Rules and Regulations for the Effective Implementation of R.A. No. 7079 (Campus Journalism Act of 1991)

August 19, 1992

DECS ORDER NO. 94-92

PROMULGATING THE RULES AND REGULATIONS NECESSARY FOR THE EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF R. A. NO. 7079, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE "CAMPUS JOURNALISM ACT OF 1991"

1. Pursuant to Section 9 of Republic Act No. 7079, otherwise known as the "Campus Journalism Act of 1991", the Department of Education, Culture and Sports, in coordination with the officers of the national elementary, secondary and tertiary organizations or official advisers of student publications, together with student journalists at the tertiary level, existing organizations of student journalists, and representatives of public and private schools management, hereby promulgates the rules and regulations necessary for the effective implementation of the said Act.

2. All concerned are directed to implement the enclosed Rules and Regulations for the Implementation of R.A. No. 7079. Violations of the provisions of the Rules and the law are subject to administrative and criminal penalties following the due process of law.

3. These Rules shall take effect immediately.

4. Widest and most immediate dissemination of this Order to all schools, both public and private at all levels, and to all editorial boards of campus papers is hereby directed.

Adopted: 19 August 1992

(SGD.) ARMAND V. FABELLASecretary

RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7079 (CAMPUS JOURNALISM ACT OF 1991)

INTRODUCTION

Pursuant to Section 9 of Republic Act No. 7079, otherwise known as the "Campus Journalism Act of 1991", the following rules and regulations for the effective implementation of the said Act are hereby promulgated:

RULE I

Title

SECTION 1. Title. — This body of rules shall be known the Rules and Regulations for the Implementation of the Campus Journalism Act of 1991 or "RULES", for short. aCcHEI

RULE II

State Policy

SECTION 1. Declaration of Policy. — It has been declared a State policy to uphold and protect the freedom of the press even at the campus level and to promote the development and growth of campus journalism as a means of strengthening ethical values, encouraging critical and creative, thinking, and developing moral character and personal discipline of the Filipino youth. In furtherance of this policy, the State shall undertake various programs and projects aimed at improving the journalistic skills of students concerned and promoting responsible and free journalism.

It is, therefore, the duty of all officials of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS), school/college/university heads, campus paper teacher-advisers, and personnel involved in the campus journalism program in the elementary, secondary and tertiary levels of education to support and promote the campus journalism program policies and objectives as under Republic Act No. 7079 and existing laws embodied as principles in the Constitution.

RULE III

Definition of Terms

SECTION 1. Definition of Terms. — For a better understanding of this Act, terms which are used therein are hereby defined or explained.

a. School — An institution for learning in the elementary, secondary or tertiary level composed of the studentry, administration, faculty and non-faculty personnel;

b. Student Publication — The issue of any printed material that is independently published by, and which meets the needs and interests of the studentry;

c. Student Journalist — Any bonafide student enrolled for the current semester or term, who has passed or met the qualification and standards of the editorial board. He must likewise maintain a satisfactory academic standing;

d. Editorial Board — In the tertiary level, the editorial board shall be composed of student journalists who have qualified in placement examinations. In the case of elementary and high school levels, the editorial board shall be composed of a duly appointed faculty adviser, the editor who qualified and a representative of the Parent-Teacher Association, who will determine the editorial policies to be implemented by the editor and staff members of the student publication concerned. IHaSED

At the tertiary level, the editorial board may include a publication adviser at the option of its members.

e. Editorial Policies — A set of guidelines by which a student publication is operated and managed, taking into account pertinent laws as well as the school administration's policies. Said guidelines shall determine the frequency of publications, the manner of selecting articles and features and other similar matters.

RULE IV

Student Publication

SECTION 1. All educational institutions on the elementary, secondary and tertiary levels, public or private, shall be encouraged to establish a student publication.

