CHILD RIGHTS POLICY:
ADOPTING THE RIGHTS-BASED
FRAMEWORK IN PHILIPPINE BASIC
EDUCATION (D.O. 31, S. 2022)
E D I L B E R T O S . L E G A S P I I N T E G R AT E D H I G H S C H O O L
J A N U A RY 2 9 , 2 0 2 4
AT T Y. R I C H I E H . S A L U B R E
Framework
Happy
Well-rounded
Smart
RBE-DepEd:
Substantive
Dimensions and
Experiential
Components
Rights-based Education Framework in
DepEd (RBE-DepEd)
Refers to a cohesive and consolidated framework and
lens to guide the DepEd and other stakeholders in
education, as duty-bearers, to educate and nurture happy,
well-rounded, and smart children enjoying their rights in
schools, learning centers, and other learning
environments served by a learner-centered and rights-
upholding Department of Education.
Rights-based Education Framework in
DepEd (RBE-DepEd)
The framework recognizes that children are rights-
holders with the indispensable, interrelated, and
interdependent right to access education, right to quality
education, and right to respect and well-being in the
learning environment, and adults are duty-bearers with
the legal obligation to uphold those rights.
Rights-based Education Framework in
DepEd (RBE-DepEd)
A framework for basic education in which DepEd
performs its mandate to uphold the education rights of the
child on the basis of legal obligations corresponding to
those rights is a rights-based education.
Child” or “Children
Refers to any person below eighteen (18) years of age
and those 18 years of age or over but are unable to fully
take care of themselves or protect themselves from abuse,
neglect, cruelty, exploitation or discrimination because of
a physical or mental disability or condition. (R.A. No.
7610, Section 3(a)). For purposes of this DepEd Order, the
term also includes learners in basic education who may be
eighteen (18) years of age or older.
Duty of DepEd and stakeholders to respect,
protect, fulfill and promote rights
Refers to the following legal obligations:
(1) “Respect” means the negative obligation by the State
and its organs or agents, such as this Department, to
refrain from violating, interfering, or curtailing the
enjoyment of human rights;
(2) “Protect” means the positive obligation of the State to
ensure that human rights are not violated by others
such as other private individuals or corporations;
Duty of DepEd and stakeholders to respect,
protect, fulfill and promote rights
3. “Fulfill” means the positive obligation to take action to
facilitate the enjoyment of human rights such as
through the adoption of international human rights law
into national law and policies.; and
4. “Promote” is similar to “ fulfill” and means the positive
obligation to actively advocate for human rights and its
advancement and implementation.
Legal Basis
The duty to respect, protect, fulfill, and promote the
rights of the child to and in education is based on the following
laws and rules, as well as commitments, among others:
1. 1987 Philippine Constitution (Access, Quality and holistic)
2. R.A. No. 9155 Governance of Basic Education Act
3. R.A. No. 10533 Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013
4. Executive Order No. 292 Administrative Code
5. Batas Pambansa Blg. 232 Education Act of 1982
Legal Basis
6. 6. P.D. No. 603 The Child and Youth Welfare Code (Best
interest of children)
7. R.A. 11510 Alternative Learning Systems Act
8. R.A. 11560 Instituting a Policy of Inclusion and Services for
Learners with Disabilities in Support of Inclusive Education
Act
9. R.A. No. 7277 or the Magna Carta for Persons with
Disabilities, as amended by R.A. No. 9442
10. R.A. No. 8371 or The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997
Legal Basis
11. R.A. No. 7610 or the Special Protection of Children
Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act
12. R.A. No. 10627 or An Act Requiring All Elementary and
Secondary Schools to Adopt Policies to Prevent and
Address the Acts of Bullying in their Institutions
13. R.A. No. 11188 or the Special Protection of Children in
Situations of Armed Conflict Act
14. R.A. No. 11313 or the Safe Spaces Act
Legal Basis
15. R.A. No. 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act
of 2006, as amended by R.A. No. 10630
16. R.A. No. 11307 or the Masustansyang Pagkain para sa
Batang Pilipino Act
17. R.A. No. 11036 or the Mental Health Act
18. R.A. No. 10354 or The Responsible Parenthood and
Reproductive Health Act of 2012
19. R.A. No. 11166 or the Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy
Act
Legal Basis
20. R.A. No. 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991
21. DepEd Order No. 43, s. 2013 or the Implementing
Rules and Regulations (IRR) of R.A. No. 10533
22. DepEd Order No. 21, s. 2019 or the Policy Guidelines
on the K to 12 Basic Education Program
23. DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012 or the DepEd Child
Protection Policy
24. DepEd Order No. 55, s. 2013 or the Implementing
Rules and Regulations of R.A. No. 10627
Legal Basis
25. DepEd Order No. 18, s. 2015 or the DepEd Guidelines
and Procedures on the Management of Children-at-Risk
(CAR) and Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL)
26. DepEd Order No. 57, s. 2017 or the Policy on the
Protection of Children in Armed Conflict
27. DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2019 or the National Policy
Framework on Learners and Schools as Zones of Peace
28. DepEd Order No. 3, s. 2021 or the Creation of the
Child Protection
Legal Basis
29. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
30. The United Nations (U.N.) Convention on the Rights of
the Child (CRC)
31. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
32. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR)
33. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
Legal Basis
34. The International Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities (CRPD)
35. The International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
36. The International Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their
Families (CRMW)
37. The ASEAN Human Rights Declaration
Scope
This policy shall be observed by all governance levels
of the Department in the Central Office, Regional Offices,
Schools Division Offices, public schools, and community
learning centers, and stakeholders working with the
Department. Private schools are highly encouraged to
adopt and implement this policy on the RBE framework
and align it with their plans, programs, activities, and
processes.
