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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

7326

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by ANG PROBINSYANO
Party-List Representative Alfred Delos Santos

EXPLANATORY NOTE

‘The Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004 (RA 9258) was passed more
than a decade and a half ago, but until the present, the need for guidance
counselors still remains a problem in schools. In a feature article made in
2018,! the story of a “guidance teacher” was shown where a licensed teacher
had to practice guidance and counseling due to the lack of registered guidance
counselors in the public school system. This and many similar incidents
happening in the country shows that it is almost impossible for the State to
enforce RA 9258 at present and in the near future because the number of
registered guidance counselors fall too short compared with the number of
institutions and schools which are supposed to retain their services.

While we are thankful for the teachers who are willingly undertaking to
do this task, it is imperative that we do something to actually address the
problem and not rely on band-aid solutions. We need to attract and retain
guidance counselors. We need to make sure that students will see the
profession of guidance and counseling as lucrative and fulfilling so that more
will be encouraged to undertake the rigorous studies and training to become
registered guidance counselors. We need to make sure that the young
generation will have qualified persons who can help them in times of
emotional distress so we can prevent incidents of dropping out from school,
bullying, self-harm, and even death.

Thus, this representation drafted the Magna Carta for Public
Counselors and their Practice in response to the growing need for better
access to counseling and psychological aid. It is our bounden duty to ensure
that the youth are safe, secure, and holistically healthy, and we can only help
them by making sure that the resources and people that they need are within
their reach. Hence, this bill seeks to improve the current entry level salary for
guidance counselors in order to attract more applicants to move into public

+ Lack of registered guidance counselors forces schools to keep unlicensed ones (Part 1), https://news.abs~
cbn.com/focus/01/14/18/lack-of-registered-guidance-counselors-forces-schools-to-keep-unlicensed-ones-
part-1, retrieved on February 19, 2020.


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service, and to create an enhanced guidance and counseling program,
through the aid of concerned government agencies and organizations, that
will target the needs of school children and teenagers.

It is hoped that through this legislative policy, the state of guidance and
counseling practice in the Philippines will improve not for us, but for our

children.

ALFRED C. DELOS SANTOS
Representative, Ang Probinsyano Party List


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS:
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. usze

Introduced by ANG PROBINSYANO
Party-List Representative Alfred Delos Santos

THE MAGNA CARTA FOR PUBLIC COUNSELORS AND THEIR PRACTICE

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. This Act shall be known as the “Magna Carta
for Public Counselors and Their Practice.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. It is hereby declared the policy of the
State to ensure the health and well-being of its citizens, as well as uplift the
practice of counselling in the country. The State recognizes the importance of
the services that counselors provide to the people, and thus it is imperative
for the State to adopt and implement measures that will lead to the
development and improvement of the practice of counseling, as well as the
improvement of the career paths for guidance counselors in the country.

SECTION 3. Purpose. The purposes of this law are as follows:

(a) To re-calibrate and standardize the qualifications and corresponding
salary grades for counselor positions;

(b) To boost the hiring process of counselors and close the gap between
the counselor to student ratio in schools;

(c) To improve the delivery of services to pupils and students through a
more developed guidance counseling program integrated into the
education system;

(d) To encourage counselors to join the government service and retain
the existing counselors in the public school system through better
benefits and privileges; and

() To appropriate sufficient allocation for the implementation of the
provisions of this Act.


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SECTION 4. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act, the terms below
are defined as follows:

(a) “Guidance and Counseling” refers to the profession that involves
the use of an integrated approach to the development of a well-functioning
individual primarily by helping a person utilize his or her potentials to the
fullest and plan his or her future in accordance with his or her abilities,
aptitudes, interests and needs;

(b) “Public Counselor” refers to a natural person who: (1) is registered
and issued a valid Certificate of Registration and a valid Professional
Identification Card by the Professional Regulatory Board of Guidance and
Counseling and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC); (2) is a holder
of at least a Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling, Guidance, or
Counseling without prejudice to those granted with licenses under the
grandfather clause of Republic Act No. 9258 otherwise known as the
Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004; (3) has the necessary competence and
training in using a variety of integrated approaches to help individuals utilize
his or her maximum potential based on his abilities, aptitudes, interests, and
needs; and (4) is employed in a public school or other vocational educational
institutions, including educational institutions and offices owned and
operated by the government or its political subdivisions which engages in the
delivery of mental health and support services;

(c) “Client” refers to the person receiving the services and assistance of
a public counselor; and

(c) “Counseling” is the dynamic face to face personal interaction
between the counselor and the client where the former employs various
methods approaches, methods, or techniques geared towards enhancing the
client’s intrapersonal and interpersonal development and competencies.

