ANAKALUSUGAN Party-list Rep. Ray Reyes is pushing for a measure seeking to integrate good conduct and ethical standards of public officials and employees in the basic education curriculum.

In his House Bill 9054 or the proposed Anti-Graft and Corruption Education Act, Reyes stressed education plays a vital role in equipping the youth with knowledge and skills.

“But while sharpening their aptitudes and talents, the education of these young minds should be melded with strengthening and ingraining of ethical behavior, moral character, honesty, and fairness as human core values,” the solon said in his explanatory note.

The lawmaker explained preventing corruption is a crucial goal of any established government aiming to foster transparency, accountability, and sustainable development.

“In order to raise the awareness of our youth on the detrimental effects of corruption, it is high time to equip our students with necessary knowledge, skills and values to resist and combat corruption,” Reyes stressed.

Reyes believes nothing less than the intensive absorption of ethical values, through the integration of anti-graft and corruption modules into the curricula of basic educational system can stem the continuing dominance of the culture of corruption in the Philippines.