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Republic of the Philippines [s}

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

* TIME 3:09pm

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HOUSE BILL no. 3691

Introduced by HONORABLE REX GATCHALIAN

AN ACT
‘STRENGTHENING THE PROMOTION AND DELIVERY OF MENTAL HEALTH
SERVICES IN BASIC EDUCATION SCHOOLS THROUGH THE
INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF THE MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
PROGRAM, PRESCRIBING THE HIRING AND DEPLOYMENT OF MENTAL
HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, PRESCRIBING THE CREATION OF PLANTILLA
POSITIONS OF GUIDANCE ASSOCIATES IN THE DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION, INCREASING THE SALARY GRADES OF GUIDANCE
COUNSELORS, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Philippines has legislation geared toward protecting children’s mental
health and well-being. For instance, the Constitution recognizes the vital role of the
youth in nation-building and the necessity to promote and protect their physical,
moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being.'! The Child and Youth Welfare
Code affords children protection, opportunities, and facilities, to ensure and enable
their mental development.’ The Mental Health Act, the first mental health-specific
policy in the state, also affirms the basic right of all Filipino children to mental
health.

Schools are essential for the growth and development of children. For this
reason, our laws and policies should adequately equip these institutions with the
tools to create a healthy and suitable environment for them. In recognition of the
mandate to ensure the mental health of children, the Department of Education

requires basic education schools to hire one guidance counselor for every 500

SONST. art. VIL, § 1
CHILD & YOUTH WELFARE CODE, art. 10.
> Rep. Act No, 11036 (2017), § 2.

DATE August 16, 2022 [


students. However, in reality, there are only 4,069 registered guidance counselors as.
of June 2022 for the 27.4 million elementary and high school students. There is
evidently a glaring shortage of guidance counselors in the country.

This measure recognizes the link between the shortage of registered
guidance counselors in schools and the increased mental health issues and disorders
that may lead to suicide or other worrisome incidents. Hence, there is an urgent need
to address the challenges in delivering the appropriate mental health and well-being
services, programs, and interventions to the Filipino youth. This measure also seeks

to amplify the mental health services for teaching and non-teaching personnel.

To ensure the institutionalization of an effective, efficient, and integrated
Mental Health and Well-Being Program, this measure mandates to:

(1) Establish and maintain a Mental Health and Well-Being Center (Center) in
every public basic education school as well as ensure their establishment and
maintenance in private basic education schools in the country;

(2) Prescribe the creation of a sufficient number of plantilla items for the positions
of guidance counselors and guidance associates;

(3) Set the qualifications and functions of a guidance associate;

(4) Hire mental health professionals and deploy them to public elementary,
secondary, and vocational institutions;

(5) Guarantee the professional and career development of mental health
professionals;

(6) Increase the salary grades of guidance counselors who are currently classified
as Guidance Counselor I, Guidance Counselor II, and Guidance Counselor III
from Salary Grades 11, 12, and 13, respectively, to Salary Grades 16, 17, and
18;

(7) Endeavor to attract the best available and qualified officers and support
personnel of the Centers through career progression, adequate and
competitive remuneration, benefits, incentives and allowances, scholarship

and training grants, and exchange programs;

* Data from the Professional Regulatior
who may have shifted careers or pa
due to the pandemic.

“Academic Year 2021-2022 data as of December 20211 for both public annd private elementary and secondary schools,
the DepEd, including Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.



(8) Carry out the appropriate regular training and skills upgrading and
development for mental health professionals and support personnel; and
(9) Ensure that teacher education institutions offering teacher education

programs include in the curriculum subjects on mental health.

Representative
* District, Valenzuela City


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
HOUSE BILL No.3691
—_——S eee
Introduced by HONORABLE REX GATCHALIAN
ee ee eee

AN ACT
STRENGTHENING THE PROMOTION AND DELIVERY OF MENTAL HEALTH
SERVICES IN BASIC EDUCATION SCHOOLS THROUGH THE
INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF THE MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
PROGRAM, PRESCRIBING THE HIRING AND DEPLOYMENT OF MENTAL
HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, PRESCRIBING THE CREATION OF PLANTILLA
POSITIONS OF GUIDANCE ASSOCIATES IN THE DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION, INCREASING THE SALARY GRADES OF GUIDANCE
COUNSELORS, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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 “Basic Education
Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act”.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. ~ The State recognizes the vital role of the youth
in nation-building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual,
intellectual, and social well-being. Towards this end, it shall be the duty of the State
to establish, maintain, and support a complete, adequate, and integrated system of
education relevant to the needs of society and its people.

