided
they shall be in accordance with the existing regulations: provided, further, that members of
duly recognized teachers cooperatives may participate in the distribution and sale of such
commodities.

ARTICLE XI – THE TEACHER AS A PERSON

Section 1. A teacher is, above all. a human being endowed with life for which it is the
highest obligation to live with dignity at all times whether in school, in the home, or
elsewhere.

Section 2. A teacher shall place premium upon self-discipline as the primary principles of
personal behavior in all relationships with others and in all situations.

Section 3. A teacher shall maintain at all times a dignified personality which could serve as
a model worthy of emulation by learners, peers and all others.

Section 4. A teacher shall always recognize the Almighty God as guide of his own destiny
and of the destinies of men and nations.

ARTICLE XII – DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS

Section 1. Any violation of any provisions of this code shall be sufficient ground for the
imposition against the erring teacher of the disciplinary action consisting of revocation of his
Certification of Registration and License as a Professional Teacher, suspension from the
practice of teaching profession, reprimand or cancellation of his temporary/special permit
under causes specified in Sec. 23. Article HI or R.A. No. 7836. and under Rule 31. Article
VIII. of the Rules and Regulations Implementing R.A. 7836.

ARTICLE XIII – EFFECTIVITY

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Section 1. This Code shall take effect upon approval by the Professional Regulation
Commission and after sixty (60) days following its publication in the official Gazette or any
newspaper of general circulation, whichever is earlier.

2. Code of Conduct for Public Officials and Employees (RA 6713)

Republic Act No. 6713             February 20, 1989

AN ACT ESTABLISHING A CODE OF CONDUCT AND ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC

OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES, TO UPHOLD THE TIME-HONORED PRINCIPLE OF PUBLIC
OFFICE BEING A PUBLIC TRUST, GRANTING INCENTIVES AND REWARDS FOR
EXEMPLARY SERVICE, ENUMERATING PROHIBITED ACTS AND TRANSACTIONS AND
PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress

assembled:

Section 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public
Officials and Employees."

Section 2. Declaration of Policies. - It is the policy of the State to promote a high standard of
ethics in public service. Public officials and employees shall at all times be accountable to the people
and shall discharge their duties with utmost responsibility, integrity, competence, and loyalty, act with
patriotism and justice, lead modest lives, and uphold public interest over personal interest.

Section 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act, the term:

(a) "Government" includes the National Government, the local governments, and all other
instrumentalities, agencies or branches of the Republic of the Philippines including
government-owned or controlled corporations, and their subsidiaries. lawphi1 .net

(b) "Public Officials" includes elective and appointive officials and employees, permanent or
temporary, whether in the career or non-career service, including military and police
personnel, whether or not they receive compensation, regardless of amount.

(c) "Gift" refers to a thing or a right to dispose of gratuitously, or any act or liberality, in favor of
another who accepts it, and shall include a simulated sale or an ostensibly onerous
disposition thereof. It shall not include an unsolicited gift of nominal or insignificant value not
given in anticipation of, or in exchange for, a favor from a public official or employee.

(d) "Receiving any gift" includes the act of accepting directly or indirectly, a gift from a person
other than a member of his family or relative as defined in this Act, even on the occasion of a
family celebration or national festivity like Christmas, if the value of the gift is neither nominal
nor insignificant, or the gift is given in anticipation of, or in exchange for, a favor.

(e) "Loan" covers both simple loan and commodatum as well as guarantees, financing
arrangements or accommodations intended to ensure its approval.

(f) "Substantial stockholder" means any person who owns, directly or indirectly, shares of stock
sufficient to elect a director of a corporation. This term shall also apply to the parties to a
voting trust.

(g) "Family of public officials or employees" means their spouses and unmarried children
under eighteen (18) years of age.

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 (h) "Person" includes natural and juridical persons unless the context indicates otherwise.

(i) "Conflict of interest" arises when a public official or employee is a member of a board, an
officer, or a substantial stockholder of a private corporation or owner or has a substantial
interest in a business, and the interest of such corporation or business, or his rights or duties
therein, may be opposed to or affected by the faithful performance of official duty.

(j) "Divestment" is the transfer of title or disposal of interest in property by voluntarily, completely
and actually depriving or dispossessing oneself of his right or title to it in favor of a person or
persons other than his spouse and relatives as defined in this Act.

(k) "Relatives" refers to any and all persons related to a public official or employee within the
fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity, including bilas, inso and balae.

Section 4. Norms of Conduct of Public Officials and Employees. –

(A) Every public official and employee shall observe the following as standards of personal conduct
in the discharge and execution of official duties:

(a) Commitment to public interest. - Public officials and employees shall always uphold the
public interest over and above personal interest. All government resources and powers of
their respective offices must be employed and used efficiently, effectively, honestly and
economically, particularly to avoid wastage in public funds and revenues.

(b) Professionalism. - Public officials and employees shall perform and discharge their duties
with the highest degree of excellence, professionalism, intelligence and skill. They shall enter
public service with utmost devotion and dedication to duty. They shall endeavor to
discourage wrong perceptions of their roles as dispensers or peddlers of undue patronage.

(c) Justness and sincerity. - Public officials and employees shall remain true to the people at
all times. They must act with justness and sincerity and shall not discriminate against
anyone, especially the poor and the underprivileged. They shall at all times respect the rights
of others, and shall refrain from doing acts contrary to law, good morals, good customs,
public policy, public order, public safety and public interest. They shall not dispense or
extend undue favors on account of their office to their relatives whether by consanguinity or
affinity except with respect to appointments of such relatives to positions considered strictly
confidential or as members of their personal staff whose terms are coterminous with theirs.

(d) Political neutrality. - Public officials and employees shall provide service to everyone
without unfair discrimination and regardless of party affiliation or preference.

(e) Responsiveness to the public. - Public officials and employees shall extend prompt,
courteous, and adequate service to the public. Unless otherwise provided by law or when
required by the public interest, public officials and employees shall provide information of
their policies and procedures in clear and understandable language, ensure openness of
information, public consultations and hearings whenever appropriate, encourage
suggestions, simplify and systematize policy, rules and procedures, avoid red tape and
develop an understanding and appreciation of the socio-economic conditions prevailing in
the country, especially in the depressed rural and urban areas.

(f) Nationalism and patriotism. - Public officials and employees shall at all times be loyal to the
Republic and to the Filipino people, promote the use of locally produced goods, resources
and technology and encourage appreciation and pride of country and people. They shall
endeavor to maintain and defend Philippine sovereignty against foreign intrusion.

(g) Commitment to democracy. - Public officials and employees shall commit themselves to
the democratic way of life and values, maintain the principle of public accountability, and

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 manifest by deeds the supremacy of civilian authority over the military. They shall at all times
uphold the Constitution and put loyalty to country above loyalty to persons or party.

(h) Simple living. - Public officials and employees and their families shall lead modest lives
appropriate to their positions and income. They shall not indulge in extravagant or
ostentatious display of wealth in any form.

(B) The Civil Service Commission shall adopt positive measures to promote (1) observance of
these standards including the dissemination of information programs and workshops authorizing
merit increases beyond regular progression steps, to a limited number of employees recognized by
their office colleagues to be outstanding in their observance of ethical standards; and (2) continuing
research and experimentation on measures which provide positive motivation to public officials and
employees in raising the general level of observance of these standards.

Section 5. Duties of Public Officials and Employees. - In the performance of their duties, all
public officials and employees are under obligation to:

(a) Act promptly on letters and requests. - All public officials and employees shall, within fifteen
(15) working days from receipt thereof, respond to letters, telegrams or other means of
communications sent by the public. The reply must contain the action taken on the request.

(b) Submit annual performance reports. - All heads or other responsible officers of offices and
agencies of the government and of government-owned or controlled corporations shall, within
forty-five (45) working days from the end of the year, render a performance report of the agency
or office or corporation concerned. Such report shall be open and available to the public within
regular office hours.

(c) Process documents and papers expeditiously. - All official papers and documents must be
processed and completed within a reasonable time from the preparation thereof and must
contain, as far as practicable, not more than three (3) signatories therein. In the absence of duly
authorized signatories, the official next-in-rank or officer in charge shall sign for and in their
behalf.

(d) Act immediately on the public's personal transactions. - All public officials and employees
must attend to anyone who wants to avail himself of the services of their offices and must, at all
times, act promptly and expeditiously.

(e) Make documents accessible to the public. - All public documents must be made accessible to,
and readily available for inspection by, the public within reasonable working hours.

Section 6. System of Incentives and Rewards. - A system of annual incentives and rewards is
hereby established in order to motivate and inspire public servants to uphold the highest standards
of ethics. For this purpose, a Committee on Awards to Outstanding Public Officials and Employees is
hereby created composed of the following: the Ombudsman and Chairman of the Civil Service
Commission as Co-Chairmen, and the Chairman of the Commission on Audit, and two government
employees to be appointed by the President, as members.

It shall be the task of this Committee to conduct a periodic, continuing review of the performance of
public officials and employees, in all the branches and agencies of Government and establish a
system of annual incentives and rewards to the end that due recognition is given to public officials
and employees of outstanding merit on the basis of the standards set forth in this Act.

