Salient points on Code of Ethics

1. CODE OF ETHICS FOR
PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS
ATTY. PRINCESS ROSSHIEN L. HORTAL

2. PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH (E),
ARTICLE 11, OF R.A. NO. 7836, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE
PHILIPPINE TEACHERS PROFESSIONALIZATION ACT OF 1994
AND PARAGRAPH (A), SECTION 6, P.D. NO. 223, AS
AMENDED, THE BOARD FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS
HEREBY ADOPT THE CODE OF ETHICS FOR PROFESSIONAL
TEACHERS.

3. VIOLATION OF CODE OF ETHICS
FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS
“Article XII: Disciplinary Actions Section
1. Any violation of any provision of this code
shall be sufficient ground for the imposition
against the erring teacher of the disciplinary
action consisting of revocation of his
Certification of Registration and License as a
Professional Teacher, suspension from the
practice of teaching profession x x x”

4. ARTICLE II: THE TEACHER AND THE
STATE
Section 5. A teacher shall not engage in the promotion
of any political, religious, or other partisan interest, and
shall not, directly or indirectly, solicit, require, collect, or
receive any money or service or other valuable material
from any person or entity for such purposes.
Section 6. Every teacher shall vote and shall exercise all
other constitutional rights and responsibility.
Section 7. A teacher shall not use his position or official
authority or influence to coerce any other person to
follow any political course of action.

5. DEPED ORDER NO. 49, S. 2022
a. Refrain from seeking endorsements, recommendations, contributions, support,
consideration, political accommodations/s, or any form of intervention from other
government personnel or similar entities outside of DepEd;
b. Desist from soliciting favorable actions from politicians to facilitate the
implementation of programs, projects, or activities, except those covered by the
Adopt-a-School Program, initiated by the local government units, funded by the
Special Education Fund (SEF), or covered by partnership agreements and/or allowed
by law;
c. x x x
d. x x x
e. Raise issues and concerns regarding basic education via formal and appropriate
DepEd channels, either directly to the Office of the Secretary or through the
concerned Assistant Secretary or Undersecretary, without resorting to any political

6. ARTICLE III: THE TEACHER AND THE
COMMUNITY
Section 1. A teacher is a facilitator of learning and of the
development of the youth; he shall, therefore, render the
best service by providing an environment conducive to
such learning and growth.
Section 3. Every teacher shall merit reasonable social
recognition for which purpose he shall behave with
honour and dignity at all times and refrain from such
activities as gambling, smoking, drunkenness, and other
excesses, much less illicit relations.

7. ARTICLE IV: A TEACHER AND THE
PROFESSION
Section 2. Every teacher shall uphold the highest
possible standards of quality education, shall make the
best preparations for the career of teaching, and shall
be at his best at all times and in the practice of his
profession.
Section 3. Every teacher shall participate in the
Continuing Professional Education (CPE) program of the
Professional Regulation Commission, and shall pursue
such other studies as will improve his efficiency,
enhance the prestige of the profession, and strengthen
his competence, virtues, and productivity in order to be
nationally and internationally competitive.

8. ARTICLE V: THE TEACHERS AND THE
PROFESSION
Section 1. Teachers shall, at all times, be imbued with
the spirit of professional loyalty, mutual confidence, and
faith in one another, self-sacrifice for the common
good; and full cooperation with colleagues. When the
best interest of the learners, the school, or the
profession is at stake in any controversy, teachers shall
support one another.
x x x
Section 4. A teacher shall hold inviolate all confidential
information concerning associates and the school, and
shall not divulge to anyone documents which has not
been officially released, or remove records from files

9. ARTICLE VI: THE TEACHER AND HIGHER
AUTHORITIES IN THE PROFESSION
Section 1. Every teacher shall make it his duty to make an honest
effort to understand and support the legitimate policies of the
school and the administration regardless of personal feeling or
private opinion and shall faithfully carry them out.
Section 2. A teacher shall not make any false accusations or
charges against superiors, especially under anonymity. However,
if there are valid charges, he should present such under oath to
competent authority.
Section 4. Every teacher, individually or as part of a group, has a
right to seek redress against injustice to the administration and
to extent possible, shall raise grievances within acceptable
democratic possesses. In doing so, they shall avoid jeopardizing
the interest and the welfare of learners whose right to learn must