To achieve these goals, the State shall:

a) _ institutionalize an effective, efficient, and integrated mental health and
well-being program, and strengthen the existing mental health and
guidance and counseling program that will ensure the mental health and
emotional well-being of the learners and the teaching and non-teaching
personnel in all public and private basic education schools in the country;

b) hire and capacitate competent mental health professionals, and other
qualified support personnel to meet the current demand of the education

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Sector. They shall develop strategies and standards that will promote and
ensure the mental health and well-being of the learners and the teaching
and non-teaching personnel; and

©) protect and ensure the physical, moral, intellectual, and social well-being
of learners and the teaching and non-teaching personnel in public and
Private basic education schools to make them resilient and well-adjusted
individuals possessed with the appropriate qualities, skills, and attitude
in life.

SEC. 3. Objectives. ~ The objectives of this Act are as follows:

) to enable the Department of Education (DepEd) to recruit, train and hire
additional mental health professionals, promote and sustain their well-
being, competencies, professional growth, and career development in the
DepEd;

b) to adequately address the mental, emotional and developmental needs of
learners as well as of the teaching and non-teaching personnel through
the provision of mental health professionals, with the end view of
developing their social skills, self-esteem, individual resilience,
motivation, self-awareness, and sense of belonging in the school
community, among others;

¢) to promote the emotional, psychological and the mental health and well-
being of learners and teachers to enhance their learning and classroom
Preparedness, including those learners identified as children in conflict
with the law (CICL), students at risk of dropping out (SRDO), leamner-
victims of Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC), and learners-
victims of other related forms of child abuse and criminal acts;

4) to support teachers and other education personnel in improving
classroom management through the conduct of behavioral and other
Suidance-related interventions, to improve the learners’ well-being,
emotional and psychosocial development, daily disposition and career
decision-making;

©) to train the teachers and the non-teaching personnel in developing
awareness and skills to enable them to identify early warning signs of
mental health problems and the need for mental health interventions;

f to establish linkages with the community to include parents, guardians,
and concerned stakeholders, through the promotion of mental health and

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8)

h)

well-being programs and activities geared to address the mental,
emotional and developmental needs of learners as well as of the teaching
and non-teaching personnel;

to support parents, guardians, and concerned stakeholders in improving
the school behavior and academic success of the learners;

to remove the emotional, behavioral, and psychosocial barriers to learning
to achieve a learner-friendly, inclusive, safe, and motivating learning
environment; and

to provide aftercare support in the treatment of mental health concerns of
learners as well as of the teachers and non-teaching personnel.

SEC. 4. Definition of Terms. ~ As used in this Act:

a)

b)

co)

d)

¢)

‘Counseling - refers to a dynamic face-to-face personal interaction between
the counselor and the counselee, where the counselor employs various
methods, approaches or techniques to enhance the counselee’s
intrapersonal and interpersonal development and competencies;
Guidance Associate — refers to an individual who holds a guidance
associate plantilla in the DepEd and a graduate of Bachelor's degree in
Guidance and Counseling, Psychology, Social Work, Human Services, and
other allied disciplines or any related courses, and possesses the
qualification provided hereafter;

Guidance Counselor ~ refers to an individual who possesses license or
certification granted by the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC)
and holds a minimum master's degree in Guidance and Counseling,
Guidance, or Counseling without prejudice to those registered under the
grandfather's clause of Republic Act (R.A.) 9258, otherwise known as the
“Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004,” and is competent to perform
guidance and counseling, career guidance and implement mental health
and well-being programs;

Guidance Services Specialist refers to the specific plantilla position in the
DepEd of Guidance Counselor who are tasked to ensure the mental health
and well-being of learners and the teaching and non-teaching personnel;
Guidance Teacher ~ refers to a regular teacher who is given additional
assignments related to guidance or counseling services, or both, aside
from the teaching load, to augment the lack of supply of Guidance
Counselors. They shall be selected by the school principal based on their

