sw ethics

• We, the Filipino Social Workers, subscribe to the definition adopted by the International Federation of Social Workers (2014) that "social work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people."
• We adhere to the primary mission of the social work profession which is to restore, promote, and transform the social well-being of individuals, groups, and communities, while simultaneously advancing social change and transformation within the country, transcending to the global community.
• Values and principles we believe in

  • Social, economic, cultural, and environmental justice
  • Human rights
  • Collective responsibility
  • Respect for all forms of diversities
• We commit to promoting equitable, inclusive, and sustainable social change; social welfare; social development; and the empowerment of people, particularly those at the margins.
• We are sensitive to cultural and ethnic diversities and we strive to end discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other forms of social injustice based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC), ethnicity, faith, class, and social status, among others.
• We seek to enhance the capacity of people to address their own needs and to promote the responsiveness of organizations, communities, and other social institutions to each individuals' needs and social problems.
• Activities social workers may engage in

  • Direct practice
  • Community organizing
  • Supervision
  • Consultation
  • Social work counseling
  • Administration
  • Advocacy
  • Social and political action
  • Policy development and implementation
  • Education
  • Research
  • Evaluation
• Purpose of the Philippine Social Work Code of Ethics


  • To define the responsibilities and expectations for the ethical conduct of social workers for themselves, their colleagues, the agencies or the organizations that they are a part of, their clients, the profession itself, the duly accredited integrated professional organization, and the society as a whole
  • To demonstrate how social work values are linked to beliefs and commitments and to ethical principles and standards that guide the social workers in their conduct in order to maintain a professional social work practice
  • To inspire social workers to strive for the ideals to which the profession aspires to and to do what is ethical and honorable
  • To empower social workers in making informed and ethical decisions, particularly when confronted with professional ethical dilemmas
  • To inform the general public of the standard ethical behavior and conduct which they can hold social workers accountable to
  • To enforce the standards for adjudicating ethical complaint/s filed against social workers
  • To guide the profession in developing, maintaining, and/or transforming a dynamic social work practice that is responsive to the changing human conditions relative to the present and future trends and directions of professional practice
• The Social Work Code of Ethics stresses the congruence between the professional core values and the Filipino cultural values in effecting a contextual, competent, and ethical social work practice.
• Filipino social work values

  • Kapwa or shared identity
  • Pakiramdam or shared inner perception
  • Kagandahang-loob or shared humanity
  • Pakikisama and pakikipagkapwa or smooth interpersonal relationship (SIR)
  • Lakas ng loob or courage
  • Pakikibaka or collective struggle for a social and political cause
  • Padayon or moving forward
  • Karangalan or dignity
  • Katarungan or justice
  • Kalayaan or freedom
  • Bayanihan or communal unity and the spirit of heroism
• Ethical social work practice must relate the social work core values of service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, professional integrity, competence, and importance of human relationships with the core Filipino values from which all social work ethical principles emanate.
• Social work core values merged with Filipino values

  • Service (kawanggawa/paglilingkod) or collective and purposeful provision of social service
  • Social justice and equality (katarungan at pagkakapantay-pantay), human rights (karapatang-pantao), and freedom (kalayaan)
  • A person's dignity and self-worth are reinforced by distinct ways of showing respect for shared identity or inner self (kapwa), demonstrating humaneness at the highest level, and manifesting a unique moral obligation of treating one another as co-equal
  • Sense of spirituality or lived human experiences with an inner sense of meaning and gratitude or affiliation with an organized practice of faith/religion
  • Personal and professional integrity (dangal or karangalan), honor, dignity, self-awareness, and objectivity, propelled by a shared inner perception (pakiramdam)
  • Cultural competence (pangkulturang kakayahan)
  • Human relationships at the levels of the individual, family, and community are propelled by the value of altruism, shared humanity or a genuine act of generosity (bayanihan spirit), kindness, and caring characteristics of compassion (kagandahang-loob) as an innate component of empathy
  • Resilience (katatagan), perseverance, and patience (tiyaga)
• Social work professional core values

  • Commitment to Professional Service
  • Social Justice and Human Rights
  • Dignity and Worth of the Person
  • Personal and Professional Integrity
  • Resilience and Perseverance
  • Spirituality or Sense of Meaning
  • Competence
  • Importance of Human Relationship
  • Dynamism in Personal, Family, and Community Life
  • Use of Technology and Social Media