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Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
July 2, 2026 | 3:17pm
Department of Education head office at Meralco Ave., Pasig City
CC BY-SA 4.0 / Patrick Roque via Wikipedia
MANILA, Philippines — Two years after the passage of a landmark law aimed at addressing the nationwide shortage of guidance counselors, the Civil Service Commission has approved the qualification standards for 10,000 new school mental health positions.
Under CSC Resolution 2600920, the Department of Budget and Management is now cleared to officially create the "School Counselor Associate I" items.
The Department of Education had initially aimed to deploy these personnel in time for school year 2026-2027 school year, which opened last month.
The CSC resolution also establishes a clear career progression within the public school system, creating higher-ranked career tiers including School Counselor I to IV, School Counselor Associate I to V, and Schools Division Counselor.
While approximately P2 billion in funding had already been earmarked in the 2026 national budget, DepEd was legally unable to start filling the positions until the CSC finalized the hiring guidelines and the DBM created the formal plantilla positions.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara lauded the development and called it "a major milestone in the implementation of RA 12080" in a statement released Wednesday.
Republic Act 12080, or the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act, was enacted in 2024 to fill the demand for more mental health workers in schools amid a shortage of licensed counselors.
It allows college graduates holding degrees in psychology, behavioral science, or guidance and counseling to qualify as "counselor associates," provided they have completed 200 hours of relevant training. They do not require a Professional Regulation Commission license.
Angara said in the DepEd statement that these initial 10,000 associate positions represent just the first phase of their expansion of mental health workers in schools. DepEd is currently drafting the internal guidelines to govern their recruitment, appointment, and deployment.
The delay in the approval of standards had previously drawn friction from lawmakers. During a June 29 hearing, House basic education panel chair Rep. Roman Romulo (Pasig City) flagged the sluggish approval of the standards.
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian — the law's principal author — urged DepEd to "lose no time" in filling the vacancies.