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8)

h)

i

leadership skills and potentials, and competence in handling guidance-
related concerns. Preferably, a Guidance Teacher has at least a
background in psychology, values education, or units in guidance and
counseling;

Mental Health — as defined in R.A. No. 11036, otherwise known as the
“Mental Health Act’, refers to a state of well-being in which the individual
realizes one’s own abilities and potentials, copes adequately with the
normal stresses of life, displays resilience in the face of extreme life events,
works productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a positive
contribution to the community;

Mental Health Professional - refers to a medical doctor, nurse, Guidance
Counselor, Guidance Associates who can be a_ psychologist,
Psychometrician, social worker, or any other appropriately trained and
qualified person with specific skills relevant to the provision of mental
health and well-being services;

Mental Health and Well-Being Program - refers to the system of services
designed to maintain the state of well-being of an individual in order that
one may realize one’s own abilities and potentials, cope adequately with
the normal stresses of life, displays resilience in the face of extreme life
events, works productively and fruitfully, and be able to make a positive
contribution to the communi
Mental Health Services - as defined in R.A. No. 11036, refer to the
psychosocial, psychiatric or neurologic activities and programs along the

whole range of the mental health support services including promotion,
prevention, treatment and aftercare, which are provided by mental health
facilities and mental health professionals;

Multi-year Mental Health and Well-Being Program Roadmap - refers to a
document that shall serve as a guide for the DepEd, Department of Health
(DOH), Department of Social Work and Development (DSWD), the
Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Commission on
Higher Education (CHED), other relevant government agencies, and the
private stakeholders for the optimal realization of the objectives of this Act.
It shall contain the current policy, practices, gaps, and challenges
affecting the mental health and well-being of learners and the teaching
and non-teaching personnel, as well as the implementation of the current
guidance and counseling or mental health programs of schools. It shall

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likewise set detailed targets and outcomes for a minimum period of five (5)
years and provide the stakeholders’ specific actions or interventions to
include implementation and monitoring strategies and annual budgetary
requirements. It shall be subject to a periodic review and updating to
determine its implementation status and ensure that the implementation
of the Mental Health and Well-Being Program as envisioned in this Act is
sustained;

k) Psychologist — refers to a natural person who has professional training and
clinical skills in psychotherapeutic intervention and assessment for
mental health problems, possesses license or certification granted by the
PRC, and holds a minimum Master’s Degree in Psychology without
Prejudice to those granted licenses under the grandfather's clause of R.A.
10029, otherwise known as the “Psychology Act of 2009”; and

1) Psychometrician- refers to a natural person who has professional training
skills in psychological assessment, possesses license or certification
granted by the PRC, and holds a minimum Bachelor's Degree in
Psychology without prejudice to those granted licenses under the
grandfather's clause of R.A. 10029, otherwise known as the “Psychology
Act of 2009”.

SEC. 5. The Mental Health and Well-Being Program. - The Mental Health and
Well-Being Program is hereby institutionalized which shall be implemented by the
DepEd. It shall be designed to provide mental health services, emotional,
developmental and preventive programs, and other support services, and to eliminate
the stigma on mental health counseling, to ensure the emotional and social well-
being of basic education learners and teaching and non-teaching personnel in both
public and private schools.

SEC. 6. The Mental Health and Well-Being Program Roadmap. ~ To ensure the
effective implementation of this Act, the DepEd, through the Schools Division Offices
(SDOs), in consultation with the DOH, the DSWD, other relevant government
agencies, civil society organizations, and the private sector, shall develop and
implement a comprehensive and integrated multi-year roadmap using the Whole of
Society Approach.

The multi-year roadmap shall likewise be crafted and implemented in
complementarity with the provisions of R.A. No. 11036 or the Mental Health Act, R.A.

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No. 11206 or the Secondary School Career Guidance and Counseling Act, and R.A.
No. 10533 or the “Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013”.

The Superintendents of the SDOs shall require all schools within their
jurisdiction to periodically prepare and submit reports on the implementation of each
school of the multi-year roadmap and of the other provisions of this Act, and submit
@ consolidated report to the Secretary of the DepEd through the Regional Director
having jurisdiction of the SDOs.

