Youth budget coalition says the hiring of school counselor associates and the care centers required by law are moving too slowly, and the 2027 budget names no clear target for either.
MANILA, Philippines – The Amplify Education Budget Initiative, the budget-advocacy campaign of the youth-led coalition Multiply-Ed (X-Ed) Philippines, has urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to treat the hiring of school mental health personnel and the building of school care centers as an emergency, warning that the department is moving too slowly even as incidents of violence and bullying in schools mount.
Nearly two years after the mental health law took effect, DepEd opened hiring for its target of 10,000 school counselor associates only in mid-2026. In several areas monitored by Multiply-Ed, coalition members report the associate posts were advertised only this August.
“Alarming yung pagtaas ng kaso ng school violence. It should be treated din as a mental health issue. Walang urgency ang Department, even the divisions, to fast-track hiring ng mga guidance counselors. Some of our members have only seen postings for hiring ngayong August,” said Humphrey Soriano, Engagement Officer of Multiply-Ed Philippines.
DepEd itself reported in August that fewer than 1,000 registered guidance counselors are serving more than 45,000 public schools, a ratio far short of the international standard of one counselor for every 250 learners.
Republic Act No. 12080, the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act signed in 2024, requires DepEd to establish a Care Center in every public school, a Mental Health and Well-Being Office in every school division, and new plantilla positions for school counselors and school counselor associates.
RA 12080 was signed in 2024, yet the department is only now standing up the workforce it requires, even as parents and teachers report more frequent incidents of campus violence and bullying that the counselors and care centers were meant to help prevent.
The coalition also faulted the budget for making the effort impossible to track. The proposed FY2027 National Expenditure Program carries no dedicated line item specifying how many counselors or associates will be hired, or how many care centers will be built and where, leaving the public with no target to hold the department to.
“Ang hirap i-track ang budgetary provisions sa mental health sa DepEd budget. Walang clear guide or specification kung ilang guidance counselor associates ang target i-hire at itatayong Care Centers. Idagdag mo pa yung kailangan nating i-review yung guidelines sa mga counselors dahil walang nag-a-apply sa baba ng sahod,” said John Elsisura, National Campaign Coordinator of Amplify Education Budget Initiative.
Amplify said the slow pace invites a harder question. With the entry-level School Counselor Associate I paid about P31,000 a month and the posts requiring specific degrees and eligibilities, the coalition asked whether the department must revise the qualification guidelines and remuneration for guidance positions to attract enough applicants to actually fill them.
Amplify is calling on DepEd and Congress to use the 2027 budget now under deliberation to fast-track the hiring of school counselor associates and the construction of the care centers RA 12080 requires, to set clear and published targets for both, and to revise the remuneration and specifications for guidance positions where these are slowing hiring, so that a counselor within reach of every learner is funded and met, not merely legislated.
About the Amplify Education Budget Initiative
The Amplify Education Budget Initiative is the budget-advocacy campaign of Multiply-Ed (X-Ed) Philippines, the only youth-led budget coalition in the country. It monitors the education budget from appropriation to delivery, tracks compliance with DepEd service standards through its multi-region school monitoring, and pushes for a transparent, adequately funded, and accountable education budget under the banner #MalayangEdukasyonPH.
