MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Thursday a measure requiring good manners and right conduct (GMRC) and values education to be part of the K to 12 curriculum.

Republic Act No. 11476 also known as the GMRC and Values Education Act institutionalizes a GMRC and Values Education program in the K-12 curriculum and replaces the current Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao.

GMRC was removed as a regular subject from the K to 12 curriculum in 2013, when values education was integrated with other subjects such as Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao and Araling Panlipunan.

Under the new law, GMRC will be integrated in the daily activities of kindergarten students, and will be taught as a separate subject from Grades 1 to 6.

Students from Grades 7 to 10, meanwhile, will be taught a Values Education subject. For Grades 11 and 12, Values Education shall be integrated in all subjects under the K-12 Basic Education curriculum.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, one of the principal authors of the Senate bill, hailed the signing of the measure and expressed hopes that the Department of Education could work on the implementing rules and regulations of the law in time for the opening of classes on Aug. 24.

“With many schools set on implementing distance learning, it’s going to be even more vital that we give our students formative guidance through GMRC and Values Education," Zubiri said in a statement.

“Kids are going to be at home all day, learning in isolation from their peers. They’re not going to have the natural avenues for empathetic learning that springs from face-to-face interaction with their peers and with their teachers. Hopefully, a strengthened GMRC and Values Education program will make up for that," he added.

-with a report from Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News