School counselor associates yet to be hired nearly 2 years after law signed

MANILA, Philippines – Lawmakers on Monday, June 29, called out the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) for the delay in the hiring of school counselor associates who are supposed to help public schools in providing mental health services to students. 

The callout was made in a House basic education committee hearing, following recent incidents of school violence, including the fatal shooting in Tacloban City that left three students dead and 20 others injured.

Pasig City Representative Roman Romulo, the panel chairman, stressed that there are less than 8,000 psychologists and registered guidance counselors in the country. 

He noted that this shortage led to the passage of Republic Act No. 12080, or the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act, which requires the creation of the school counselor associate position. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed it in December 2024.

“2024 pa ‘yung batas na ‘yan. Asan na tayo ngayon? (The law was passed in 2024. Where are we now?)” Romulo asked.

“Under GAA (General Appropriations Act) 2026, you were given 10,000 items to hire school counselor associates, and you also have for registered guidance counselors. What’s happening there?”

Around P2 billion was earmarked in the 2026 budget for the hiring of 10,000 school counselor associates.

Under the law, those who can be hired as school counselor associates are graduates who earned a bachelor’s degree in guidance and counseling or psychology, or college graduates with at least 18 units in guidance and counseling, psychology, or behavioral science, and must have 200 hours of training. They will have salary grades 11 to 15.

Education Assistant Secretary Wilfredo Cabral admitted that the DepEd has not yet hired school counselor associates since the law was passed, but he explained that the bottleneck now lies with the CSC.

Cabral said they already prepared the job description and submitted the qualification standards for the position for CSC approval in November 2025. By January 2026, the commission questioned the provision requiring 200 hours of training for school counselor associates, to which the DepEd replied that it was mandated by law.

“As of June 3 this year, we were informed that it’s already [with] the commission en banc for approval, and so we sent another follow-up letter…citing, among others, that the creation of [the position] is contingent on the approval,” he said.

Romulo asked the CSC how soon they could give the approval. “Hindi talaga maiiwasan, iisipin talaga ng taong-bayan [na] kaya biglang ginagalawan ninyo kasi nangyari na ‘yung Tacloban,” he added.

(It’ll be unavoidable for the public to think that you’re only taking action now because of what happened in Tacloban.)

Christian Dawn Molina, acting director of the CSC Human Resource Policies and Standards Office, only said the decision is “due for release anytime soon.”

“I can’t commit any definite timeline. I apologize, Mr. Chair, but definitely the commission is aware of the urgency,” Molina said.

The Second Congressional Commission on Education previously flagged the shortage of principals and guidance counselors in public schools, which contributes to the worsening problem of bullying in the country. 

San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, where two minors carried out the shooting on June 22, does not have a registered guidance counselor. There are also only three DepEd registered guidance counselors in the city. 

The DepEd in Tacloban City had to rely on a network of professionals from government agencies, faith-based groups, and other nongovernment organizations to mount the initial response for healing of the school community. 

School security measures

Safety and security measures in schools were also tackled during Monday’s hearing.

Education Assistant Secretary Roger Masapol told lawmakers that the DepEd plans to make bag inspection mandatory in public schools. But the agency is still studying how to implement the policy based on the size of the school population.

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The DepEd will also seek a bigger budget and more plantilla positions for security guards in public schools, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said in a chance interview at Alfonso Castañeda National High School in Nueva Vizcaya.

Angara said there was a reduction in the number of security guards before he became the DepEd chief in July 2024.

“Ang iniwan na lang mga 200, eh kung titingnan natin 48,000 ang schools natin. ‘Yung ibang schools kailangan ng more than one security guard,” he said.

(Only 200 positions were left, but we have around 48,000 schools. Some schools need more than one security guard.)

The DepEd will also update its emergency protocols to include active shooting scenarios and to set up a reporting mechanism for shooting threats made online, according to Masapol. – Rappler.com