Schools asked: Implement GMRC law

A PHILIPPINE senator on Sunday called on local schools to fully implement Republic Act No. 11476, the Good Manners and Right Conduct and Value Education Act (GMRC) to avoid further incidents of violence in schools.

“We cannot wait for more student deaths before we implement the interventions available to us, including the Good Manners and Right Conduct and the Values Education Act,” Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian said in a statement, following a stabbing incident in a Las Piñas public school last week.

Earlier, Mr. Gatchalian, who heads the Senate Committee on Basic Education, urged the Department of Education to effectively enforce preventive measures against bullying and violence in local schools.

He added that local government units should be mobilized to implement the Parent Effectiveness Service Program so that students are shaped “to be good and responsible citizens.”

Las Piñas City Police on Friday reported the fatal stabbing incident of two 15-year-old high school students, following an argument with their fellow classmates.

“This is beyond alarming — it is a clear sign of a crisis… When violence becomes the language of our youth, we must confront the hard truth: we are failing in our duty to raise a generation grounded in discipline and respect,” Mr. Gatchalian said. — Adrian H. Halili