The conferment of awards shall take into account, among other things, the following: the years of
service and the quality and consistency of performance, the obscurity of the position, the level of
salary, the unique and exemplary quality of a certain achievement, and the risks or temptations
inherent in the work. Incentives and rewards to government officials and employees of the year to be
announced in public ceremonies honoring them may take the form of bonuses, citations,

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directorships in government-owned or controlled corporations, local and foreign scholarship grants,
paid vacations and the like. They shall likewise be automatically promoted to the next higher position
with the commensurate salary suitable to their qualifications. In case there is no next higher position
or it is not vacant, said position shall be included in the budget of the office in the next General
Appropriations Act. The Committee on Awards shall adopt its own rules to govern the conduct of its
activities.

Section 7. Prohibited Acts and Transactions. - In addition to acts and omissions of public officials
and employees now prescribed in the Constitution and existing laws, the following shall constitute
prohibited acts and transactions of any public official and employee and are hereby declared to be
unlawful:

(a) Financial and material interest. - Public officials and employees shall not, directly or indirectly,
have any financial or material interest in any transaction requiring the approval of their office.

(b) Outside employment and other activities related thereto. - Public officials and employees
during their incumbency shall not:

(1) Own, control, manage or accept employment as officer, employee, consultant, counsel,
broker, agent, trustee or nominee in any private enterprise regulated, supervised or
licensed by their office unless expressly allowed by law;

(2) Engage in the private practice of their profession unless authorized by the Constitution
or law, provided, that such practice will not conflict or tend to conflict with their official
functions; or

(3) Recommend any person to any position in a private enterprise which has a regular or
pending official transaction with their office.

These prohibitions shall continue to apply for a period of one (1) year after resignation,
retirement, or separation from public office, except in the case of subparagraph (b) (2)
above, but the professional concerned cannot practice his profession in connection with any
matter before the office he used to be with, in which case the one-year prohibition shall
likewise apply.

(c) Disclosure and/or misuse of confidential information. - Public officials and employees shall not
use or divulge, confidential or classified information officially known to them by reason of their
office and not made available to the public, either:

(1) To further their private interests, or give undue advantage to anyone; or

(2) To prejudice the public interest.

(d) Solicitation or acceptance of gifts. - Public officials and employees shall not solicit or accept,
directly or indirectly, any gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan or anything of monetary value
from any person in the course of their official duties or in connection with any operation being
regulated by, or any transaction which may be affected by the functions of their office.

As to gifts or grants from foreign governments, the Congress consents to:

(i) The acceptance and retention by a public official or employee of a gift of nominal
value tendered and received as a souvenir or mark of courtesy;

(ii) The acceptance by a public official or employee of a gift in the nature of a scholarship
or fellowship grant or medical treatment; or

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 (iii) The acceptance by a public official or employee of travel grants or expenses for
travel taking place entirely outside the Philippine (such as allowances, transportation,
food, and lodging) of more than nominal value if such acceptance is appropriate or
consistent with the interests of the Philippines, and permitted by the head of office,
branch or agency to which he belongs.

The Ombudsman shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the
purpose of this subsection, including pertinent reporting and disclosure requirements.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to restrict or prohibit any educational, scientific or
cultural exchange programs subject to national security requirements.

Section 8. Statements and Disclosure. - Public officials and employees have an obligation to
accomplish and submit declarations under oath of, and the public has the right to know, their assets,
liabilities, net worth and financial and business interests including those of their spouses and of
unmarried children under eighteen (18) years of age living in their households.

(A) Statements of Assets and Liabilities and Financial Disclosure. - All public officials and
employees, except those who serve in an honorary capacity, laborers and casual or
temporary workers, shall file under oath their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth
and a Disclosure of Business Interests and Financial Connections and those of their spouses
and unmarried children under eighteen (18) years of age living in their households.

The two documents shall contain information on the following:

(a) real property, its improvements, acquisition costs, assessed value and current fair
market value;

(b) personal property and acquisition cost;

(c) all other assets such as investments, cash on hand or in banks, stocks, bonds, and the
like;

(d) liabilities, and;

(e) all business interests and financial connections.

The documents must be filed:

(a) within thirty (30) days after assumption of office;

(b) on or before April 30, of every year thereafter; and

(c) within thirty (30) days after separation from the service.

All public officials and employees required under this section to file the a foretasted
documents shall also execute, within thirty (30) days from the date of their assumption of
office, the necessary authority in favor of the Ombudsman to obtain from all appropriate
government agencies, including the Bureau of Internal Revenue, such documents as may
show their assets, liabilities, net worth, and also their business interests and financial
connections in previous years, including, if possible, the year when they first assumed any
office in the Government.

Husband and wife who are both public officials or employees may file the required
statements jointly or separately.

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 The Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth and the Disclosure of Business Interests
and Financial Connections shall be filed by:

(1) Constitutional and national elective officials, with the national office of the
Ombudsman;

(2) Senators and Congressmen, with the Secretaries of the Senate and the House of
Representatives, respectively; Justices, with the Clerk of Court of the Supreme
Court; Judges, with the Court Administrator; and all national executive officials with
the Office of the President.

(3) Regional and local officials and employees, with the Deputy Ombudsman in their
respective regions;

(4) Officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain, with the
Office of the President, and those below said ranks, with the Deputy Ombudsman in
their respective regions; and

(5) All other public officials and employees, defined in Republic Act No. 3019, as
amended, with the Civil Service Commission.

(B) Identification and disclosure of relatives. - It shall be the duty of every public official or employee
to identify and disclose, to the best of his knowledge and information, his relatives in the
Government in the form, manner and frequency prescribed by the Civil Service Commission.

(C) Accessibility of documents. - (1) Any and all statements filed under this Act, shall be made
available for inspection at reasonable hours.

(2) Such statements shall be made available for copying or reproduction after ten (10)
working days from the time they are filed as required by law.

(3) Any person requesting a copy of a statement shall be required to pay a reasonable fee to
cover the cost of reproduction and mailing of such statement, as well as the cost of
certification.

(4) Any statement filed under this Act shall be available to the public for a period of ten (10)
years after receipt of the statement. After such period, the statement may be destroyed
unless needed in an ongoing investigation.

(D) Prohibited acts. - It shall be unlawful for any person to obtain or use any statement filed under
this Act for:

(a) any purpose contrary to morals or public policy; or

(b) any commercial purpose other than by news and communications media for
dissemination to the general public.

Section 9. Divestment. - A public official or employee shall avoid conflicts of interest at all times.
When a conflict of interest arises, he shall resign from his position in any private business enterprise
within thirty (30) days from his assumption of office and/or divest himself of his shareholdings or
interest within sixty (60) days from such assumption.

The same rule shall apply where the public official or employee is a partner in a partnership.

The requirement of divestment shall not apply to those who serve the Government in an honorary
capacity nor to laborers and casual or temporary workers.

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Section 10. Review and Compliance Procedure. - (a) The designated Committees of both Houses of
the Congress shall establish procedures for the review of statements to determine whether said
statements which have been submitted on time, are complete, and are in proper form. In the event a
determination is made that a statement is not so filed, the appropriate Committee shall so inform the
reporting individual and direct him to take the necessary corrective action.

(b) In order to carry out their responsibilities under this Act, the designated Committees of
both Houses of Congress shall have the power within their respective jurisdictions, to render
any opinion interpreting this Act, in writing, to persons covered by this Act, subject in each
instance to the approval by affirmative vote of the majority of the particular House concerned.

The individual to whom an opinion is rendered, and any other individual involved in a similar
factual situation, and who, after issuance of the opinion acts in good faith in accordance with
it shall not be subject to any sanction provided in this Act.

(c) The heads of other offices shall perform the duties stated in subsections (a) and (b)
hereof insofar as their respective offices are concerned, subject to the approval of the
Secretary of Justice, in the case of the Executive Department and the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court, in the case of the Judicial Department.

Section 11. Penalties. - (a) Any public official or employee, regardless of whether or not he holds
office or employment in a casual, temporary, holdover, permanent or regular capacity, committing
any violation of this Act shall be punished with a fine not exceeding the equivalent of six (6) months'
salary or suspension not exceeding one (1) year, or removal depending on the gravity of the offense
after due notice and hearing by the appropriate body or agency. If the violation is punishable by a
heavier penalty under another law, he shall be prosecuted under the latter statute. Violations of
Sections 7, 8 or 9 of this Act shall be punishable with imprisonment not exceeding five (5) years, or a
fine not exceeding five thousand pesos (P5,000), or both, and, in the discretion of the court of
competent jurisdiction, disqualification to hold public office.

(b) Any violation hereof proven in a proper administrative proceeding shall be sufficient
cause for removal or dismissal of a public official or employee, even if no criminal
prosecution is instituted against him.

(c) Private individuals who participate in conspiracy as co-principals, accomplices or

accessories, with public officials or employees, in violation of this Act, shall be subject to the
same penal liabilities as the public officials or employees and shall be tried jointly with them.

(d) The official or employee concerned may bring an action against any person who obtains
or uses a report for any purpose prohibited by Section 8 (D) of this Act. The Court in which
such action is brought may assess against such person a penalty in any amount not to
exceed twenty-five thousand pesos (P25,000). If another sanction hereunder or under any
other law is heavier, the latter shall apply.

Section 12. Promulgation of Rules and Regulations, Administration and Enforcement of this Act. -
The Civil Service Commission shall have the primary responsibility for the administration and
enforcement of this Act. It shall transmit all cases for prosecution arising from violations of this Act to
the proper authorities for appropriate action: Provided, however, That it may institute such
administrative actions and disciplinary measures as may be warranted in accordance with law.
Nothing in this provision shall be construed as a deprivation of the right of each House of Congress
to discipline its Members for disorderly behavior.

