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

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

509
HOUSE BILLNo. ~~

Introduced by
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. FRANCE L. CASTRO,
BAYAN MUNA Party-List Rep. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE,
Rep. FERDINAND GAITE and Rep. EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT,
GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. ARLENE D. BROSAS,
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. SARAH JANE |. ELAGO.

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

EXPLANATORY NOTE nd
*
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 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.

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


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

However, these needs are 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.

* Article 1, Section 2


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

Rep. oe eAS T. ZARATE

Rep. FERDINAND GAITE
BAYAN MUNA Party-List BAYAN MUNA Party-List

woe

Rep. EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT

&ép. ARLENE D. BROSAS
BAYAN MUNA Party-List

GABRIELA Women’s Party

JANE |. ELAGO
\N Party-List



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

509°

HOUSE BILL No.

Introduced by
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. FRANCE L. CASTRO,
BAYAN MUNA Party-List Rep. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE,
Rep. FERDINAND GAITE and Rep. EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT,
GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. ARLENE D. BROSAS,
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. SARAH JANE |. ELAGO

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

Grade Grade
Guidance Counselor | 11 16
Guidance Counselor I! 22 17
Guidance Counselor II 13 18
Guidance Coordinator | 14 19
Guidance Coordinator Il 15 20
Guidance Coordinator II! 16 21
Guidance Services Associate | 12 17
Guidance Services Associate I! 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 savings of the Department of Education.
Thereafter, the funds shall be provided 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,