SEC. 7. The Mental Health and Well-Being Center; Personnel. -
Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, Section 27 of R.A. No. 9258, and to
facilitate the effective implementation of the Mental Health and Well- Being Program
and the provisions of this Act, the DepEd shall establish and maintain a Mental
Health and Well-Being Center (Center) in every public basic education school as well
as ensure their establishment and maintenance in private basic education schools
in the country. The Center shall be equipped with functional physical facilities,
located within an adequate space, and provide privacy and accessibility to the
learners, the teaching and non-teaching personnel, and parents.

For this purpose, secondary schools may utilize the Career Guidance and
Counseling Program Centers required to be established under Section 5 of R.A. No.
11206. Existing Guidance and Counseling Offices may be utilized for this
purpose or integrated into the Center.

The Center shall be supervised and headed by the school principal and shall
have a Registered Guidance Counselor, Guidance Associate, and other support
personnel.

SEC. 8. Functions of the Center. ~The Center in every public and private basic
education school shall implement the provisions of this Act by delivering mental and
well-being services to address the mental, emotional and developmental needs of
learners and the teaching and non-teaching personnel.

It shall likewise craft and implement a localized multi-year roadmap anchored
on the DepEd’s multi-year roadmap as provided herein.

In crafting the localized multi-year roadmap, the Center shall undertake the
following steps in the development and implementation of the multi-year roadmap:

a) needs assessment;

b) identification of priorities, goals and objectives;

©) designing activities or services to meet the desired goals and objectives;

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4) drawing up a program multi-year budget, including the allocation of
resources;

¢) identification and hiring of necessary personnel as provided in this Act;

evaluation and its outcomes; and

ao

revision of goals leading to the specification of new objectives.

The Center shall periodically prepare and submit reports to the SDO in its
implementation of the Mental Health and Well-Being Program.

SEC. 9. Organization of the Center Officers and Support Personnel, and
Creation of Positions. - To ensure the effective implementation of the Mental Health
and Well-Being Program and the delivery of mental health and well-being services
towards the attainment of the objectives of this Act, the DepEd, in consultation with
the DBM and the Civil Service Commission (CSC), shall develop an organization
focused on the implementation of this Act and of the multi-year roadmap. As such,
a sufficient number of plantilla items for the positions of Guidance Counselors, and
Guidance Associates shalll be prescribed to be created in schools in order to cater to.
the needs of learners and the teaching and non-teaching personnel, according to
minimum standards to be determined by the DepEd and the DOH.

The concerned agencies shall consider the position classification, salaries,
career progression, and the detailed description of the duties and responsibilities of
such officers and support personnel.

SEC. 10. Personnel for the Center. - The Center shall have a Registered
Guidance Counselor, a Guidance Associate, and other necessary officers and support
Personnel as may be determined by the school principal. It shall be headed by a
Registered Guidance Counselor who shall have qualified pursuant to the provisions
of RA. No. 9258,

SEC. 11. Qualifications of a Guidance Associate, - To qualify as a Guidance
Associate, one must have:

a) completed the academic requirements for a Bachelor's Degree in Guidance

and Counseling or completed the academic requirements for a Bachelor's

Degree in Psychology, Social Work, Human Services, and other allied
disciplines; and

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b) must have earned a minimum of twelve (12) units of Behavioral Science
subjects and two hundred (200) hours of supervised practicum or
internship experience on guidance and counselling preferably in a school
or community setting.

SEC. 12. Functions of a Guidance Associate. - A Guidance Associate shall
perform the following functions:

a) actively participate in the implementation of the Mental Health and Well-
Being Program;

b) conduct preliminary screening or evaluation of learners and the teaching
and non-teaching personnel using pre-approved forms;

¢) conduct or assist in the orientation of teachers, parents, learners, or the
community on psychosocial well-being and mental health;

d) engage in conversations with, or listen to, learners and the teaching and
non-teaching personnel who require such support from the Center;

€) coordinate with teachers, parents or guardians, and external partners on
concerns affecting the psychosocial well-being or mental health and
academic performance of learners who need guidance and counseling, and
facilitate the conduct of such guidance and counseling by the Guidance
Counselor;

f) assist the Guidance Counselor in assessing and monitoring learners and
the teaching and non-teaching personnel who need guidance or
counseling, or both;

8) participate and assist in the implementation and facilitation of educational
and training workshops for teachers, Center officers, support personnel, and
parents; and

h) perform such other functions as may be assigned by the Guidance Counselor
or school principal.

