EDUCATION Secretary Sonny Angara yesterday said the 2026 proposed budget will enable the department to hire 10,000 guidance counselors and boost the department’s mental health and psychosocial support to learners in public schools.
Angara said the hiring of guidance counselors would enhance the enforcement of the Anti-Bullying Law and learner rights and protection programs.
“The National Expenditure Program-level for the DepEd 2026 budget provides for the creation of 10,000 School Counselor Associate I positions to boost mental health and psychosocial support for learners,” Angara said, adding it is also a step to strengthen the institutional response to one of the most pressing issues facing the youth today.
In a hearing at the House of Representatives last week, Angara acknowledged that there are only 4,069 licensed guidance counselors in the country as of 2022.
He said the ideal number should be more than 50,000 to meet the ideal global ratio of one counselor for every 250 students.
During the hearing, Kabataan partylist representative Renee Co presented data showing the pressing need to hire more guidance counselors, saying that 65 percent of Filipino students reported being victims of at least one type of bullying a few times a month, while 40 percent reported being bullied frequently.
Co said this is higher than the 20 percent global average of bullying.
Last year, the Second Congressional Commission on Education lamented that only around 300 graduates are produced annually by schools in the country with the required master’s degree program in guidance and counselling.
Aside from hiring more guidance counselors, Angara said the DepEd is pushing a set of budget proposals for its wish-list to expand school-based health and disaster-response programs.
These, he added, include the universal coverage of the School-Based Feeding Program for Kindergarten to Grade 3 learners, continued support for severely wasted and wasted pupils in Grades 4 to 6 and adolescent mothers, the establishment of nearly 1,600 central kitchens and around 2,500 mobile kitchens nationwide.
It also includes the provision of dental chairs to around 1,900 central elementary schools, medical and dental supplies to nearly 2,600 clinics, and the creation of temporary learning spaces in disaster-affected communities.
Angara said that DepEd’s proposals are anchored on responsible governance, adding that the department under his watch will ensure that every peso allocated will go to improving the quality of basic education in the country.
“Kung hihingi tayo ng dagdag na pondo, dapat malinaw kung paano ito gagamitin at ano ang magiging resulta para sa ating mga mag-aaral (If we ask for additional funding, then we will make sure where it would be used and the expected result for our learners),” the DepEd chief said in a statement.
