SENATOR Joel Villanueva lamented that the Department of Education has yet to issue the implementing rules and guidelines for Republic Act 11476 or the Good Manners and Right Conduct and Values Education Act.

The law was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on June 25, 2020.

The senator noted that 17 months have passed but the IRR has yet to be released.

“We hope that the IRR will soon be issued and, more importantly, the GMRC and Values Education be made an essential, separate, and integrated subject in the K to 12. We hope that this will happen very soon,” Villanueva said.

Senator Pia Cayetano, vice chairperson of the Senate’s Finance Committee, told Villanueva that the IRR is ready for Education Secretary Leonor Briones’ signature.

Even without the IRR, she said that  DEPED had started implementing RA 11476.

Villanueva commended the Education department for the inclusion of another P181 million for the Linking Standards & Quality Practice program in partnership with the Philippine Normal University, for the upskilling and re-skilling of public school teachers and school leaders through customized academic programs.