SECTION 2. Student Publication. — There shall be three categories of student publications, namely: a) elementary level student publication; (b) secondary level student publication, and (c) tertiary level student publication.

Once the publication is established, its editorial board shall freely determine its editorial policies and manage the publication's funds.

SECTION 3. The members of the editorial board of the tertiary student publication shall be responsible to the school/college/university and to third parties for its decisions, actions, policies and legal consequences arising from such.

SECTION 4. Aims and Purposes of Students Publications. — Student publications shall be utilized to train interested students in a) the application of the communication arts in journalism; b) the basic mechanism and technical skills in journalism; c) the responsibilities and privileges in journalism in relation with the contents of articles to be published; d) the use of the student publication in support of the educational development of the learner/student, the school, the community and the country; e) train interested students in the application of the art and science of journalism for technological advancement; f) develop intelligent and responsible student leadership and good citizenship in a free and democratic society; g) serve as a channel for unifying all members of the school and the community towards desirable educational and cultural development objectives; h) serve as a pool of all learning experiences of student journalist; i) advocates social consciousness and uphold the interests of the Filipino people; and j) advance students' rights and responsibilities as well as promote their general welfare. aSAHCE

RULE V

Financing Student Publication

SECTION 1. Funding of Student Publication. — For public elementary and secondary schools, publication fees, subsidy sourced from savings realized from the school's appropriations, revenues realized from donations and grants, and advertisements shall be the sources of funding for the student publication.

For private schools, publication fees, revenues realized from donations and grants and advertisements shall be the sources of funding for the student publications. Publication fees from the students shall be collected during enrollment period.

In both public and private schools, all student publication funds shall be automatically released to the student publication staff one month after the 1st day of enrolment.

SECTION 2. Preparation of Student Publication Budget. — The editorial board, with the assistance of the student publication staff, shall prepare the student publication budget for each semester/year. The budget shall be posted on the school bulletin board and published in the student publication. The budget shall include expenses for the printing costs of the student publication, transportation and needs of the staff and the teacher-adviser during their work at the printing press, office and photo supplies, attendance of the student publication representatives at the annual divisional, regional and national press conference/workshops, honoraria/allowances for staffers and teacher-adviser, and other incidental expenses. Disbursements of student publication funds shall be made according to accounting and auditing regulations. EcTCAD

SECTION 3. Publication Fee. —

a. The editorial board, in coordination with the school administration, may provide a mechanism for the collection of publication fees from the students. The publication fee shall be determined by the editorial board in consultation with the student body. In the private elementary and secondary schools, the editorial board shall determine the publication fee for each individual student in consultation with the student body. In the public elementary and secondary schools, the publication fee for each individual student shall in no case be more than what is provided for in DECS Order No. 40, s. 1988.

b. The publication funds shall be deposited in the account of the student publication in an authorized depository bank through at least two (2) authorized signatories of the editorial board.

SECTION 4. Printing of Student Publication. — The printing of the student publication by a private printer shall be conducted by the editorial board and the student publication staff through canvass or public bidding.

SECTION 5. Financial Report of Expenses. — A financial report of expenses shall be prepared by the editorial board and student publication staff at the close of the school year for the elementary and secondary levels, and every semester for the tertiary level properly audited by a COA/authorized auditor for the public schools. For the private schools, a certified public accountant shall properly audit the expenditures based on the approved budget of the editorial board. Thereafter, the audited summary financial statement shall be published in the student publication at the end of the school term.

SECTION 6. Use of Student Publication Funds. — Publication fees, savings, donations, grants and other funds collected from other sources for the student publication shall be for its exclusive use. The money collected shall not be spent for purposes other than those cited in Section 2 of this Rule. Violation of this rule by the editorial board, any student-staff, faculty-adviser, and/or school administrator/official shall be cause for administrative and/or criminal action against the violator.

 

RULE VI

Publication Adviser

SECTION 1. Publication Adviser. — The faculty adviser of a tertiary publication shall be selected by the school administration from a list of recommendees submitted by the publication staff. The function of the publication adviser shall be one of technical guidance.

