Employment of School Counselors in Filipinler Has Been Delayed for İki Yıl

The basic education committee of the Filipinler House of Representatives harshly criticized the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) following violent incidents in public schools across the country. Officials protested that no hiring has yet been done for school counselor positions intended to provide mental health services to students. Rising violent incidents, including a tragic school attack in Tacloban that led to the deaths of three students and injured 20 others, have made the delay on this issue even more critical. Despite the relevant legislation being signed in Aralık 2024, the fact that bureaucratic obstacles remain unresolved is drawing significant backlash. Officials have had to issue declarations and demonstrate resolve to ensure these positions are urgently filled.

Pasig City Representative and committee chair Roman Romulo highlighted this dramatic shortage, noting that there are only about 8.000 psychologists and guidance counselors nationwide. To address this inadequacy, Republic Act No. 12080, also known as the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act, was signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Aralık 2024. This law mandates the creation of the position of 'school counselor associate,' specifically for deployment in schools. Romulo pointed to the officials' silence, questioning why appointments had not commenced even though months had passed since the law was enacted. Despite an allocation of approximately 2 billion Philippine pesos in the 2026 budget for the Department to hire 10.000 school counselor associates, the lack of any progress has caused great astonishment.

Education Undersecretary Wilfredo Cabral admitted that the Ministry has not hired any school counselor associates since the law went into effect. Cabral pointed to a bureaucratic impasse, claiming that the primary reason for the delay is the approval process at the Civil Service Commission. It was noted that the Ministry submitted the job description and qualification standards for the position to the Commission in Kasım 2025, but by Ocak 2026, the 200-hour training requirement mandated for employment was objected to. DepEd officials responded to the objections by stating that this training requirement was directly mandated by law. It is expressed that the Civil Service Commission sent its decision to its general assembly in early 2026 and that the process could be finalized at any moment.

The armed attack carried out by two underage students on 22 Haziran at San Jose National High School in Tacloban is among the most horrific incidents to shake the national agenda. Investigations revealed that there was no registered guidance counselor at the school where the attack took place, and there were only three Department of Education counselors serving all public schools in the Tacloban city. Due to this inadequacy, education officials in Tacloban had to establish a network of professionals from non-governmental organizations, religious groups, and other public institutions to support the school community's recovery process. The shortage of guidance counselors and principals in the country's public schools stands out as one of the chronic issues frequently raised by the Second Congressional Commission on Education. Officials also directly link the weak psychological support systems in schools to the rising incidents of bullying in the country.

During the contentious committee hearing, security measures were discussed in detail, alongside the lack of mental health services in schools. DepEd officials announced they would tighten security policies by planning to make bag searches mandatory in public schools. It was emphasized that to implement this new security measure, a model analyzing the population density and physical capacities of schools in detail was created, but that taking practical steps would take time. Officials in Manila added that daily monitoring efforts are underway to ensure all measures are implemented by the next academic term. Ensuring school security and addressing the psychological needs of students across Filipinler are considered a vital crisis that must be addressed as a whole. When the process will be fully back on track and when the employment will commence continue to be closely monitored by members of the legislature and the public.