QuestionsQuestions (Republic Act No. 9258)
RA 9258 is titled the “Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004.” Its policy is to promote the improvement, advancement, and protection of the guidance and counseling profession by ensuring professional, ethical, relevant, efficient, and effective services, and by establishing preventive regulatory measures and mechanisms for continuing professional development of guidance counselors.
Guidance and Counseling is a profession using an integrated approach to develop a well-functioning individual by helping them use their potentials, plan their future, and includes counseling, psychological testing, research, placement, group process, teaching/practicing guidance counseling subjects, and other human development services. A guidance counselor is a natural person registered and issued a valid Certificate of Registration and Professional Identification Card by the PRC and the Board, performing the functions under the Act for a fee/salary/compensation via specialized training.
The Board is created under the administrative control and supervision of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). It is composed of a Chairman and two (2) members appointed by the President from recommendees submitted by the PRC based on nominations from an accredited and integrated organization.
The Board supervises and regulates the practice; determines qualifications for registration and special permits; prepares and rates licensure examinations (computerized process); prepares or issues syllabi for licensure subjects in consultation with CHED and the academe; registers successful examinees and issues Certificates of Registration; issues special/temporary permits for foreign guidance counselors under conditions; monitors practice conditions and conducts ocular inspection; ensures CHED compliance for educational institutions; promulgates rules including Code of Ethics and Code of Technical Standards; investigates violations and can issue subpoenas; renders decisions in administrative cases (subject to appeal rules); and can initiate criminal action against violators.
Members must be Filipino citizens; residents for at least five years; of good moral character and not convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude; be qualified guidance counselors with valid Certificate of Registration (and for first members, certificates issued without prior examination); hold a doctoral degree in Guidance and Counseling from a CHED-recognized/reputable institution; have at least ten (10) years of continuous professional practice; must not be faculty members teaching regular/review guidance counseling courses or have pecuniary interest in such institutions; and must not be officials of the integrated/accredited national professional organization.
Board members hold office for three (3) years or until successors are appointed and qualified, and may be reappointed for a second term. For the first Board, terms are staggered: one Chairman for three years, one member for two years, and one member for one year. Vacancies are filled only for the unexpired portion of the term.
All records of the Board, including applications and investigative cases, are under the custody of the PRC/Commission. The Commission designates the Secretary of the Board and provides secretariat and support services.
Yes. All applicants for registration for practice must undergo a licensure examination given by the Board and the PRC in designated places and dates in accordance with RA 8981, subject to compliance with PRC requirements.
At the time of filing: (1) Philippine citizen or foreigner from a country with reciprocity; (2) no conviction of an offense involving moral turpitude; and (3) a Bachelor’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling or allied disciplines and a Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling from a CHED-recognized/accredited institution (in the Philippines or abroad).
A person with the pertinent qualifications may be registered without examination if they file within two (2) years after the Board’s creation, submitting credentials showing that before the Act’s effectivity they were: (1) doctoral and master’s degree holders in Guidance and Counseling with at least three years of teaching and/or full-time counseling practice; (2) had passed at least eighteen (18) units of Master’s-level counseling-related courses; and (3) had at least seven (7) years of counseling work experience, plus (4) completion of academic requirements for the Master’s and five (5) years experience as full-time guidance counselors.
The exam covers: (1) Philosophical, Psychological and Sociological Foundations of Guidance; (2) Counseling Theories, Tools and Techniques; (3) Psychological Testing; (4) Organization and Administration of Guidance Services; and (5) Group Process and Program Development. The Board may revise/exclude/add subjects subject to approval by the PRC.
A candidate passes with a weighted general average of at least 75%, with no subject grade lower than 60%. If the examinee has a weighted average of 75% or higher but any subject is below 60%, they must take a re-exam in that subject/s within two (2) years from the last exam, and each retaken subject must be at least 75% to qualify as having passed.
No certificate shall be denied, revoked, or suspended for the enumerated reasons until after a sworn complaint is filed and heard in a public hearing, or upon request, behind closed doors.
No person may practice without a valid Certificate of Registration and Professional Identification Card or special permit; no person may represent as licensed during suspension/revocation; and no license holder may allow an unqualified person to use their license to practice. No corporation/partnership/association/entity may operate a guidance counseling office/center or practice without securing a permit from the Board, issued only after verifying proper staffing by duly licensed guidance counselors. Unethical practice as defined in the Code is also prohibited.
A certified guidance counselor cannot, without client consent, be examined as to any communication or information acquired while attending to the client. This protection extends to records and the counselor’s clerk/secretary. Evidence obtained in violation is inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding.
Any person who violates any provision of RA 9258 and its implementing rules or commits fraud in acquiring a Certificate of Registration or special permit is punishable by imprisonment of not less than six (6) months but not more than eight (8) years, or a fine of not less than PHP 50,000 but not more than PHP 100,000, or both, at the discretion of the court.