RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 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 as the Rules and Regulations for the Implementation of the Campus Journalism

Act of 1991 or “RULES,” for short.

RULE II

State Policy

SEC. 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 the

students concerned and promoting responsible and free journalism. It is, therefore, the duty 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 under Republic Act No. 7079 and existing laws embodied as principles in the Constitution.

RULE III

Definition of Terms

SEC. 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 Journalists. – Any bona fide student or enrolled for the current semester or term, who has passed or met the

qualifications 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 Parents-Teachers’ Association, who will determine the editorial policies to be implemented by the editor and staff members of

the student publication concerned. 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 publication, the manner of

selecting articles and features and other similar matters.

RULE IV

Student Publication

SEC. 1. All educational institutions on the elementary, secondary and tertiary levels, public or private shall be encouraged to

establish a student publication.

SEC. 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,

the editorial board shall freely determine its editorial policies and manage the publication’s funds.

SEC. 3. The members of the editorial board of the tertiary student publication shall be responsible to the school/college/university,

to third parties for its decisions, actions, policies and legal consequences arising from such.

SEC. 4. Aims and Purposes of the Student 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 for the school and

the community towards desirable educational and cultural development objectives; h) serve as a pool of all learning experiences of

student journalists; i) advocate social consciousness and uphold the interests of the Filipino people; and j) advance student’s rights

and responsibilities as well as promote their general welfare.

RULE IV

Financing Student Publication

SEC. 1. Funding of Student Publication. – For public elementary and secondary school, 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 student publications. Publication fees from the students shall be collected during

enrolment period. In both public and private schools, all student publication funds shall be automatically released to the student

publication staff one month after the last day of enrolment.

SEC. 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, national press conferences or workshops,

honoraria/allowances for staffers and teacher-adviser, and other incidental expenses. Disbursements of student publication fund

shall be made according to accounting and auditing regulations.

SEC. 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. The publication funds shall be deposited in the

account of the student publication in an authorized depositary bank through at least two (2) authorized signatories of the editorial

board.

SEC. 4. Printing of the 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.

SEC. 5. Financial Reports 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.

SEC. 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

SEC. 1. Publication Adviser. – The faculty adviser of a tertiary student publication shall be selected by the school administration

from a list of recomendees submitted by the publication staff. The function of the publication adviser shall be one of technical

guidance.

In the elementary and secondary levels, the teacher-adviser, exercising special parental authority over student staffers who are

minors shall, jointly with the Parents-Teachers Association, be held fully responsible for the contents of the student publication.
SEC. 2. Working/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

SEC. 1. Selection of Student Staff Members. – The selection of the chief editor and other members of the staff of tertiary student

publication shall be through competitive examinations prepared, conducted and supervised by a committee composed of a

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

SEC. 1. Student Staffers. – A member of the student publication staff must maintain his/her satisfactory standing in order to retain

membership 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 Conferences/Training Seminars

SEC. 1. Press Conferences 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 of 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.

SEC. 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

SEC. 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. 7079 shall be

exempted from donor’s or gift tax.

RULE XI

Appropriations

SEC. 1. Appropriations. – For the initial year of implementation, the sum of five million pesos (P5,000,000.00) is authorized by R.A.

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

SEC. 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. 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 a 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.

SEC. 2. The Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports may amend these “Rules” when there are compelling reasons for

amendments provided that any amendment shall be made in consultation with the representatives of duly recognized student

journalism associations and adviser associations as well as representatives of the administration, and provided further that all

amendments shall be in accordance with R.A. 7079.

RULE XIII

Effectivity

SEC. 1. Effectivity. – These Rules and Regulation 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.

An excerpt from DepEd Order No 41 s. 2011

The school publication is not mandatory but strongly encouraged inline with the promotion of campus journalism. Every Elementary

pupil shall not pay more than P60 and every high school student shall not pay more P90 per DepED Order No. 19s. 2008.

An excerpt from DepEd Order No. 65, series of 2010

Collection of School Contributions
Membership
Fee Amount Reference
DM No. 513, s.
BSP Php 50.00 per learner 2009
DM No. 235, s.
GSP Php 50.00 per learner 2009
Anti-TB Fund DO No. 31, s.
Drive Php 5.00 per learner 2001
To be determined by DO No. 54, s.
PTA Board of Directors 2009
School Php 60.00 for elementary students DO No. 19, s.
Publication Php 90.00 for secondary students 2008
Membership in
student Based on existing              DO No. 48, s.
organizations    school policies 2009

d. The school publication fee shall be set at the school level but it shall not be more than Sixty Pesos (Php60.00) per elementary school
pupil and Ninety Pesos (Php90.00) per secondary school student (DepEd Order No. 19, s. 2008). The publication of a school
newspaper, while not mandatory, is strongly encouraged in line with the campus journalism program both at elementary and secondary
levels; and