The Civil Service Commission is hereby authorized to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to
carry out the provisions of this Act, including guidelines for individuals who render free voluntary
service to the Government. The Ombudsman shall likewise take steps to protect citizens who
denounce acts or omissions of public officials and employees which are in violation of this Act.

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Section 13. Provisions for More Stringent Standards. - Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
derogate from any law, or any regulation prescribed by any body or agency, which provides for more
stringent standards for its official and employees.

Section 14. Appropriations. - The sum necessary for the effective implementation of this Act shall be
taken from the appropriations of the Civil Service Commission. Thereafter, such sum as may be
needed for its continued implementation shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Section 15. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act or the application of such provision to
any person or circumstance is declared invalid, the remainder of the Act or the application of such
provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected by such declaration.

Section 16. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees and orders or parts thereof inconsistent herewith,
are deemed repealed or modified accordingly, unless the same provide for a heavier penalty.

Section 17. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after thirty (30) days following the completion of its
publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved, February 20, 1989.

C. Teacher Welfare and Privileges - The Magna Carta for Public School
Teachers (RA 4670)

REPUBLIC ACT No. 4670 June 18, 1966

THE MAGNA CARTA FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS

I. DECLARATION OF POLICY COVERAGE

Section 1. Declaration of Policy. It is hereby declared to be the policy of this Act to promote and
improve the social and economic status of public school teachers, their living and working
conditions, their terms of employment and career prospects in order that they may compare
favorably with existing opportunities in other walks of life, attract and retain in the teaching
profession more people with the proper qualifications, it being recognized that advance in education
depends on the qualifications and ability of the teaching staff and that education is an essential
factor in the economic growth of the nation as a productive investment of vital importance.

Section 2. Title Definition. This Act shall be known as the "Magna Carta for Public School Teachers"
and shall apply to all public school teachers except those in the professorial staff of state colleges
and universities.

As used in this Act, the term "teacher" shall mean all persons engaged in classroom teaching, in any
level of instruction, on full-time basis, including guidance counselors, school librarians, industrial arts
or vocational instructors, and all other persons performing supervisory and/or administrative
functions in all schools, colleges and universities operated by the Government or its political
subdivisions; but shall not include school nurses, school physicians, school dentists, and other
school employees.

II. RECRUITMENT AND CAREER

Section 3. Recruitment and Qualification. Recruitment policy with respect to the selection and
appointment of teachers shall be clearly defined by the Department of
Education: Provided, however, That effective upon the approval of this Act, the following shall
constitute the minimum educational qualifications for teacher-applicants:

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 (a) For teachers in the kindergarten and elementary grades, Bachelor's degree in
Elementary Education (B.S.E.ED.);

(b) For teachers of the secondary schools, Bachelor's degree in Education or its equivalent
with a major and a minor; or a Bachelor's degree in Arts or Science with at least eighteen
professional units in Education.

(c) For teachers of secondary vocational and two years technical courses, Bachelor's degree
in the field of specialization with at least eighteen professional units in education;

(d) For teachers of courses on the collegiate level, other than vocational, master's degree
with a specific area of specialization;

Provided, further, That in the absence of applicants who possess the minimum educational
qualifications as hereinabove provided, the school superintendent may appoint, under a temporary
status, applicants who do not meet the minimum qualifications: Provided, further, That should
teacher-applicants, whether they possess the minimum educational qualifications or not, be required
to take competitive examinations, preference in making appointments shall be in the order of their
respective ranks in said competitive examinations: And provided, finally, That the results of the
examinations shall be made public and every applicant shall be furnished with his score and rank in
said examinations.

Section 4. Probationary Period. When recruitment takes place after adequate training and
professional preparation in any school recognized by the Government, no probationary period
preceding regular appointment shall be imposed if the teacher possesses the appropriate civil
service eligibility: Provided, however, That where, due to the exigencies of the service, it is
necessary to employ as teacher a person who possesses the minimum educational qualifications
herein above set forth but lacks the appropriate civil service eligibility, such person shall be
appointed on a provisional status and shall undergo a period of probation for not less than one year
from and after the date of his provisional appointment.

Section 5. Tenure of Office. Stability on employment and security of tenure shall be assured the
teachers as provided under existing laws.

Subject to the provisions of Section three hereof, teachers appointed on a provisional status for lack
of necessary civil service eligibility shall be extended permanent appointment for the position he is
holding after having rendered at least ten years of continuous, efficient and faithful service in such
position.

Section 6. Consent for Transfer Transportation Expenses. Except for cause and as herein otherwise
provided, no teacher shall be transferred without his consent from one station to another.

Where the exigencies of the service require the transfer of a teacher from one station to another,
such transfer may be effected by the school superintendent who shall previously notify the teacher
concerned of the transfer and the reason or reasons therefor. If the teacher believes there is no
justification for the transfer, he may appeal his case to the Director of Public Schools or the Director
of Vocational Education, as the case may be. Pending his appeal and the decision thereon, his
transfer shall be held in abeyance: Provided, however, That no transfers whatever shall be made
three months before any local or national election.

Necessary transfer expenses of the teacher and his family shall be paid for by the Government if his
transfer is finally approved.

Section 7. Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers. Within six months from the approval of this
Act, the Secretary of Education shall formulate and prepare a Code of Professional Conduct for
Public School Teachers. A copy of the Code shall be furnished each teacher: Provided, however,
That where this is not possible by reason of inadequate fiscal resources of the Department of

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Education, at least three copies of the same Code shall be deposited with the office of the school
principal or head teacher where they may be accessible for use by the teachers.

Section 8. Safeguards in Disciplinary Procedure. Every teacher shall enjoy equitable safeguards at

each stage of any disciplinary procedure and shall have:

a. the right to be informed, in writing, of the charges;

b. the right to full access to the evidence in the case;

c. the right to defend himself and to be defended by a representative of his choice and/or by
his organization, adequate time being given to the teacher for the preparation of his defense;
and

d. the right to appeal to clearly designated authorities.

No publicity shall be given to any disciplinary action being taken against a teacher during the
pendency of his case.

Section 9. Administrative Charges. Administrative charges against a teacher shall be heard initially

by a committee composed of the corresponding School Superintendent of the Division or a duly
authorized representative who should at least have the rank of a division supervisor, where the
teacher belongs, as chairman, a representative of the local or, in its absence, any existing provincial
or national teacher's organization and a supervisor of the Division, the last two to be designated by
the Director of Public Schools. The committee shall submit its findings and recommendations to the
Director of Public Schools within thirty days from the termination of the hearings: Provided, however,
That where the school superintendent is the complainant or an interested party, all the members of
the committee shall be appointed by the Secretary of Education.

Section 10. No Discrimination. There shall be no discrimination whatsoever in entrance to the

teaching profession, or during its exercise, or in the termination of services, based on other than
professional consideration.

Section 11. Married Teachers. Whenever possible, the proper authorities shall take all steps to
enable married couples, both of whom are public school teachers, to be employed in the same
locality.

Section 12. Academic Freedom. Teachers shall enjoy academic freedom in the discharge of their
professional duties, particularly with regard to teaching and classroom methods.

III. HOURS OF WORK AND REMUNERATION

Section 13. Teaching Hours. Any teacher engaged in actual classroom instruction shall not be
required to render more than six hours of actual classroom teaching a day, which shall be so
scheduled as to give him time for the preparation and correction of exercises and other work
incidental to his normal teaching duties: Provided, however, That where the exigencies of the service
so require, any teacher may be required to render more than six hours but not exceeding eight hours
of actual classroom teaching a day upon payment of additional compensation at the same rate as
his regular remuneration plus at least twenty-five per cent of his basic pay.

Section 14. Additional Compensation. Notwithstanding any provision of existing law to the contrary,

co-curricular and out of school activities and any other activities outside of what is defined as normal
duties of any teacher shall be paid an additional compensation of at least twenty-five per cent of his
regular remuneration after the teacher has completed at least six hours of actual classroom teaching
a day.

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In the case of other teachers or school officials not engaged in actual classroom instruction, any
work performed in excess of eight hours a day shall be paid an additional compensation of at least
twenty-five per cent of their regular remuneration.

The agencies utilizing the services of teachers shall pay the additional compensation required under
this section.  Education authorities shall refuse to allow the rendition of services of teachers for other
1âшphi1

government agencies without the assurance that the teachers shall be paid the remuneration
provided for under this section.

Section 15. Criteria for Salaries. Teacher's salaries shall correspond to the following criteria:

(a) they shall compare favorably with those paid in other occupations requiring equivalent or
similar qualifications, training and abilities;

(b) they shall be such as to insure teachers a reasonable standard of life for themselves and
their families; and

(c) they shall be properly graded so as to recognize the fact that certain positions require
higher qualifications and greater responsibility than others: Provided, however, That the
general salary scale shall be such that the relation between the lowest and highest salaries
paid in the profession will be of reasonable order. Narrowing of the salary scale shall be
achieved by raising the lower end of the salary scales relative to the upper end.

Section 16. Salary Scale. Salary scales of teachers shall provide for a gradual progression from a
minimum to a maximum salary by means of regular increments, granted automatically after three
years: Provided, That the efficiency rating of the teacher concerned is at least satisfactory. The
progression from the minimum to the maximum of the salary scale shall not extend over a period of
ten years.

Section 17. Equality in Salary Scales. The salary scales of teachers whose salaries are
appropriated by a city, municipal, municipal district, or provincial government, shall not be less than
those provided for teachers of the National Government.

