THE DEPARTMENT of Education issued Order No. 49 to remind its personnel to be professional, its spokesperson Michael Poa said.

“We are just reminding them of their duty to be professional teachers,” Poa added.

“There’s no specific trigger in the issuance of the order. In fact, the DO refers to the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards or what we call Republic Act 6713. We’re just issuing this order to remind DepED personnel in terms of professionalism and depoliticization,” he said.

He said that teachers can continue to
communicate with their students via social media as long it is limited to the “student-teacher” relationship.

“As civil servants, we have to be responsible [while using] social media,” Poa added.

Some groups questioned the issuance of DO 49 saying it violates the freedom of speech.