SEC. 13. Hiring and Deployment of Mental Health Professionals. - Subject to
the guidelines set by the CSC and the DBM, the DepEd shall hire and deploy mental
health professionals such that each public elementary, secondary, and vocational
institution shall have mental health professionals or mental health service providers
within five (5) years from the effectivity of this Act.

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Notwithstanding the provisions of R.A. No. 9258, public and private
educational institutions may hire, as may be necessary, graduates with relevant
background in psychology or similar fields, who do not yet qualify as mental health
Professionals, to provide school-based mental health services: Provided, That they
undergo sufficient capacity building as determined by the DepEd and supervised by
qualified mental health professionals in their provision of mental health services:
Provided, further, That they shall be licensed as mental health professionals within
three (3) years from their date of hiring,

The DepEd shall establish mechanisms to maximize existing mental health
services offered by other executive departments such as agencies attached to the
DOH and the DSWD.

SEC. 14. Professional and Career Development of Mental Health Professionals.

~ The DepEd, in coordination with the DBM, CSC, DOH and PRC, shall:

a) prepare a uniform career and personnel development plan that shall
include provisions on personal wellness, merit promotion, performance
evaluation, in-service training, postgraduate scholarship grants, research
grants, incentive award system;

b) match the salary grades of mental health professionals related items with
respect to the provisions of R.A. No. 6758, otherwise known as the
“Position Classification and Compensation Act”;

©) align the qualifications and standards for the qualification outcomes of
mental health professionals to R.A. No. 10968, otherwise known as the
“Philippine Qualifications Framework Act”;

) revisit the DepEd’s organizational structure in order to provide competent
and professional personnel who will provide supervision and technical
assistance to Guidance Counselors, Guidance Associate and other
personnel at the school levels;

€) review, revise and develop the duties and responsibilities of mental health
professionals in accordance with their professionalizing laws;

1) prepare performance evaluation plan that considers the improvement of
individual counselor efficiency and organizational effectiveness: Provided,
That each employee shall be informed regularly by the immediate
supervisor of one’s performance evaluation; and

8) provide for the institutionalization of the Basic Education Mental Health
and Well-Being Manual.

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SEC. 15. Salary Grade Adjustment of Guidance Counselors. - The salary
schedule for the positions of Guidance Counselors shall be modified as follows:

Position Title Current Salary Grade | Modified Salary Grade
Guidance Counselor I il 16
Guidance Counselor IT 12 17

Guidance Counselor III 13 te ey

SEC. 16. Remuneration, Benefits, and Incentives for Center Officers and
Support Personnel. - The DepEd shall endeavor to attract the best available and
qualified Center officers and support personnel through career progression, adequate
and competitive remuneration, benefits, incentives and allowances, scholarship and
training grants, and exchange programs. As such, the career and salary grades of
mental health professionals shall provide for a gradual progression from a minimum
to a maximum salary by means of regular increments, to be given regularly based on
merit and competencies as similarly given to Master Teachers.

The salary grades of mental health professionals and support personnel shall
be set in accordance with the Revised Compensation and Position Classification
System and other CSC Rules and Regulations.

SEC. 17. Other Benefits. ~The mental health professionals shall enjoy the rights
and privileges as provided in the Magna Carta for Public Health Workers, Mental
Health Law, and other pertinent laws.

SEC. 18. Scholarship Program and Service Obligation. - The DepEd, in
collaboration with the CHED, shall develop a scholarship program for in-service
teachers who shall take the required master’s degree or units on Guidance and
Counseling, or other related courses to equip them with knowledge on policies,
principles, and pedagogies on guidance and counseling.

As their return service, the grantees shall serve as Guidance Counselors or
Guidance Associates as they continue to work in the DepEd for such reasonable
period as may be determined by the latter.

SEC. 19. Continuing Education and Training. - The DepEd shall carry out the
appropriate regular training and skills upgrading and development for mental health

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professionals and support personnel.

