MANILA – Members of the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture have urged the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to immediately approve the Qualification Standards (QS) for School Counselor Associates (SCAs), saying further delays are preventing the hiring of mental health personnel authorized under Republic Act No. 12080 and funded under the 2026 national budget.

The appeal was made during the committee’s hearing on school safety and violence, where lawmakers assessed the implementation of the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act alongside the Department of Education’s (DepEd) child protection and school safety policies following recent violent incidents involving students.

During the hearing, DepEd Undersecretary for Human Resource and Organizational Development Willie Cabral said no School Counselor Associates have been hired since the law took effect in 2024 because the creation of plantilla positions still depends on CSC approval of the Qualification Standards.

Cabral said DepEd began preparing the job descriptions and qualification standards after the law was enacted and formally submitted the proposed standards to the CSC on Nov. 27, 2025.

He said the CSC returned comments in January 2026, particularly regarding the law’s requirement for 200 hours of specialized training. DepEd later clarified that the training requirement is expressly provided under Republic Act No. 12080.

“We submitted a request for the creation of positions of School Counselor Associate I items to the DBM, but we received a communication saying that the creation will be subject to the approval of the qualification standards that we submitted to the Civil Service Commission,” Cabral said.

“As of June 3 this year, we were informed that it’s already on the Commission en banc for approval, and so we sent another follow-up letter, citing, among others, that the creation of School Counselor Associates is contingent on that approval,” he added.

House Committee Chairperson and EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Rep. Roman Romulo questioned the delay, noting that nearly two years have passed since Congress enacted the measure.

“Why did it take too long? Sinubmit nila sa inyo November 27, 2025. Iisipin talaga ng taong bayan kaya biglang ginagalawan ninyo kasi nangyari na yung Tacloban (incident). But if you had acted on this earlier then maybe they could have done something. 2024 pa yung batas na ‘yan. So gaano katagal pa?” Romulo said during the hearing.

The CSC confirmed that the proposed Qualification Standards are still under deliberation by the Commission. It said observations raised after DepEd’s submission required further review and assured lawmakers that it recognizes the urgency of the matter, although it could not provide a timetable for approval.

Lawmakers also pointed out that while teachers are being trained to identify early signs of distress among students, they cannot continue taking on counseling responsibilities in addition to their existing workload. They also cited classroom congestion and high teacher-to-student ratios as factors that make sustained psychosocial support difficult.

EDCOM 2’s Final Report likewise found continuing shortages of guidance and mental health personnel in schools, leaving many learners without adequate psychosocial services despite persistent concerns over bullying, violence, and behavioral issues. The report also underscored the limited number of licensed guidance counselors relative to vacancies in DepEd, highlighting the need to establish School Counselor Associate positions.

Romulo said Congress has already enacted the law and allocated funding for 10,000 School Counselor Associate positions under the 2026 General Appropriations Act, but implementation cannot proceed until the CSC approves the Qualification Standards.

He also called for the full implementation of Republic Act No. 12080 and DepEd Order No. 6, s. 2026, which strengthened the department’s child protection and school safety protocols.

“Schools must remain places where children feel safe, supported, and ready to learn. The law is already there. The funding is already there. What we need now is swift implementation. We cannot afford any more delays,” Romulo said.