Policy Statement
In pursuance of the holistic development of the child,
with the aim of educating and nurturing happy, well-
rounded, and smart children, this Department envisions
leaders and personnel, offices in all governance levels,
basic education schools and learning centers, which
perform their duty to respect, protect, fulfill, and promote
the rights of all children to and in basic education.
The child rights approach:
• Considers children as active agents and not passive recipients of
services, thus building the capacity of children as rights-holders to claim
and exercise their rights in a positive manner and the capacity of duty-
bearers to fulfill their obligations.
• Advances the realization of the rights of the child as laid down in the
1987 Constitution and other domestic laws and rules, as well as
international laws such as the CRC, ICESCR, ICCPR and other
international instruments; and
• Uses child rights standards and principles from the 1987 Constitution
and other domestic laws, the CRC, ICESCR, ICCPR and other
international laws to guide policies, programs, projects, actions, and
conduct.
Principles of Rights-based approach:
• Universality and inalienability. All individuals have human
rights that cannot be taken away from them.
• Indivisibility. All human rights are inherent to the dignity of
every person, and thus have equal status.
• Interdependence and interrelatedness. The realization of one
right depends, wholly or in part, on the realization of others.
• Equality and non-discrimination. All individuals are equal as
human beings. They are entitled to their rights without
discrimination of any kind.
Principles of Rights-based approach:
• Participation and inclusion. Every person is entitled to active,
free, and meaningful participation in, contribution to, and
enjoyment of life and development, whether civil, economic, social,
cultural, or political.
• Empowerment. Every person should be able to demand, claim,
and use their human rights for their development.
• Accountability and respect for the rule of law, Rights-holders
are empowered to claim their rights, and duty-bearers are
capacitated to meet their obligations, thereby increasing the level of
accountability and promoting respect for the rule of law.
Three Substantive Dimensions of RBE-DepEd
Right to access education is the right of every child to
education that is available for, accessible to, and inclusive of
all children. Various measures, including but not limited to
legislation, policies, and programs must be proactively
pursued to realize the right to access education, as mandated
by the 1987 Constitution, R.A. 10533, R.A. 9155 and the CRC
(Article 28), among others.
The right to access education has the
following elements:
• Education throughout all stages of childhood and beyond
• Availability and accessibility of education
• Equality of opportunity
Right to quality education is the right of every child to
a quality education that enables him or her to fulfill his or her
fullest potential, realize opportunities for employment,
entrepreneurship, higher education, technical education, and
develop life skills, as mandated by the 1987 Constitution, RA
10533, RA 9155 and the CRC (Article 29), among others.
Education shall be child- and learner-centered, relevant,
embracing a broad curriculum, and appropriately resourced
and monitored.
The right to quality education has the
following elements:
• A broad, relevant, and inclusive curriculum
• Rights-based learning and assessment
• Appropriate quality learning resources
Right to respect and well-being in the learning
environment involves all other children’s rights within
basic education to promote the best interest of the child in
a learning environment that seeks to ensure their
optimum development. It is the right of children to respect
for their inherent dignity and worth.
Elements of right to respect and well-being
in the learning environment:
• Respect for identity
• Right to participation
• Right to integrity of body and mind in a child-friendly,
safe, and healthy learning environment
RBE-DepEd and Its Experiential Components
Through RBE-DepEd, children learn, experience and
enjoy their rights in four experiential components:
1. learning as a right;
2. learning about rights;
3. learning through rights; and
4. learning for rights.
Learning as a right
Learning as a right pertains to the RBE dimension on
the right to access education. Kindergarten, elementary
and secondary education are compulsory and should be
available free. The other rights in the basic education
system will not be of value to a child if he or she is not
enrolled in basic education.
Learning about rights
Learning about rights covers all three dimensions of
RBE. Child rights and human rights education should be given
space within the curriculum for children to learn about their
human rights and children’s rights in a structured and guided
environment. At the same time, children should learn these
rights not only in the curriculum, but also in co-curricular and
extra-curricular programs. Child rights clubs as well as
classroom, school, community, intra-school, intercommunity,
and inter-country programs on child rights enrich children’s
learning of their rights.
Learning through rights
Learning through rights encompasses the two
dimensions of the right to quality education and the right to
respect and well-being in the learning environment. It is
about transforming the learning environment and ensuring
that children learn in schools and community learning
centers that are rights-respecting and rights upholding.
Children learn rights through knowledge, valuing,
experience, and exercise of these rights.
Learning for rights
Learning about rights and through rights naturally
leads to learning for rights. This involves children actively
claiming one’s own rights, and promoting respect for the
rights of others within and beyond the learning
environment, to transform the broader domestic and
global environment toward a sustainable future.
RBE-DepEd:
Substantive
Dimensions and
Experiential
Components
Implementation of RBE-DepEd
1. Incorporation of RBE-DepEd in all policies, programs,
activities, and projects
2. Capacity-building of all personnel
3. Human and child rights education
4. Child participation in basic education management and
development processes
5. Creation and/or strengthening of Rights-Upholding Learning
Environments (RULE), including Rights-Upholding Schools
(RUS) and Rights-Upholding Community Learning Centers
(RUCLC)
Roles and Responsibilities
All governance levels in the Department have roles
and responsibilities in implementing this DepEd Order.
Thank you