SECTION 5. Recalibration and standardization of qualifications for public
counselors. The Civil Service Commission (CSC), in cooperation with the
Department of Health (DOH), Secretary of Education, Commission on Higher
Education (CHED), Technical Education Skills Development Authority
(TESDA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the Department
of Budget and Management (DBM), in consultation with the Philippine
Guidance and Counseling Association (PGCA) shall, within one hundred
twenty (120) days from the effectivity of this Act, convene, formulate, and
issue the necessary guidelines for the recalibration and standardization of
qualifications for public counselors vis-a-vis the salary grade. The convened
body shall consider Republic Act Nos. 9258, 6758, and 5789 as amended by
Republic Act No. 10691.

After finalizing the changes to be made with regard to the salary and
qualifications for public counselors, the pertinent government agencies shall
take the necessary steps to translate the framework which they formulated
into policy through appropriate issuances and orders as the case may be.


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SECTION 6. Inclusion of plantilla positions for guidance counselors on
each public school. The Department of Education (DEPED), Commission on
Higher Education (CHED), and Technical Education Skills Development
Authority (TESDA), in coordination with the Civil Service Commission (CSC),
shall ensure that plantilla positions are available for guidance counselors and
that each public school, state college or university, and government
educational institutions shall have at least one (1) registered guidance
counselor in its roster of employees.

SECTION 7. Minimum Salary Grade. The entry level monthly salary for
public counselors shall not be lower than Salary Grade 13.

SECTION 8. Privileges and benefits for public counselors. The following
benefits and privileges shall be granted to public counselors appointed to
regular plantilla positions in public schools and other public institutions:

(a) Public counselors shall have study leave benefits similar to existing
CSC policies on study leave benefits for government employees;

(b) Public counselors shall receive hazard allowance equivalent to
twenty percent (20%) of their monthly basic salary for public counselors
receiving a monthly salary of SG 18 and below, and ten percent (10%)
for public counselors receiving a monthly salary of SG 19 and above;

(c) Public counselors who shall occupy entry level positions shall be
entitled to avail of medical examinations, psychological and psychiatric
assessments, and drug tests free of charge from any government
hospital; Provided, that the need for a medical examination
psychological and psychiatric assessments, and drug tests, are in
relation to the completion of requirements for newly hired employees;
Provided further, that the public counselor shall first secure a medical
examination or laboratory request form from a government physician;

(d) Public counselors who shall be assigned to occupy positions in
remote or isolated areas shall be given a remote assignment allowance
in the amount of five thousand pesos (PhP 5,000.00) every month as
long as the counselor is actually occupying and discharging the
functions of the position in the assigned remote location. The benefit
shall cease once the public counselor is assigned to a non-remote or
non-isolated area; and

() Local Government Units (LGUs) of remote or isolated areas shall
assist public counselors in securing a temporary residence during their
assignment in such locale.

SECTION 9. Ratio of counselor to student in public schools, state or local
colleges, state and local universities, local government units, and government
branch, agencies, instrumentalities, including government owned and


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controlled corporations. There shall be at least one (1) school counselor for
every five hundred (500) pupils or students in every public elementary school,
high school, learning centers, and vocational institutions.

‘There shall be at least one (1) school counselor for every seven hundred
fifty (750) students in every state or local college, and state or local
universities.

There shall be at least one (1) public counselor for every local
government unit, government branch, agency, instrumentality, including
government owned and controlled corporations.

SECTION 10. Enhanced Guidance Counseling System. - The Department
of Education (DEPED), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and
Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) shall, in
coordination with the Philippine Guidance and Counselling Association
(PGCA), formulate a program for the enhanced guidance and counseling
system for elementary, secondary, tertiary, and vocational schools. The said
program shall be used as the organizational framework for the availability,
conduct, and delivery of guidance and counseling services in all public
schools and educational institutions. This provision shall not be construed as
a restriction on the methodology and techniques which shall be used by the
counselors and shall be construed as primarily pertaining to the logistics and
other organizational matters, unless the constituted body shall deem it
necessary or beneficial to formulate a set of standard methodology and
techniques for the delivery of guidance and counseling services.

SECTION 11. Appropriation. - The sum of Fifty Million Pesos
(P50,000,000.00) is hereby appropriated to the government agencies leading
the initial implementation of the provisions of this Act. Thereafter, the
succeeding appropriation for its continued implementation shall be included
in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 12. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part of this Act
is held invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions or parts
unaffected shall remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 13. Repealing Clause. ~ All laws, executive orders, presidential
decrees or issuances, letters of instruction, administrative orders, rules, and
regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are
hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.

SECTION 14. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15)
days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general
circulation.

Approved,