Section 18. Cost of Living Allowance. Teacher's salaries shall, at the very least, keep pace with the
rise in the cost of living by the payment of a cost-of-living allowance which shall automatically follow
changes in a cost-of-living index. The Secretary of Education shall, in consultation with the proper
government entities, recommend to Congress, at least annually, the appropriation of the necessary
funds for the cost-of-living allowances of teachers employed by the National Government. The
determination of the cost-of-living allowances by the Secretary of Education shall, upon approval of
the President of the Philippines, be binding on the city, municipal or provincial government, for the
purposes of calculating the cost-of-living allowances of teachers under its employ.

Section 19. Special Hardship Allowances. In areas in which teachers are exposed to hardship such
as difficulty in commuting to the place of work or other hazards peculiar to the place of employment,
as determined by the Secretary of Education, they shall be compensated special hardship
allowances equivalent to at least twenty-five per cent of their monthly salary.

Section 20. Salaries to be Paid in Legal Tender. Salaries of teachers shall be paid in legal tender of
the Philippines or its equivalent in checks or treasury warrants. Provided, however, That such
checks or treasury warrants shall be cashable in any national, provincial, city or municipal treasurer's
office or any banking institutions operating under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines.

Section 21. Deductions Prohibited. No person shall make any deduction whatsoever from the
salaries of teachers except under specific authority of law authorizing such
deductions: Provided, however, That upon written authority executed by the teacher concerned, (1)
lawful dues and fees owing to the Philippine Public School Teachers Association, and (2) premiums
properly due on insurance policies, shall be considered deductible.

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IV. HEALTH MEASURES AND INJURY BENEFITS

Section 22. Medical Examination and Treatment. Compulsory medical examination shall be

provided free of charge for all teachers before they take up teaching, and shall be repeated not less
than once a year during the teacher's professional life. Where medical examination show that
medical treatment and/or hospitalization is necessary, same shall be provided free by the
government entity paying the salary of the teachers.

In regions where there is scarcity of medical facilities, teachers may obtain elsewhere the necessary
medical care with the right to be reimbursed for their traveling expenses by the government entity
concerned in the first paragraph of this Section.

Section 23. Compensation For Injuries. Teachers shall be protected against the consequences of

employment injuries in accordance with existing laws. The effects of the physical and nervous strain
on the teacher's health shall be recognized as a compensable occupational disease in accordance
with existing laws.

V. LEAVE AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS

Section 24. Study Leave. In addition to the leave privileges now enjoyed by teachers in the public
schools, they shall be entitled to study leave not exceeding one school year after seven years of
service. Such leave shall be granted in accordance with a schedule set by the Department of
Education. During the period of such leave, the teachers shall be entitled to at least sixty per cent of
their monthly salary: Provided, however, That no teacher shall be allowed to accumulate more than
one year study leave, unless he needs an additional semester to finish his thesis for a graduate
study in education or allied courses: Provided, further, That no compensation shall be due the
teacher after the first year of such leave. In all cases, the study leave period shall be counted for
seniority and pension purposes.

The compensation allowed for one year study leave as herein provided shall be subject to the
condition that the teacher takes the regular study load and passes at least seventy-five per cent of
his courses. Study leave of more than one year may be permitted by the Secretary of Education but
without compensation.

Section 25. Indefinite Leave. An indefinite sick leave of absence shall be granted to teachers when
the nature of the illness demands a long treatment that will exceed one year at the least.

Section 26. Salary Increase upon Retirement. Public school teachers having fulfilled the age and
service requirements of the applicable retirement laws shall be given one range salary raise upon
retirement, which shall be the basis of the computation of the lump sum of the retirement pay and
the monthly benefits thereafter.

VI. TEACHER'S ORGANIZATION

Section 27. Freedom to Organize. Public school teachers shall have the right to freely and without
previous authorization both to establish and to join organizations of their choosing, whether local or
national to further and defend their interests.

Section 28. Discrimination Against Teachers Prohibited. The rights established in the immediately

preceding Section shall be exercised without any interference or coercion. It shall be unlawful for any
person to commit any acts of discrimination against teachers which are calculated to (a) make the
employment of a teacher subject to the condition that he shall not join an organization, or shall
relinquish membership in an organization,

(b) to cause the dismissal of or otherwise prejudice a teacher by reason of his membership in
an organization or because of participation in organization activities outside school hours, or
with the consent of the proper school authorities, within school hours, and (c) to prevent him

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 from carrying out the duties laid upon him by his position in the organization, or to penalize
him for an action undertaken in that capacity.

Section 29. National Teacher's Organizations. National teachers' organizations shall be consulted in

the formulation of national educational policies and professional standards, and in the formulation of
national policies governing the social security of the teachers.

VII. ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT

Section 30. Rules and Regulations. The Secretary of Education shall formulate and prepare the
necessary rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this Act. Rules and regulations
issued pursuant to this Section shall take effect thirty days after publication in a newspaper of
general circulation and by such other means as the Secretary of Education deems reasonably
sufficient to give interested parties general notice of such issuance.

Section 31. Budgetary Estimates. The Secretary of Education shall submit to Congress annually the
necessary budgetary estimates to implement the provisions of the Act concerning the benefits herein
granted to public school teachers under the employ of the National Government.

Section 32. Penal Provision. A person who shall willfully interfere with, restrain or coerce any
teacher in the exercise of his rights guaranteed by this Act or who shall in any other manner commit
any act to defeat any of the provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not
less than one hundred pesos nor more than one thousand pesos, or by imprisonment, in the
discretion of the court.

If the offender is a public official, the court shall order his dismissal from the Government service.

Section 33. Repealing Clause. All Acts or parts of Acts, executive orders and their implementing
rules inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified
accordingly.

Section 34. Separability Clause. If any provision of this Act is declared invalid, the remainder of this
Act or any provisions not affected thereby shall remain in force and in effect.

Section 35. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 18, 1966

D. Teachers’ Rights, Duties and Responsibilities – The Education Act of 1982

(BP 232)

BATAS PAMBANSA BLG. 232

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF AN

INTEGRATED SYSTEM OF EDUCATION

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

CHAPTER 1
Preliminary Matters

Section 1. Title - This Act shall be known as the "Education Act of 1982."

Section 2. Coverage - This Act shall apply to and govern both formal and non-formal
systems in public and private schools in all levels of the entire educational system.

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CHAPTER 2
Declaration of Basic State Policy and Objectives

Section 3. Declaration of Basic Policy - It is the policy of the State to established and
maintain a complete, adequate and integrated system of education relevant to the goals of
national development. Toward this end, the government shall ensure, within the context of
a free and democratic system, maximum contribution of the educational system to the
attainment of the following national developmental goals:

1. To achieve and maintain an accelerating rate of economic development and social

progress;

2. To ensure the maximum participation of all the people in the attainment and
enjoyment of the benefits of such growth; and

3. To achieve and strengthen national unity and consciousness and preserve,

develop and promote desirable cultural, moral and spiritual values in a changing
world.

The State shall promote the right of every individual to relevant quality education,
regardless of sex, age, creed, socio-economic status, physical and mental conditions, racial
or ethnic origin, political or other affiliation. The State shall therefore promote and maintain
equality of access to education as well as the enjoyment of the benefits of education by all
its citizens.

The state shall promote the right of the nation's cultural communities in the exercise of their
right to develop themselves within the context of their cultures, customs, traditions, interest
and belief, and recognizes education as an instrument for their maximum participation in
national development and in ensuring their involvement in achieving national unity.

Section 4. Declaration of Objectives - The educational system aims to:

1. Provide for a broad general education that will assist each individual in the
peculiar ecology of his own society, to

(a) attain his potentials as a human being;

(b) enhance the range and quality of individual and group participation in the
basic functions of society; and

(c) acquire the essential educational foundation of his development into a

productive and versatile citizen;

2. Train the nation's manpower in the middle-level skills for national development;

3. Develop the profession that will provide leadership for the nation in the
advancement of knowledge for improving the quality of human life; and

4. Respond effectively to changing needs and conditions of the nation through a

system of educational planning and evaluation.

Towards the realization of these objectives, and pursuant to the Constitution, all educational
institutions shall aim to inculcate love of country, teach the duties of citizenship, and
develop moral character, personal discipline, and scientific, technological, and vocational
efficiency.

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Furthermore, the educational system shall reach out to educationally deprived communities,
in order to give meaningful reality to their membership in the national society, to enrich
their civic participation in the community and national life, and to unify all Filipinos into a
free and just nation.

II. THE EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY

CHAPTER 1
Preliminary Provisions

Section 5. Declaration of Policy and Objectives - It is likewise declared government policy

to foster, at all times, a spirit of shared purposes and cooperation among the members and
elements of the educational community, and between the community and other sectors of
society, in the realization that only in such an atmosphere can be true goals and objectives
of education be fulfilled.

Moreover, the State shall:

1. Aid and support the natural right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth
through the educational system.

2. Promote and safeguard the welfare and interest of the students by defining their
rights and obligations, according them privileges, and encouraging the establishment
of sound relationships between them and the other members of the school
community.

3. Promote the social economic status of all school personnel, uphold their rights,
define their obligations, and improve their living and working conditions and career
prospects.

4. Extend support to promote the viability of those institutions through which

parents, students and school personnel seek to attain their educational goals.

Section 6. Definition and Coverage - "Educational community" refers to those persons or

groups of persons as such or associated in institutions involved in organized teaching and
learning systems.

The members and elements of the educational community are:

1. "Parents" or guardians or the head of the institution or foster home which has
custody of the pupil or student.

