THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC ) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
First Regular Session 
1 
S E N A T E  
E !VI 
Introduced by Senator LUISA “LOI” P. EJERCITO ESTRADA 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article 2, Section 13 provides: 
“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. 
It shall inculcate in 
the youth patriotism and nationalism, and encourage their 
involvement in public and civic affairs.” 
Filipino children under the age of eighteen (1 8 ) require mental health services. 
Unfortunately, counseling professionals are stretched thin, and oRen students do not get 
the help they need. 
Our public elementary and secondary schools need more mental health 
professionals, and the flexibility to hire the professionals that will best serve our students. 
Government’s support for this would pay for itself, through reduced incidences of death, 
violence, and substance abuse, and through improvements in students’ academic 
achievement, graduation rates, college attendance, and employment. 
Hence, this bill seeks to recruit, hire, and train additional school-based guidance 
counselors, psychologists, school social workers and mental health personnel. 
LUISA “LOI” 4 EJERCITO ESTRADA 
Senator 


THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC ) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
1 
S E N A T E  
I
.
 
8-9 r) 
S. B. No. 
~ 
" 
Introduced by Senator LUISA "LOP' P. EJERCITO ESTRADA 
AN ACT 
TO 
RECRUIT, 
HWE, 
AND 
TRAIN 
ADDITIONAL SCHOOLBASED 
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. 'I 
Section 2. Purposes. - The purposes of this Act are to: 
help elementary and secondary institutions to recruit, train, and hire 
additional school-based mental health personnel, counselors, social 
workers, and school psychologists; 
help adequately address the mental, emotional, and developmental needs 
of elementary and secondary school students; 
remove the emotional, behavioral, and psycho-social barriers to learning 
so as to enhance the classroom preparedness and ability to learn of 
students; 
support school staff and teachers in improving classroom management, 
conducting behavioral interventions to improve school discipline, and 
developing the awareness and skills to identifv early warning signs of 
violence and the need for mental health services; and 
support parents in improving the school behavior and academic success of 
their children. 
2 


Section 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. 
“MENTAL HEALTH AND STUDENT SERVICES” includes direct, 
(2) 
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” means an individual who has documented 
competence in counseling children and adolescents in a school setting and 
(3) 
who- 
(A) 
possesses licensure or certification granted by 
a 
professional regulatory authority; 
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 
holds a minimum of a master’s degree in school counseling. 
“SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST” means 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 in a supervised school psychology internship, 
of which six hundred (600) hours shall be in the school setting; 
(B) 
(C) 
(4) 
(5) 
“SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER” means an individual who holds a 
.-. 
masters degree in social work.. 
Section 4. Hiring of additional school-based counselors, psychologists and 
social workers, - The Secretary of Education, shall, subject to existing rules and 
3 


regulations of the education department, 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. 
Section 5. Guidelines. - The Secretary of Education shall one hundred twenty 
days (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. 
Section 6. Appropriations. - There shall be appropriated from the National 
Treasury such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. 
Section 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. 
Section 8. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, 
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to 
or inconsistent with the provision of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or mended 
accordingly. 
Section 9. Eflectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (1 5) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
GWprecydisk2/mental health personnel 
4