10. ARTICLE VII: SCHOOL OFFICIALS,
TEACHERS, AND OTHER PERSONNEL
Section 1. All school officials shall at all times show
professional courtesy, helpfulness and sympathy
towards teachers and other personnel, such practices
being standards of effective school supervision,
dignified administration, responsible leadership and
enlightened directions.
Section 2. School officials, teachers, and other school
personnel shall consider it their cooperative
responsibility to formulate policies or introduce
important changes in the system at all levels.

11. DEPED ORDER NO. 49, S. 2022
In defining acceptable norms of conduct and
relationships in DepEd, officials and employees are
reminded of the provisions of Republic Act No. 6713,
otherwise known as the Code of Conduct and Ethical
Standards for Public Officials and Employees, in line
with this, DepEd officials and employees are expected
to observe the following:
a. Treat and approach DepEd colleagues,
employees, learners and stakeholders with the highest
degree of professionalism, skill, and excellence
b. Respect the rights of others and refrain from
doing any act that is contrary, to law, good morals,
good customs, public policy, public order, public safety,

12. b. Serve and perform one's duties and
responsibilities in a prompt, courteous, and fair manner;
c. Refrain from engaging in any activity or any
relationship that may impair one's ability in making
objective decisions in the performance of his/her job
functions;
d. Avoid relationships, interactions, and
communications, including following social media with
learners outside of the school setting, except if they arc
relatives;
e. Desist from any act that may compromise
one’s integrity as a government employee and that may
compromise the honor of the DepEd.

13. 3. Employees and officials must consider the legal restrictions imposed
by existing statutes, rules, and DepEd Orders in the use of social media.
Whether it be for personal use of the DepEd official or employee, or as
an essential or an incidental tool in carrying out their mandate, social
media rules should be complied with. As such, employees and officials
of the DepEd:
a. Shall exercise caution when sharing posts or other contents
and should not participate in the spreading of rumors and false
information;
b. Shall not unduly post online attacks against fellow DepEd
employees and must utilize legal and human resource mediation
procedures and
c. Shall not disparage DepEd and must always be mindful of the
reputation and honor of the organization.
4. The use of DepEd email addresses shall only be for work-related

14. ARTICLE VIII: THE TEACHERS AND
LEARNERS
Section 2. A teacher shall recognize that the interest and welfare of
learners are of first and foremost concern, and shall deal justifiably
and impartially with each of them.
Section 3. Under no circumstance shall a teacher be prejudiced or
discriminate against a learner.
Section 4. A teacher shall not accept favors or gifts from learners,
their parents or others in their behalf in exchange for requested
concessions, especially if undeserved.
Section 6. A teacher shall base the evaluation of the learner’s work
only in merit and quality of academic performance.

15. Section 7. In a situation where mutual attraction and subsequent love
develop between teacher and learner, the teacher shall exercise
utmost professional discretion to avoid scandal, gossip and
preferential treatment of the learner.
Section 8. A teacher shall not inflict corporal punishment on
offending learners nor make deductions from their scholastic ratings
as a punishment for acts which are clearly not manifestation of poor
scholarship.

16. CHUA-QUA VS. CLAVE, G.R. NO. 49549
AUGUST 30, 1990
The Supreme Court held,
With the finding that there is no substantial evidence of the
imputed immoral acts, it follows that the alleged violation of the Code of
Ethics governing school teachers would have no basis. Private respondent
utterly failed to show that petitioner took advantage of her position to
court her student. If the two eventually fell in love, despite the
disparity in their ages and academic levels, this only lends substance
to the truism that the heart has reasons of its own which reason does
not know. But, definitely, yielding to this gentle and universal
emotion is not to be so casually equated with immorality. The
deviation of the circumstances of their marriage from the usual societal
pattern cannot be considered as a defiance of contemporary social mores.