2. "Students," or those enrolled in and who regularly attend and educational

institution of secondary or higher level of a person engaged in formal study. "Pupils,"
are those who regularly attend a school of elementary level under the supervision
and tutelage of a teacher.

3 "School personnel," or all persons working for an educational institution, which

includes the following:

a. "Teaching or academic staff," or all persons engaged in actual teaching

and/or research assignments, either on full-time or part-time basis, in all
levels of the educational system.

b. "School administrators," or all persons occupying policy implementing

positions having to do with the functions of the school in all levels.

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 c. "Academic non-teaching personnel," or those persons holding some
academic qualifications and performing academic functions directly supportive
of teaching, such as registrars, librarians, research assistants, research aides,
and similar staff.

d. "Non-academic personnel," or all other school personnel not falling under

the definition and coverage of teaching and academic staff, school
administrators and academic non-teaching personnel.

4. "Schools," or institutions recognized by the State which undertake educational

operations.

Section 7. Community Participation. - Every educational institution shall provide for the
establishment of appropriate bodies through which the members of the educational
community may discuss relevant issues, and communicate information and suggestions for
assistance and support of the school and for the promotion of their common interest.

Representatives from each subgroup of the educational community shall sit and participate
in these bodies, the rules and procedures of which must be approved by them and duly
published.

CHAPTER 2
Rights

Section 8. Rights of Parents - In addition to other rights under existing laws, all parents
who have children enrolled in a school have the following rights:

1. The right to organize by themselves and/or with teachers for the purpose of
providing a forum for the discussion of matters relating to the total school program,
and for ensuring the full cooperation of parents and teachers in the formulation and
efficient implementation of such programs.

2. The right to access to any official record directly relating to the children who are
under their parental responsibility.

Section 9. Right of Students in School - In addition to other rights, and subject to the
limitation prescribed by law and regulations, and student and pupils in all schools shall
enjoy the following rights:

1. The right to receive, primarily through competent instruction, relevant quality

education in line with national goals and conducive to their full development as
person with human dignity.

2. The right to freely choose their field of study subject to existing curricula and to
continue their course therein up to graduation, except in cases of academic
deficiency, or violation of disciplinary regulations.

3. The right to school guidance and counseling services for decisions and selecting
the alternatives in fields of work suited to his potentialities.

4. The right of access to his own school records, the confidentiality of which the
school shall maintain and preserve.

5. The right to the issuance of official certificates, diplomas, transcript of records,

grades, transfer credentials and other similar documents within thirty days from
request.

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 6. The right to publish a student newspaper and similar publications, as well as the
right to invite resource persons during assemblies, symposia and other activities of
similar nature.

7. The right to free expression of opinions and suggestions, and to effective channels
of communication with appropriate academic channels and administrative bodies of
the school or institution.

8. The right to form, establish, join and participate in organizations and societies
recognized by the school to foster their intellectual, cultural, spiritual and physical
growth and development, or to form, establish, join and maintain organizations and
societies for purposes not contrary to law.

9. The right to be free from involuntary contributions, except those approved by their
own he organizations or societies.

Section 10. Rights of all School Personnel - In addition to other rights provided for by law,
the following rights shall be enjoyed by all school personnel:

1. The right to free expression of opinion and suggestions, and to effective channels
of communication with appropriate academic and administrative bodies of the school
or institution.

2. The right to be provided with free legal service by the appropriate government
office in the case of public-school personnel, and through the school authorities
concerned in the case of private school personnel, when charged in an
administrative, civil and/or criminal proceedings by parties other than the school or
regulatory authorities concerned for actions committed directly in the lawful
discharge of professional duties and/or in defense of school policies.

3. The right to establish, join and maintain labor organizations and/or professional
and self-regulating organizations of their choice to promote their welfare and defend
their interests.

4. The right to be free from involuntary contributions except those imposed by their
own organizations.

Section 11. Special Rights and/or Privileges of Teaching or Academic Staff - Further to the
rights mentioned in the preceding Section, every member of the teaching or academic staff
shall enjoy the following rights and/or privileges:

1. The right to be free from compulsory assignments not related to their duties as
defined in their appointments or employment contracts, unless compensated
therefor, conformably to existing law.

2. The right to intellectual property consistent with applicable laws.

3. Teachers shall be deemed persons in authority when in the discharge of lawful

duties and responsibilities, and shall, therefore, be accorded due respect and
protection.

4. Teachers shall be accorded the opportunity to choose alternative career lines

either in school administration, in classroom teaching, or others, for purposes of
career advancement.

Section 12. Special Rights of School Administration - School administrators shall, in

accordance with existing laws, regulations and policies of the Ministry of Education, Culture

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and Sports, be accorded sufficient administrative discretion necessary for the efficient and
effective performance of their functions.

School administrators shall be deemed persons in authority while in the discharge of lawful
duties and responsibilities, and shall therefore be accorded due respect and protection.

Section 13. Rights of Schools - In addition to other rights provided for by law, schools shall
enjoy the following:

1. The right of their governing boards or lawful authorities to provide for the proper
governance of the school and to adopt and enforce administrative or management
systems.

2. The right for institutions of higher learning to determine on academic grounds who
shall be admitted to study, who may teach, and what shall be subjects of the study
and research.

CHAPTER 3
Duties and Obligations

Section 14. Duties of Parents. - In addition to those provided for under existing laws, all
parents shall have the following duties and obligations:

1. Parents, individually or collectively, through the school systems, shall help carry
out the educational objectives in accordance with national goals.

2. Parents shall be obliged to enable their children to obtain elementary education

and shall strive to enable them to obtain secondary and higher education in the
pursuance of the right formation of the youth.

3. Parents shall cooperate with the school in the implementation of the school
program curricular and co-curricular.

Section 15. Duties and Responsibilities of Students - In addition to those provided for

under existing laws, every student shall:

1. Exert his utmost to develop his potentialities for service, particularly by

undergoing an education suited to his abilities, in order that he may become an asset
to his family and to society.

2. Uphold the academic integrity of the school, endeavor to achieve academic

excellence and abide by the rules and regulations governing his academic
responsibilities and moral integrity.

3. Promote and maintain the peace and tranquility of the school by observing the
rules and discipline, and by exerting efforts to attain harmonious relationships with
fellow students, the teaching and academic staff and other school personnel.

4. Participate actively in civic affairs and in the promotion of the general welfare,
particularly in the social, economic and cultural development of his community and in
the attainment of a just, compassionate and orderly society.

5. Exercise his rights responsibly in the knowledge that he is answerable for any
infringement or violation of the public welfare and of the rights of others.

Section 16. Teacher's Obligations - Every teacher shall:

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 1. Perform his duties to the school by discharging his responsibilities in accordance
with the philosophy, goals, and objectives of the school.

2. Be accountable for the efficient and effective attainment of specified learning

objectives in pursuance of national development goals within the limits of available
school resources.

3. Render regular reports on performance of each student and to the latter and the
latter's parents and guardians with specific suggestions for improvement.

4. Assume the responsibility to maintain and sustain his professional growth and
advancement and maintain professionalism in his behavior at all times.

5. Refrain from making deductions in students' scholastic rating for acts that are
clearly not manifestations of poor scholarship.

6. Participate as an agent of constructive social, economic, moral, intellectual,

cultural and political change in his school and the community within the context of
national policies.

Section 17. School Administrators' Obligations - Every school administrator shall:

1. Perform his duties to the school by discharging his responsibilities in accordance

with the philosophy, goals and objectives of the school.

2. Be accountable for the efficient and effective administration and management of

the school.

3. Develop and maintain a healthy school atmosphere conducive to the promotion

and preservation of academic freedom and effective teaching and learning, and to
harmonious and progressive school-personnel relationship.

4. Assume and maintain professional behavior in his work and in dealing with
students, teachers, academic non-teaching personnel, administrative staff, and
parents or guardians.

5. Render adequate reports to teachers, academic non-teaching personnel and non-

academic staff on their actual performance in relation to their expected performance
and counsel them on ways of improving the same.

6. Observe due process, fairness, promptness, privacy, constructiveness and

consistency in disciplining his teachers and other personnel.

7. Maintain adequate records and submit required reports to the Ministry of

Education, Culture and Sports.

Section 18. Obligations of Academic Non-Teaching Personnel - Academic non-teaching

personnel shall:

1. Improve himself professionally be keeping abreast of the latest trends and

techniques in his profession.

2. Assume, promote and maintain an atmosphere conducive to service and learning.

3. Promote and maintain an atmosphere conducive to service and learning.

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 III. THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS

CHAPTER 1
Formal Education

Section 19. Declaration of Policy. - The State recognizes that formal education, or the
school system, in society's primary learning system, and therefore the main instrument for
the achievement of the country's educational goals and objectives.

Section 20. Definition - "Formal Educational" refers to the hierarchically structured and

chronologically graded learning organized and provided by the formal school system and for
which certification is required in order for the learner to progress through the grades or
move to higher levels. Formal education shall correspond to the following levels:

1. Elementary Education. - the first stage of compulsory, formal education primarily

concerned with providing basic education and usually corresponding to six or seven
grades, including pre-school programs.

2. Secondary Education. - the state of formal education following the elementary

level concerned primarily with continuing basic education and expanding it to include
the learning of employable gainful skills, usually corresponding to four years of high
school.

3. Tertiary Education. - post secondary schooling is higher education leading to a

degree in a specific profession or discipline.

