Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Philippines

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 8162
Introduced by Representative “KUYA’ JOSE ANTONIO R. SY-ALVARADO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

According to Mentalhealth.gov, mental health includes emotional, psychological,
and social well-being. It affects how an individual think, feel, act and interact with his
fellow being. Most educational institution often focus on academic or curricular
development but fails to provide adequate mental health services that will improve the
intellectual and emotional aspect of the child. There are limited number of counselling
professional, school counsellor psychologist and social workers deployed in academic
institutions.

The purpose of this bill is to employ and train school-based counsellor and mental
health personnel and professional in order to address the need of the students in their mental
and emotional needs.

The immediate approval of this bill earnestly sought.

“KUYA” JOSE ‘ONIO R. SY-ALVARADO
Representative

First District of Bulacan


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Philippines

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

8162
HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by Representative “KUYA” JOSE ANTONIO R. SY-ALVARADO

AN ACT
TO RECRUIT, HIRE, AND TRAIN ADDITIONAL SCHOOL-BASED GUIDANCE
COUNSELORS, PSYCHOLOGISTS, SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS AND
MENTAL HEALTH PERSONNEL

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Students’ Guidance
Counseling Act.

SEC 2. Purposes. -''he purposes of this Act are to:

(1) Help elementary and secondary institutions to recruit, train, and hire
additional school-based mental health personnel, counselors, social workers, and
school psychologists;

(2) Help adequately address the mental, emotional, and developmental needs
of elementary and secondary school students;

(3) Remove the emotional, behavioral, and psycho-social barriers to learning
‘0 as to enhance the classroom preparedness and ability to learn of students;

(4) Support school staff and teachers in improving classroom management,
conducting behavioral interventions to improve school discipline, and developing
the awareness and skills to identify early warning signs of violence and the need for
mental health services; and,

(5) support parents in improving the school behavior and academic success
of their children.

SEC 3. Definitions. - For purposes of this Act —

(1) "Mental Health and Student Service Provider" includes a qualified school
counselor, school psychologist, or school social worker.

(2) "Mental Health and Student Services" includes direct, individual, and
group services provided to students, parents, and school personnel by mental health


and student service providers, or the coordination of prevention strategies in schools
or community-based programs. "School Counselor” refers to an individual who has
documented competence in counseling children and adolescents in a school setting
and who:

(A) Possesses licensure or certification granted by a professional
regulatory authority;

(B) In the absence of such licensure or certification, possesses national
certification in school counseling or a specialty of counseling granted by an
independent professional organization; or,

(C) Holds a minimum master's degree in school counseling.

(3) "Schoo! Psychologist” refers to an individual who possesses a minimum
of sixty (60) graduate semester hours in school psychology from an institution of
higher education and has completed one thousand two hundred (1,200) clock hours
ina supervised school psychology internship, of which six hundred (600) hours shall
be in the school setting; "School Social Worker” refers to an individual who holds a
master's degree in social work. Additional school-based counselors, psychologists
and social workers. - The Secretary of Education shall, subject to existing rules and
regulations of the Department of Education, the Civil Service Commission and the
Department of Budget and Management, provide for hiring of additional school
based counselors, psychologists and social workers such that each public elementary
and secondary school will have at least three (3) counselors, one (1) psychologist,
one (1) social worker, and other mental health and students service providers when
the need arises.

SEC 5. Guidelines, — The Secretary of Education shall, one hundred twenty (120)
days after the enactment of this Act, issue the necessary guidelines in the selection,
recruitment and hiring of personnel and the nature and scope of the mental health and
services to be offered to students.

SEC 6. Appropriations, — There shall be appropriated from the National Treasury
such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

SEC 7. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall
remain valid and subsisting.

SEC 8. Repealing Clausé - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive
order, letter of instructionadministrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or
inconsistent with the proyjstons of this Act is hereby modified or amended accordingly.

ty. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication
-wspapers of general circulation.