BATANGAS 5th District Rep. Mario Vittorio Mariño pushed a measure making Ethics subject compulsory in elementary and secondary education and in every degree course in colleges and universities.

He filed House Bill 4681 or the proposed Compulsory Teaching of Ethics Act, saying that education is the key to fighting corruption.

“The primary purpose of schooling includes cognitive development and character formation,” Mariño said in his explanatory note.

Character formation, he explained, helps shape attitudes and behaviors, reflected in such values as honesty, integrity, respect, responsibility, self-discipline, and reliability.

The lawmaker said cognitive academic and character development prepares students for work, further education, and lifelong learning.

The bill mandates the teaching of Ethics in all levels of elementary education, bridge program, secondary education and in all degree programs offered by colleges and universities.

The ethics and values formation syllabus should include Basic Honesty and Conformity to Law; Conflicts of interest; Service Orientation and Procedural Fairness; Ethics of Democratic Responsibility; Ethics of Public Policy Determination; and Ethics of Compromise and Social Integration.

The curriculum should also include studies on the causes, issues, and effects of graft and corruption in the Philippines and in other parts of the world.