Section 21. Objectives of Elementary Education - The objectives of elementary education

are:

1. To provide the knowledge and develop the skills, attitudes, and values essential to
personal development and necessary for living in and contributing to a developing
and changing social milieu;

2. To provide learning experiences which increase the child's awareness of and

responsiveness to the changes in and just demands of society and to prepare him for
constructive and effective involvement;

3. To promote and intensify the child's knowledge of, identification with, and love for
the nation and the people to which he belongs; and

4. To promote work experiences which develop the child's orientation to the world of
work and creativity and prepare himself to engage in honest and gainful work.

Section 22. Objectives of Secondary Education. - The objectives of secondary education

are:

1. To continue to promote the objectives of elementary education; and

2. To discover and enhance the different aptitudes and interests of the students so
as to equip him with skills for productive endeavor and/or prepare him for tertiary
schooling.

Section 23. Objective of Tertiary Education. - The objectives of tertiary education are:

1. To provide a general education program that will promote national identity,

cultural consciousness, moral integrity and spiritual vigor;

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 2. To train the nation's manpower in the skills required for national development;

3. To develop the professions that will provide leadership for the nation; and

4. To advance knowledge through research work and apply new knowledge for
improving the quality of human life and responding effectively to changing societal
needs and conditions.

CHAPTER 2
Non-Education and Specialized Educational Services

Section 24. Specialized Educational Service - The State further recognizes its responsibility
to provide, within the context of the formal education system, services to meet special
needs of certain clientele. These specific types, which shall be guided by the basic policies of
the State embodied in the General Provisions of this Act, include:

1. "Work Education," or "Practical Arts," as a program of basic education which aims

to develop the right attitudes towards work; and "technical-vocational education,"
post-secondary but non-degree programs leading to one, two, or three year
certificates in preparation for a group of middle-level occupations.

2. "Special Education," the education of persons who are physically, mentally,

emotionally, socially, or culturally different from the so-called "normal" individuals
that they require modification of school practices/services to develop them to their
maximum capacity; and

3. "Non-formal Education," any organized school-based educational activities

undertaken by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports and other agencies
aimed at attaining specific learning objectives for a particular clientele, especially the
illiterates and the out-of-school youth and adults, distinct from and outside the
regular offerings of the formal school system.

The objectives of non-formal education are as follows:

a. To eradicate illiteracy and raise the level of functional literacy of the

population;

b. To provide unemployed and underemployed youth and adults with

appropriate vocational/technical skills to enable them to become more
productive and effective citizens; and

c. To develop among the clientele of non-formal education proper values and

attitudes necessary for personal, community and national development.

CHAPTER 3
Establishment of Schools

Section 25. Establishment of Schools - All schools shall be established in accordance with

law. The establishment of new national schools and the conversion of existing schools from
elementary to national secondary or tertiary schools shall be by law: Provided, That any
private school proposed to be established must incorporate as an non-stock educational
corporation in accordance with the provisions of the Corporation Code of the Philippines.
This requirement to incorporate may be waived in the case of family-administered pre-
school institutions.

Government assistance to such schools for educational programs shall be used exclusively
for that purpose.

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Section 26. Definition of Terms - The terms used in this Chapter are defined as follows:

1. "Schools" are duly established institutions of learning or educational institutions.

2. "Public Schools" are educational institutions established and administered by the

government.

3. "Private Schools" are educational institutions maintained and administered by

private individuals or groups.

Section 27. Recognition of Schools - The educational operations of schools shall be subject

to their prior authorization of the government, and shall be affected by recognition. In the
case of government operated schools, whether local, regional, or national, recognition of
educational programs and/or operations shall be deemed granted simultaneously with
establishment.

In all other case the rules and regulations governing recognition shall be prescribed and
enforced by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports defining therein who are qualified
to apply, providing for a permit system, stating the conditions for the grant of recognition
and for its cancellation and withdrawal, and providing for related matters.

Section 28. Effects of Recognition; Punishable Violations - The issuance of a certificate of

recognition to a school shall have the following effects:

1. It transforms the temporary permit to a permanent authority to operate;

2. It entitled the school or college to give the students who have completed the
course for which recognition is granted, a certificate, title or diploma; and

3. It shall entitle the students who have graduated from said recognized course or
courses to all the benefits and privileges enjoyed by graduates in similar courses of
studies in all schools recognized by the government.

Operation of schools and educational programs without authorization, and/or operation

thereof in violation of the terms of recognition, are hereby declared punishable violations
subject to the penalties provided in this Act.

Section 29. Voluntary Accreditation - The Ministry shall encourage programs of voluntary

accreditation for institution which desire to meet standards of quality over and above
minimum required for State recognition.

CHAPTER 4
Internal Organization of Schools

Section 30. Organization of Schools - Each school shall establish such internal organization
as will best enable it to carry out its academic and administrative functions, subject to
limitations provided by law.

Each school establish such arrangements for the peaceful settlement of disputes between or
among the members of the educational community.

Section 31. Governing Board - Every government college or university as a tertiary

institution and every private school shall have a governing board pursuant to its charter or
the Corporation Code of the Philippines, as the case may be.

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Section 32. Personnel Transactions - The terms and conditions of employment of personnel
in government schools shall be governed by the Civil Service, budgetary and compensation
laws and rules.

In private schools, dispute arising from employer-employee relations shall fall under the
jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labor and Employment as provided for by law regulations:
Provided, That in view of the special employment status of the teaching and academic non-
teaching personnel, and their special roles in the advancement of knowledge, standards set
or promulgated jointly by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports and by the Ministry
of Labor and Employment shall be applied by the Ministry of Labor and Employment:
Provided, further, That every private school shall establish and implement an appropriate
system within the school for the prompt and orderly settlement of provisions of Articles 262
and 263 of the Labor Code.

CHAPTER 5
School Finance and Assistance

Section 33. Declaration of Policy - It is hereby declared to be the policy of the State that
the national government shall contribute to the financial support of educational programs
pursuant to goals of education as declared in the Constitution. Towards this end, the
government shall:

1. Adopt measures to broaden access to education through financial assistance and

other forms of incentives to schools, teachers, pupils and students; and

2. Encourage and stimulate private support to education through, inter alia, fiscal
and other assistance measures.

A. FUNDING OF REPUBLIC SCHOOLS

Section 34. National Funds - Public school shall continue to be funded from national funds:
Provided, That local governments shall be encouraged to assume operation of local public
schools on the basis of national fund participation and adequate revenue sources which may
be assigned by the national government for the purpose.

Section 35. Financial Aid Assistance to Public Secondary Schools - The national

government shall extend financial aid and assistance to public secondary schools established
and maintained by local governments, including barangay high schools.

Section 36. Share of Local Government - Provinces, cities and municipalities and barangays
shall appropriate funds in their annual budgets for the operation and maintenance of public
secondary schools on the basis of national fund participation.

Section 37. Special Education Fund - The proceeds of the Special Education Fund accruing
to local governments shall be used exclusively for the purposes enumerated in Section 1 of
Republic Act No. 5447, and in accordance with rules and regulations issued by the Ministry
of Education, Culture and Sports and the Ministry of the Budget. Said proceeds shall be
considered a local fund and shall be subject to Presidential Decrees No. 477, Presidential
Decree No. 1375 and other applicable local budget laws and regulations.

Section 38. Tuition and other School Fees - Secondary and post-secondary schools may
charge tuition and other school fees, in order to improve facilities or to accommodate more
students.

Section 39. Income from other Sources - Government-supported educational institution

may receive grants, legacies, donations and gifts for purposes allowed by existing laws.

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Furthermore, income generated from production activities and from auxiliary enterprises
may be retained and used for schools concerned in accordance with rules and regulations
jointly issued consistently with pertinent appropriation and budgetary laws by the Ministry of
the Budget, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports and the Commission on Audit.

B. FUNDING OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS

Section 40. Funding of Private Schools - Private schools may be funded from their capital
investment or equity contributions, tuition fees and other school charges, grants, loans,
subsidies, passive investment income and income from other sources.

Section 41. Government Assistance - The government, in recognition of their

complementary role in the educational system, may provide aid to the programs of private
schools in the form of grants or scholarships, or loans from government financial
institutions: Provided, That such programs meet certain defined educational requirements
and standards and contribute to the attainment of national development goals.

Section 42. Tuition and Other Fees - Each private school shall determine its rate of tuition
and other school fees or charges. The rates and charges adopted by schools pursuant to this
provision shall be collectible, and their application or use authorized, subject to rules and
regulations promulgated by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports.

Section 43. Income from Other Sources - Any private school duly recognized by the
government, may receive any grant and legacy, donation, gift, bequest or devise from any
individual, institution, corporation, foundation, trust of philanthropic organization, or
research institution or organization as may be authorized by law.

Furthermore, private schools are authorized to engage in any auxiliary enterprise to

generate income primarily to finance their educational operations and/or to reduce the need
to increase students' fees.

Section 44. Institutional Funds - The proceeds from tuition fees and other school charges,
as well as other income of schools, shall be treated as institutional funds. Schools may pool
their institutional funds, in whole or in part, under joint management for the purpose of
generating additional financial resources.

C. INCENTIVES TO EDUCATION

Section 45. Declaration of Policy - It is the policy of the State in the pursuit of its national
education development goals to provide an incentive program to encourage the participation
of the community in the development of the educational sector.

