Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House BiLLNOo6 O01

Introduced by
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. ANTONIO L. TINIO and Rep. FRANCE L. CASTRO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Guidance and counseling play an important part in the holistic development of
a child. They address the basic psychological needs of children and strengthen the
educational program of schools.

School’s guidance and counseling seek to provide for the realization of
students’ potentialities, to help children with developing problems, to contribute to
the development of the school’s curriculum, to provide teachers with technical
assistance, and to contribute to the mutual adjustment of students and the school.!
Guidance counselors and guidance-related personnel even aim to increase school
participation and to lessen drop-out incidences by determining addressing factors for
absences, failures, drop-outs, and others, as well as conducting targeted interventions
for learners suffering from such factors.

The Philippine public school system is flooded with challenges including
classroom management, student discipline, and the necessity to address the needs of
underachieving students and children with learning and other disabilities. These
challenges demonstrate the pressing need for a sufficient number of guidance
counselors who have the professional expertise and training to help the youth not only
in their present lives as students, but also with their future—college and career
aspirations, personal and social development, and more.

Republic Act 9258 or the Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004 provides for a

policy of promoting the “improvement, advancement, and protection of the guidance
and counseling services profession by undertaking and instituting measures that will

} Gibson, R.L., Introduction to Guidance and Counseling (2008)


result in professional, ethical, relevant, efficient, and effective guidance and
counseling services for the development and enrichment of individuals and group
lives.”?

However, this need is unmet, as the Guidance Counselor and guidance-related
positions (Guidance Coordinator, Guidance Services Associate, and Guidance Services
Specialist) are rare within the Department of Education. First, the government
provides Guidance Counselor items only for high schools—there are none for
elementary schools. Most elementary schools assign guidance counseling and
coordinating duties to public school teachers despite their lack of qualifications and
training for the job, and notwithstanding the fact that guidance counselling is an
additional load or burden to the teachers. As of August 2017, the DepEd has only 1,457
Guidance Counselor I-III and Guidance Coordinator I-III items nationwide.

Second, the few guidance-related items provided are not being filled up
because of the low compensation offered (minimum of Salary Grade 11) despite the
high qualifications (a masteral degree, among others), expertise and the heavy case
load. When the Salary Standardization Law took effect in 1989, the guidance
counselors’ salary grade became equivalent to Teacher III despite their specialty and
higher qualifications. As a result, most licensed guidance counselors are found in
private schools that can offer good compensation.

This bill therefore seeks to increase the number of guidance counselors and
guidance-related personnel in the public school system by mandating the creation of
sufficient plantilla positions for our public schools and to attract more of them by
increasing their salaries.

For these reasons, passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

Rep. ANTONIO L. TINIO
ACT Teachers Party-List

? Article 1, Section 2


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

6501

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. ANTONIO L. TINIO and Rep. FRANCE L. CASTRO

AN ACT
CREATING IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION THE PLANTILLA POSITIONS OF
GUIDANCE COUNSELORS IN EVERY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND ADDITIONAL
PLANTILLA POSITIONS OF GUIDANCE COUNSELOR FOR HIGH SCHOOL, INCREASING
‘THE SALARIES OF GUIDANCE COUNSELORS AND GUIDANCE-RELATED POSITIONS,
AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

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

SECTION 1. Creation of plantilla positions. The Department of Education, with the
Department of Budget and Management, shall ensure that there is sufficient number
of plantilla positions for guidance counselors in every public elementary and high
school.

For purposes of this Act, the Department of Education shall endeavor to meet
the recommended ratios of one guidance counselor for every 200 students in the
public elementary and high schools.

SECTION 2. Increase in Salary Grades of Guidance Coordinators, Guidance
Counselors, Guidance Services Associates, and Guidance Services Specialists. The
present minimum salary grade levels of guidance coordinators, guidance counselor,
guidance services associates, and guidance services specialists shall be increased in the
following manner:

Current Increased
Current Position Classification Salary Salary
7 Grade Grade
Guidance Counselor | 11 16



Guidance Counselor II 12 17
Guidance Counselor Ill 13 18
Guidance Coordinator | 14 19
Guidance Coordinator II 15 20
Guidance Coordinator III 16 21
Guidance Services Associate | 12 17
Guidance Services Associate II 14 19
Guidance Services Specialist | 16 20
Guidance Services Specialist II 18 21
Guidance Services Specialist II! 20 22
Guidance Services Specialist IV 22 23
Guidance Services Specialist V 24 24

SECTION 3. Appropriations. The amounts necessary for the initial implementation of
this Act shall be charged against the current year’s appropriations of the Department
of Education. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the continued
implementation of this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 4. Separability Clause. Should any provision herein be declared
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity of the other provisions of this
Act.

SECTION 5. Repealing Clause. All other laws, decrees, orders, issuances, rules and
regulations which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed,
amended, or modified accordingly.

SECTION 6. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from the publication
in the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,