On August 19, 1939, the occasion of his 61st birthday, President Manuel L. Quezon issued Executive Order No. 217 that prescribed a set of civic and ethical precepts—collectively known as the Code of Citizenship and Ethics—to be taught in all schools in the Philippines. The list, a product of a Committee composed of leading jurists and political luminaries organized by the President, would eventually be turned into a 71-page volume, complete with historical anecdotes and references to the virtues Filipinos have displayed throughout the years. In a letter to the President printed as a preface to the book, the Committee wrote, “The life of a nation depends upon the moral and civic virtue of its citizens. Now, more than ever, when nations, great and small, are on the verge of collapse do we realize this fundamental truth.”

In the lead up to the 136th birth anniversary of President Quezon on August 19, 2014, the Presidential Museum and Library is sharing this Code of Ethics published generations ago but which remains strikingly relevant and true for our times.

[sws_2_column]



























[/sws_2_column] [sws_2_columns_last]



























[/sws_2_columns_last]

Committee composition:

Chief Justice Ramon Avanceña, Chairman

Secretary of Public Instruction Jorge Bocobo, Member

Director of the National Library and former Representative Tedoro M. Kalaw, Member

Supreme Court Associate Justice Jose P. Laurel, Member

Former Supreme Court Associate Justice and Constitutional Convention Delegate Norberto Romualdez

Secretary of Finance and former Speaker Manuel Roxas, Member

Director of the National Library Eulogio Rodriguez, Secretary

Acknowledgments for the translation:

Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino

Speech Writers Group, PCDSPO