Section 46. Relating to School Property - Real property, such as lands, buildings and other
improvements thereon used actually, directly and exclusively for educational purposes shall
be subject to the real property tax based on an assessment of fifteen per cent of the market
value of such property: Provided, That all the proceeds from the payment thereof shall
accrue to a special private education fund which shall be managed and disbursed by a local
private school board which shall be constituted in each municipality or chartered city with
private educational institutions with the mayor or his representative as chairman and not
more than two representatives of the institutional taxpayers, and, likewise, not more than
two residents of the municipality or chartered city who are alumni of any of the institutional
taxpayers as members: Provided, further, That fifty percent of the additional one percent
tax on real estate property provided for under Republic Act 5447, shall accrue to the
special private education fund: Provided, finally, That in municipalities or chartered cities
wherein the number of private institutions with individual enrollment of pupils and students
over five thousand exceeds fifteen, the members of the private school board shall be
increased to not more than fourteen members determined proportionately by the Minister of

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Education, Culture and Sports. The private school board shall adopt its own rules which shall
enable it to finance the annual programs and projects of each institutional taxpayer for the
following purposes; student-pupil scholarships; improvement of instructional, including
laboratory, facilities and/or equipment; library books and periodicals acquisition; and
extension service in the community, in that order of priority.

Section 47. Relating to Gifts or Donations to Schools - All gifts or donation in favor of any
school, college or university recognized by the Government shall not be subject to tax;
Provided, That such gifts or donations shall be for improvement of classrooms and
laboratory of library facilities, and shall not inure to the benefit of any officer, director,
official, or owner or owners of the school, or paid out as salary, adjustments or allowance of
any form or nature whatsoever, except in support of faculty and/or professorial chairs.

Section 48. Relating to Earnings from Established Scholarship Funds - All earnings from the
investment of any duly established scholarship fund of any school recognized by the
government, constituted from gifts to the school, and/or from contributions or other
resources assigned to said fund by the school, if said earnings are actually used to fund
additional scholarship grants to financially deserving students shall be exempt from tax until
the scholarship fund is fully liquidated, when the outstanding balance thereof shall be
subject to tax.

Section 49. School Dispersal Program - All gains realized from the sale, disposition or
transfer of property, real or personal, of any duly established private school, college or
university, in pursuance of a school dispersal program of the government or of the
educational institution as approved by the government, shall be considered exempt from tax
if the total proceeds of the sale are reinvested in a new or existing duly established school,
college, or university located in the dispersal site, within one (1) year from the date of such
sale, transfer or disposition; otherwise, all taxes due on the gains realized from the
transaction shall immediately become due and payable.

Section 50. Conversion to Educational Foundations - An educational institution may convert

itself into a non-stock, non-profit educational foundation, in accordance with the
implementing rules to be issued jointly by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports and
the Ministry of Finance.

In the case of stock corporations, if for any reason its corporate existence as an educational
institution ceases and is not renewed, all its net assets after liquidation of the liabilities and
other obligations may be conveyed and transferred to any non-profit educational institution
or successor non-profit educational institution or to be used in such manner as in the
judgment of said court will best accomplish the general purposes for which the dissolved
organization was organized, or to the State.

D. ASSISTANCE TO STUDENTS

Section 51. Government Assistance to Students - The government shall provide financial

assistance to financially disadvantaged and deserving students. Such assistance may be in
the form of State scholarships, grants-in-aid, assistance from the Educational Loan Fund, or
subsidized tuition rates in State colleges and universities.

All the above and similar assistance programs shall provide for reserve quotas for financially
needed but academically qualified students from the national cultural communities.

Section 52. Grant of Scholarship Pursuant to Existing Laws - Educational institutions shall

be encouraged to grant scholarships to students pursuant to the provisions of existing laws
and such scholarship measures as may hereafter be provided for by law.

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Section 53. Assistance from the Private Sector - The private sector, especially educational
institutions, business and industry, shall be encouraged to grant financial assistance to
students, especially those undertaking research in the fields of science and technology or in
such projects as may be necessary within the context of national development.

IV. THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND SPORTS

CHAPTER 1
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 54. Declaration of Policy - The administration of the education system and,

pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution, the supervision and regulation of educational
institutions are hereby vested in the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, without
prejudice to the provisions of the charter of any state college and university.

Section 55. Organization - The Ministry shall be headed by the Minister of Education,

Culture and Sports who shall be assisted by one or more Deputy Ministers.

The organization of the Ministry shall consist of (a) the Ministry Proper composed of the
immediate Office of the Minister, and the Services of the Ministry, (b) the Board of Higher
Education, which is hereby established, (c) the Bureau of Elementary Education, the Bureau
of Secondary Education, the Bureau of Higher Education, the Bureau of Technical and
Vocational Education, and the Bureau of Continuing Education, which are hereby
established, (d) Regional offices and field offices, (e) the National Scholarship Center and
such other agencies as are now or may be established pursuant to law, and (f) the cultural
agencies, namely: the National Library, the National Historical Institute, the National
Museum, and the Institute of National Language. Such of the above offices as are created or
authorized to be established under this provision, shall be organized and staffed and shall
function, subject to the approval of the President, upon recommendation of the Minister of
Education, Culture and Sports in consultation with the Presidential Commission on
Reorganization.

Section 56. The National Board of Education is hereby abolished, and its appropriations,
personnel, records, and equipment are hereby transferred to the Office of the Minister of
Education, Culture and Sports.

Section 57. Functions and Powers of the Ministry - The Ministry shall:

1. Formulate general education objectives and policies, and adopt long-range

educational plans;

2. Plan, develop and implement programs and projects in education and culture;

3. Promulgate rules and regulations necessary for the administration, supervision

and regulation of the educational system in accordance with declared policy;

4. Set up general objectives for the school system;

5. Coordinate the activities and functions of the school system and the various
cultural agencies under it;

6. Coordinate and work with agencies concerned with the educational and cultural
development of the national cultural communities; and

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 7. Recommend and study legislation proposed for adoption.

Section 58. Report to the Batasang Pambansa. - The Minister of Education, Culture and
Sports shall make an annual report to the Batasang Pambansa on the implementation of the
national basic education plan, the current condition of the education programs, the
adequacy or deficiency of the appropriations and status of expenditures, the impact of
education on the different regions, the growth of enrollment, the adequacy of academic
facilities, the concentration of low income groups, or the supply of teaching and non-
teaching personnel, with such comments and appropriate recommendations thirty (30) days
before the opening of its regular session.

CHAPTER 2
BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Section 59. Declaration of Policy - Higher education will be granted towards the provision
of better quality education, the development of middle and high-level manpower, and the
intensification of research and extension services. The main thrust of higher education is to
achieve equity, efficiency, and high quality in the institutions of higher learning both public
and private, so that together they will provide a complete set of program offerings that
meet both national and regional development needs.

Section 60. Organization of the Board of Higher Education - The Board of Higher Education
is reconstituted as an advisory body to the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports. The
Board shall be composed of a Deputy Minister of Education, Culture and Sports designated
as Chairman and four other members to be appointed by the President of the Philippines
upon nomination by the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports for a term of four years.
The four members shall have distinguished themselves in the field of higher education and
development either in the public or private sector. In the initial appointment of the non-ex
officio members, the first appointee shall serve for a term of four years; the second for a
term of three years; the third for a term of two years; and the fourth for a term of one
year. The Director of the Bureau of Higher Education shall participate in the deliberation of
the Board but without the right to vote. The Bureau of Higher Education shall provide the
Board with the necessary technical and staff support: Provided, That the Board may create
technical panels of experts in the various disciplines as the need arises.

Section 61. Function of the Board of Higher Education. - The Board shall:

1. Make policy recommendations regarding the planning and management of the

integrated system of higher education and the continuing evaluation thereof.

2. Recommend to the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports steps to improve the
governance of the various components of the higher education system at national
and regional levels.

3. Assist the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports in making recommendation

relatives to the generation of resources and their allocation for higher education.

CHAPTER 3
THE BUREAUS

Section 62. Bureau of Elementary Education - The Bureau shall perform the following
functions:

1. Conduct studies and formulate, develop, and evaluate programs and educational
standards for elementary education;

2. Undertake studies necessary for the preparation of prototype curricular designs,

instructional materials, and teacher training programs for elementary education; and

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 3. Formulate guidelines to improve elementary school physical plants and
equipment, and general management of these schools.

Section 63. Bureau of Secondary Education - The Bureau shall perform the following
functions:

1. Conduct studies and formulate, develop and evaluate programs and educational
standards for secondary education;

2. Develop curricular designs, prepare instructional materials, and prepare and

evaluate programs to update the quality of the teaching and non-teaching staff at
the secondary level;

3. Formulate guidelines to improve the secondary school physical plants and

equipment, and general management of these schools.

Section 64. Bureau of Technical and Vocational Education. - The Bureau shall perform the
following:

1. Collaborate with other agencies in the formulation of manpower plans;

2. Conduct studies, formulate, develop and evaluate post-secondary vocational-

technical programs and recommend educational standards for these programs;

3. Develop curricular designs and prepare instructional materials, prepare and

evaluate programs to upgrade the quality of teaching and non-teaching staff, and
formulate guidelines to improve the physical plant and equipment of post-secondary
vocational-technical schools.

Section 65. Bureau of Higher Education - The Bureau of higher Education shall perform the
following functions:

1. Develop, formulate and evaluate programs, projects and educational standards for
a higher education;

2. Provide staff assistance to the Board of Higher Education in its policy formulation
and advisory functions;

3. Provide technical assistance to encourage institutional development programs and

projects;

4. Compile, analyze and evaluate data on higher education; and

5. Perform other functions provided for by law.

Section 66. Bureau of Continuing Education - As the main implementing arm of the non-
formal education programs of the Ministry, the Bureau shall provide learning programs or
activities that shall:

1. Serve as a means of meeting the learning needs of those unable to avail

themselves of the educational services and programs of formal education;

2. Provide opportunities for the acquisition of skills necessary to enhance and ensure
continuing employability, efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness in the labor
market;

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 3. Serve as a means for expanding access to educational opportunities to citizens of
varied interests, demographic characteristics and socio-economic origins or status.