In the elementary and secondary level, the teacher-adviser, exercising special parental authority over student staffers who are minors shall, jointly with the Parent-Teacher Association, be held fully responsible for the contents of the student publication. EDATSC

SECTION 2. Work/Advising Load. — In the public elementary and secondary schools, student publication advising task/assignment shall be considered as one (1) teaching/work load.

RULE VII

Selection of Staff Members

SECTION 1. Section of Student Staff Members. — The selection of the chief editor and other members of the staff of tertiary student publications shall be through competitive examinations prepared, conducted and supervised by a committee composed of representative of the school administration, one faculty member, one mass media practitioner who is acceptable to both (school administration and editorial board) and two past editors to be chosen by the outgoing editorial board.

Secondary and elementary student publication staffers should pass a qualifying examination conducted by a committee composed of the student publication adviser, who shall act as chairperson, the past student-editor as vice-chairman, one (1) faculty member, and two (2) former student-editors.

RULE VIII

Security of Tenure

SECTION 1. Student Staffers. — A member of the student publication staff must maintain his/her satisfactory academic standing in order to retainmembership in the staff. A student shall not be expelled or suspended solely on the basis of articles he/she has written, or on the basis of the performance of his/her duties in the publication staff.

RULE IX

Press Conference/Training Seminars

SECTION 1. Press Conference and Training Seminars. — The Department of Education, Culture and Sports shall sponsor periodic competitions, press conferences, and training seminars/workshops in which student-editors/writers and teacher-advisers of student publications on the elementary, secondary, and tertiary levels shall participate. Such activities shall be held on the institutional, divisional, and regional levels culminating with the holding of the annual national elementary, secondary or tertiary school press conferences in places of historical and/or cultural interest in the country. EScAHT

SECTION 2. Expenses of Student Publication Staff and Their Teacher-Adviser at Press Conferences and Training Seminars. — Expenses relative to the attendance of the student publication staff and their teacher-adviser in the divisional, regional and national press conferences and training seminars shall be subsidized from the student publication funds and from appropriations when funds are available.

RULE X

Tax Exemption

SECTION 1. Tax Exemption. — Pursuant to Paragraph 4, Section 4, Article XIV of the Constitution, all grants, endowments, donations or contributions used actually, directly and exclusively for the promotion of campus journalism as provided for in R.A. No. 7079 shall be exempt from donor's or gift tax.

RULE XI

Appropriations

SECTION 1. Appropriations. — For the initial year of implementation, the sum of five million pesos (P5,000,000.00) is authorized by R.A. No. 7079 to be charged against the savings of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports. Thereafter, such amount as may be necessary shall be included in the General Appropriations Act.

RULE XII

General Provisions

SECTION 1. The Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) shall help ensure and facilitate the proper carrying out of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 7079. It shall also act on cases on appeal brought before it. DaScHC

The DECS regional office shall have the original jurisdiction over cases as a result of the decisions, actions and policies of the editorial board of the school within its area of administrative responsibility. It shall conduct investigations and hearings on these cases and shall report its decision of each case within fifteen (15) days after the completion of the resolution of each case.

SECTION 2. The Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports may amend these "Rules" when there are compelling reasons for amendments provided that any amendments shall be made in consultation with the representatives of duly recognized student journalism associations and advisers associations as well as representative of the administration, and provided further that all amendments shall be in accordance with R.A. No. 7079.

RULE XIII

Effectivity

SECTION 1. Effectivity. — These Rules and Regulations implementing the Campus Journalism Act of 1991 shall take effect immediately after publication and circulation in a DECS Order to all the public and private schools in the country.

Adopted: 19 August 1992

 

(SGD.) ARMAND V. FABELLASecretary

Published in the National Administrative Register, Vol. 12 No. 1 (January-March 2001).