WHEN NEWS broke that the Department of Education (DepEd) was proposing to remove Ethics from the Senior High School (SHS) and college general education curriculum, many educators, thinkers, and citizens winced, some in confusion, others in silent dismay.
It felt like watching the final scene of a film where the hero, against all odds, almost wins—only to be blindsided. Ethics, of all subjects, was not just another checkbox in the syllabus; it was the quiet spine of education, the one that helped students ask: so what, what now, why so, and for whom?
The Ateneo de Manila University Philosophy Department made it clear: this is not about resisting reform. It is about keeping what matters (Ateneo Philosophy Department, 2025). Their recent statement, supported by the Union of Societies and Associations of Philosophy in the Philippines (USAPP), does not reject change—it simply demands that it be thoughtful.
In a time when fake news pollutes discourse and algorithm-driven echo chambers distort truth, can we afford to cut the one subject designed to train young people in discernment, empathy, and reasoned disagreement?
To say that Ethics is redundant because we already teach Good Manners and Values Education is like saying we no longer need math in college because we learned to count in Grade 2. Ethics is not about teaching children to obey rules; it is about equipping young adults to examine them.
In fact, this distinction is what philosopher Raimiel Dionido (2024) stresses: ethical reflection must not be caged in a single subject, but should live and breathe across disciplines. He suggests that Science can tackle climate and bio ethics, Math can address algorithmic bias and statistical integrity, English can look at plagiarism and cultural sensitivity, Social Studies can discern over social justice and historical accuracy, and even Physical Education can challenge toxic competitiveness and fair play.
This is not just theory. When I was principal of a Jesuit school, I remember having SHS students who conceptualized and eventually built a sustainable water filtration system for the indigenous community in Guimaras, where they had their retreat and immersion. While the proposal was a class requirement, choosing to carry it out was entirely their own decision.
Their P500K project, grounded in science and social justice-driven initiative, was fired by empathy. They did not just follow the academic requirements; they asked and responded to what mattered. When I asked where they learned to think that way, one replied, “It started when our teacher asked us not what is right, but who decides what is right.”
Removing Ethics sends a message, even if unintended: that morality is a luxury, not a necessity. This is dangerous in a society already grappling with institutional trust deficits, deepening inequality, and the normalization of corruption. According to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS, 2023), only 20% of SHS graduates find employment aligned with their specialization, and yet most still go to college. This mismatch shows that many students still lack readiness—not just in technical knowledge but in soft skills and ethical perspective.
Ethics education, especially in subjects like Philosophy of the Human Person, Media and Information Literacy, Work Immersion, Corporate Social Responsibility, Entrepreneurship, or Business Ethics, provides more than frameworks. It trains students to think with context, to listen well, to discern, and to disagree without destroying. As the Ateneo Philosophy Department (2025) puts it, Ethics teaches moral imagination—the ability to think beyond oneself and see the broader social web. In workplaces where shortcuts are often incentivized, this matters. In politics, even more so. (To be continued)/PN