CHAPTER 4
REGIONAL OFFICES

Section 67. Functions - A regional office shall:

1. Formulate the regional plan of education based on the national plan of the Ministry
taking into account the specific needs and special traditions of the region;

2. Implement education laws, policies, plans, programs, rules and regulations of the
Ministry or agency in the regional area;

3. Provide economical, efficient and effective education services to the people in the
area.

V. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

CHAPTER 1
PENAL ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS

Section 68. Penalty Clause - Any person upon conviction for an act in violation of Section
28, Chapter 3, Title III above, shall be punished with a fine of not less than two thousand
pesos (P2,000.00) nor more than ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) or imprisonment for a
maximum period of two (2) years, or both, in the discretion of the court.

If the act is committed by a school corporation, the school head together with the person or
persons responsible for the offense or violation shall be equally liable.

Section 69. Administrative Sanction - The Minister of Education, Culture and Sports may
prescribe and impose such administrative sanction as he may deem reasonable and
appropriate in the implementing rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this Act for
any of the following causes:

1. Mismanagement of school operations;

2. Gross inefficiency of the teaching or non-teaching personnel;

3. Fraud or deceit committed in connection with the application for Ministry permit or
recognition;

4. Failure to comply with conditions or obligations prescribed by this Code or its

implementing rules and regulations; and

5. Unauthorized operation of a school or course, or any component thereof, or any

violation of the requirement governing advertisements or announcements of
educational institutions.

Sanctions against the schools shall be without prejudice to the interest of the students,
teachers and employees.

CHAPTER 2
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS

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Section 70. Rule-making Authority - The Minister Education, Culture and Sports charged
with the administration and enforcement of this Act, shall promulgate the necessary
implementing rules and regulations.

Section 71. Separability Provision - Any part or provision of this Act which may held invalid
or unconstitutional shall not affect its remaining parts of provisions.

Section 72. Repealing Clause - All laws or parts thereof inconsistent with any provision of
this Act shall be deemed repealed or modified, as the case may be.

Section 73. Effectivity - This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, September 11, 1982.

E. Teachers as Persons in Authority (CA 578)

COMMONWEALTH ACT NO. 578

COMMONWEALTH ACT NO. 578 - AN ACT TO AMEND ARTICLE ONE HUNDRED

FIFTY-TWO OF THE REVISED PENAL CODE, SO AS TO INCLUDE TEACHERS,
PROFESSORS, AND PERSONS CHARGED WITH THE SUPERVISION OF PUBLIC OR
DULY RECOGNIZED PRIVATE SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, AND UNIVERSITIES, WITHIN
THE TERM "PERSONS IN AUTHORITY"

Section 1. Article one hundred fifty-two of Act Numbered Three thousand eight hundred and
fifteen, known as the Revised Penal Code, is amended to read as follows:

"ARTICLE 152. Persons in authority. – Who shall be deemed as such. – In applying the

provisions of the preceding and other articles of this Code, any person directly vested with
jurisdiction, whether as an individual or as a member of some court or governmental
corporation, board or commission, shall be deemed a person in authority.

"In applying the provisions of articles one hundred forty-eight and one hundred fifty-one of
this Code, teachers, professors, and persons charged with the supervision of public or duly
recognized private schools, colleges, and universities, shall be deemed persons in authority."

Section2. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Enacted, without Executive approval, June 8, 1940.

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 Name: _______________________________________________

Assessment Course & Year: ________________________________________

Subject: _______________ Time & Day: ____________________

Part I. The Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers

Instructions: Study the following situations. Explain your answer. Write your answers on the
space provided.

Situation no. 1

Being a person known for his integrity and credibility, Mr. Elbert R. Tolentino has
been serving as part of the Board of Election Canvassers for the past 10 years. However, in
the coming elections, his mother will be running as barangay captain. Because of this, he is
asked to campaign for her. Is it alright for him to campaign for his mother’s candidacy?
Explain your answer.

_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Situation no. 2

Mr. Mario Ocampo, who has been teaching for the last 25 years, refused to attend an
important conference in Mindanao. Every time he is asked by the principal to attend such an
activity, he always requests a new teacher to attend. As a professional teacher, is it right to
express refusal in attending conferences?

_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

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_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Situation no. 3

Ms. Rose Q. Reyes posted two-piece swimwear picture of herself in her Facebook
page. She received negative comments from the community and stakeholders. Ms. Reyes
justified that she has the right to post anything on her Facebook account since it was her
personal account. Is it right for Mrs. Reyes to do such?

_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Situation no. 4

During barangay fiesta, Mr. Ben Y. Maya was designated as the fiesta directorate
chairman. Because of his talent, he accepted the task willingly even without any
honorarium. He facilitated culture-based activities that made their barangay fiesta a
significant one. Is it alright for Mr. Maya not to receive any compensation for his services
rendered since this will be a precedent for the succeeding activity coordinator?

_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Situation no. 5

Mrs. Dae P. Habalo, of Sibulan National High School refused to admit a student for
not being a resident of the said barangay where the school is located. Is it right for her to
do so?

_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Situation no. 6

Traditionally, a civic parade is held with school participating during Independence

Day. All teachers and students are required to attend. All of Mrs. Katherine Y. Sedillo’s
students are excited to join the said parade but she did not join them due to personal
reason and only asked the president of the class to check the attendants of his classmates.

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Is the decision of Mrs. Sedillo not answerable for any untoward incident to happen to the
students?

_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Situation no. 7

Madam Estelita Ramos, a teacher III at Malunta Elementary School has a take-home
pay of P 7,500.00 every month. She decided to borrow money from Provincial Savings Bank
with a monthly deduction of P3,500. In the same month she also borrowed money to First
Diamond Lending Company with a monthly deduction of P 3,500.00. In the first 2 months
she enjoyed a take home pay of P7,500.00 because the 2 lending institutions will deduct on
the 3rd month from the date she borrowed. Is it alright for Mrs. Ramos to borrow the
amount considering that she doesn’t have enough take home pay when the deduction will
take effect?

_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Situation no. 8

Mr. Ricky dela Cruz is one of the youngest teachers in Silab Community High School.
Due to his young age, he has lots of friends and barkadas. After school hours, he is always
seen with his friends in an internet cafe playing Dota, in gambling dens, and in beerhouses.
He also frequently seen in discos during weekends. Is Mr. Cruz acting as a good model to
his students?

_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Part II. Answer the following questions briefly. Write your answers on the space
provided.

1.How did the foundational moral philosophy help you to realize the righteousness and
wrongness of our actions?

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

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2.Share your opinion on this law, “Do good and avoid evil.”

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

3.What makes human act moral or immoral? Justify your answer.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

4.Elaborate your views of the natural law of

a. Kung Fu Tsu - ____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

b. Golden Rule of Christianity - _________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

c. Immanuel Kant - __________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

5. Make a comparison on the religious views on morality of the:

Christians Buddhists Islamic Korans/Muslims

6. What do you mean by “transcendent value”. Give examples to justify your answer.

7.Based on your personal experiences, in your opinion what makes character should a
good teacher possess.

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8.Differentiate individual values from collective values.

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______________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________

9.How are values formed?

______________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________

10.Why is values formation important?

Enhancement Activities

Watch the following videos:

A. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5WC19JSM6Q
B. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BgWg2EAmww
C. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMY-IxrcZIc
D. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSBKbwWXArs
E. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79xsa9zfA_U
F. https://www.coursera.org/lecture/what-is-palliative-care/reflecting-on-
your-values-and-beliefs-MsMZF

These video presentations are expected to help change your perspectives in life as
humans and as future teachers.

Suggested Readings (Online Resources)

1. https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-mean-professional-teacher-657625

2. https://idreamcareer.com/blog/teaching-as-a-profession/

3. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/atd-hostos-education/chapter/foundations-of-education-and-
instructional-assessmenteducator-as-a-professionalprofession/

4. https://www.teachers.ab.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/

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5. https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/

6. https://www.youthforhumanrights.org/what-are-human-rights/universal-declaration-of-human-
rights/articles-1-15.html

7. https://www.standup4humanrights.org/en/declaration.html

8. https://www.answers.com/Q/Value_formation_is_the_training_of_the_intellect_and_will

9. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/58790/7/06_chapter%201.pdf

10. https://pathwork.org/lectures/intellect-and-will-as-tools-or-hindrances-of-self-realization/

11. https://www.slideshare.net/noytorrento/values-formation-68087656

Chapter Reflection

The first thing that you must know about teaching as a profession is that teaching is
about inspiring and motivating students to realize and exceed their potentials. The greatest
teachers of all time have devoted their life in inspiring and empowering their students to
achieve great things and be a good human being.

Just think about it. In 2002, Anand Kumar of the Super 30 program picked up

students from amongst the poorer section of the society. Those 30 students could not afford
IIT coaching, forget about even dreaming about getting into the IITs. Anand Kumar and
Abhayan and not only just taught and coached them but also inspired them to dream big. Of
the 30 students of the first batch, 18 made into the IITs. And 22 students of the 30
students of the next batch made into the IITs. The rest is history.

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