To ensure that the in-service teachers have the basic knowledge in guidance
and counseling, the DepEd, within one (1) year from the effectivity of this Act, shall
ensure that all teachers as well as the non-teaching personnel in public and private
basic education schools are equipped with the needed basic training to detect
learners who may need mental health support and guidance and counseling, and
refer them to the Center for the appropriate intervention.

SEC. 20. Pre-Service Education and In-Service Training. - The DepEd shall
collaborate with the CHED to ensure that teacher education institutions offering
bachelor of elementary or secondary education degrees include in the curriculum
subjects on mental health.

In order to adequately provide the needed personnel for the implementation of
this Act, the CHED and the DepEd shall closely coordinate and effectively implement
Programs necessary to support the continuing education of DepEd personnel
including a unified system for ladderized education, which shall have a mechanism
for conversion of career experience into education degree credits. This shall include
programs for transitions and progressions for teaching and non-teaching personnel,
such as but not limited to programs for an education degree graduate to become a
Guidance Associate, and a psychology degree graduate to become a Guidance
Counselor: Provided, that, they shall pass the required licensure examinations or
were issued the required certifications.

SEC. 21. Readiness Assessment. ~ Upon the effectivity of this Act, the DepEd
shall conduct an evaluation of all schools to determine their readiness in the
provision of mental health and well-being services, including a general assessment
of each school’s current mental health and well-being programs and services, as well
as the resources and personnel they need: Provided, that, the DepEd shall coordinate
with the CHED to ensure the supply of qualified professionals through recruitment
of students in the appropriate courses and ensure their seamless progression from
higher education to employment, taking into consideration the demand for such
personnel in the multi-year roadmap as provided in this Act.

SEC. 22. Appropriations. - The amount necessary for the implementation of
this Act shall be charged against those authorized in the current appropriations of
the DepEd. Thereafter, the amount necessary for its continued implementation shall

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be included in the budget as a separate line item in the annual General
Appropriations Act.

The DepEd shall likewise submit the funding requirements, with its
corresponding annual targets for the implementation of the multi-year roadmap, to
the DBM and other concerned agencies for the determination of appropriate budget
allocation and inclusion under the yearlyNational Expenditure Program of the
government.

SEC. 23. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee (JCOC) on Mental Health.
There is hereby created a JCOC to oversee, monitor and evaluate the implementation
of this Act. The JCOC shall be composed of five (5) members each from the Senate
and the House of Representatives with the Chairs of the Committees on Basic
Education of both Houses as Co-chairs. The Chairs of the Committees on Higher
and Technical Education of both Houses shall likewise be designated as members of
the JCOC. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the
Senate shall designate the other three (3) members of the JCOC of the House and
the Senate, respectively, from among the members of the Committees on Basic
Education, one (1) member of which shall be from the minority.

SEC. 24. Sunset Review. - Within five (5) years after the effectivity of this Act,
or as the need arises, the JCOC shall conduct a sunset review. For purposes of this
Act, the term “sunset review” shall mean a systematic evaluation by the JCOC of the
implementing agencies’ performance and accomplishments, including the impact of
this Act, for purposes of determining remedial legislation.

SEC. 25. Annual Report. ~ For a period five (5) years from the approval of this
Act, the DepEd shall submit an annual report to the Committees on Basic Education
of both houses of Congress on the status of the implementation of this Act.

SEC. 26. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within ninety (90) days from
the effectivity of this Act, the DepEd, in consultation with relevant national
government agencies and other concerned stakeholders, shall issue the rules and
regulations implementing its provisions. The Implementing Rules and Regulations
(IRR) issued pursuant to this section shall take effect thirty (30) days after its
publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

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SEC. 27. Separability Clause. - If any part or provision of this Act is held invalid
or unconstitutional, the other provisions not so declared shall remain in force and
effect.

SEC. 28. Repealing Clause. ~ All other laws, executive orders, presidential
decrees, administrative orders, rules and regulations, issuances, or parts thereof
contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or
amended accordingly. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, nothing herein
contained shall repeal, amend or modify the provisions of R.A. No. 9258.

SEC. 29. Effectivity. ~ Notwithstanding the non-issuance of the IRR, this Act
shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a
newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,

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