17. ARTICLE 233 OF THE FAMILY CODE
STATES:
Article 233. The person exercising substitute parental
authority shall have the same authority over the person of
the child as the parents.
In no case shall the school administrator, teacher
or individual engaged in child care exercising special
parental authority inflict corporal punishment upon the
child.
Intent to discipline student is not a defense since Article
233 of the Family Code prohibits the infliction of corporal
punishment by teacher. (Rosaldes v. People, G.R. No. 173988, October 8,
2014)

18. IN CORPORAL PUNISHMENT…
RA 7610 "Special Protection of Children Against
Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.“
Simple Misconduct/Grave Misconduct in
violation of DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012
otherwise known as DepEd Child Protection
Policy

19. PARENTAL AUTHORITY TO DISCIPLINE
“As parents, the teachers shall use discipline not
to punish but to correct, not to force, but to motivate;
and not to obey with rigid cadence, but to choose to
follow the right way.
Hence, teachers cannot generally use methods of
punishing or such degree of penalties that a good
mother or a good father would not likely use on
her/his own children.”

20. VICARIOUS LIABILITY
Art. 218 of the Family Code states:
“The school, its administrators and teachers, or
the individual, entity or institution engaged in child are
shall have special parental authority and responsibility
over the minor child while under their supervision,
instruction or custody.
Authority and responsibility shall apply to all
authorized activities whether inside or outside the
premises of the school, entity or institution.”

21. Vicarious Liability is a legal doctrine in tort law that imposes
responsibility upon one person for the failure of another or
assigns liability for an injury to a person who did not cause the
injury but with whom the person has a special legal relationship
to exercise such care as a reasonably prudent person would use
under similar circumstances. It is also referred to as imputed
negligence.
Article 2180 of the Civil Code enumerates those who are subject
to this vicarious liability, among them are teachers and heads of
establishments of arts and trades with respect to their pupils and
students•and apprentices so long as they remain in their custody.
In order that one may not be made to satisfy this liability, one
needs to prove that the diligence of a good father of a family was
observed to prevent damage.

22. In other words, the school, its administrators and
teachers may only exempt themselves from the liability
imposed by the law if they can prove that they
exercised the proper diligence required under particular
circumstances. (2nd par. Art. 218, Id.) They must show
that they observed proper care based on the
surrounding circumstances to prevent the untoward
incident. It also denotes the absence of negligence.
To prove that the incident is purely accidental to avoid
liability, it must be shown that it is a fortuitous event,
which refers to an extraordinary event that is not
foreseeable, or though foreseeable, is unavoidable.

23. ARTICLE IX: THE TEACHERS AND
PARENTS
Section 1. Every teacher shall establish and maintain
cordial relations with parents, and shall conduct himself
to merit their confidence and respect.
Section 2. Every teacher shall inform parents, through
proper authorities, of the progress and deficiencies of
learner under him, exercising utmost candour and tact
in pointing out the learner's deficiencies and in seeking
parent’s cooperation for the proper guidance and
improvement of the learners.
Section 3. A teacher shall hear parent’s complaints with
sympathy and understanding, and shall discourage
unfair criticism.

24. ARTICLE X: THE TEACHER AND BUSINESS
Section 1. A teacher has the right to engage, directly or
indirectly, in legitimate income generation; provided
that it does not relate to or adversely affect his work as
a teacher.
Section 2. A teacher shall maintain a good reputation
with respect to the financial matters such as in the
settlement of his debts and loans in arranging
satisfactorily his private financial affairs.

25. ARTICLE XI: THE TEACHER AS A PERSON
Section 1. A teacher is, above all, a human being
endowed with life for which it is the highest obligation
to live with dignity at all times whether in school, in the
home, or elsewhere.
Section 2. A teacher shall place premium upon self-
discipline as the primary principle of personal
behaviour in all relationships with others and in all
situations.
Section 3. A teacher shall maintain at all times a
dignified personality which could serve as a model
worthy of emulation by learners, peers and all others.
Section 4. A teacher shall always recognize the
Almighty God as guide of his own destiny and of the

26. THANK YOU.