LAGUNA 2nd District Rep. Ruth Mariano-Hernandez filed a bill that seeks the compulsory teaching of ethics in the tertiary level.

The lawmaker is hopeful that teaching ethics in college as envisioned under House Bill 5769 would reduce corruption in government.

She cited the 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index of the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International showing the Philippines in the 111th place out of 180 countries.

“While the Philippines’ ranking has generally improved, there is a need to institute a cross-generational policy to continually educate the citizenry on the ways and means to address and combat the said scourge,” Mariano-Hernandez said in her explanatory note.

The lawmaker is hoping that the mandatory teaching of ethics in colleges, universities and technical and vocational education institutions “will result in a more morally enlightened, assertive and accountable citizenry.”

Under the bill, the Commission on Higher Education and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority will formulate and adopt a system for the compulsory teaching of ethics.

The system shall include the study and standardization of lessons in higher educational institutions and vocational education institutions on general ethics courses.