Republic Act 9258

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Given the various requirements and qualifications for any person to be able to apply for accreditation under this law, one cannot help but ponder what will happen if such a law is not followed or strictly observed.

Republic Act 9258

This is where the penalty clause comes in. Article VI Rule 42 or the penalty clause states that “any person who violates any provision of the Act and Implementing Rules and Regulations issued by the Board and the Commission, commits fraud in the acquisition of Certificate of Registration or special permit shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than 6 months but not more than 8 years or a fine not less than P50,000 but not more than P100,000 or both in the discretion of the court.”

Republic Act 9258

By now, a good number must have heard of the Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004 or the Republic Act 9258. Yet how many of us are truly aware of its implications on all current and would be psychologists here in the Philippines? How well do we understand the impact of such a law on our current practice and future endeavors? There might even be some who are not fully conscious of the law’s existence. Given the current stance we as a community find ourselves in, this article is therefore written with the hopes of helping us understand better the law, and with the desire to spread a greater sense of awareness regarding its effects on all of us concerned.

What is this all about? How are we affected?

What is the Guidance and

Counseling Act of 2004?

RA 9258, more popularly known as the Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004, is a law crafted and designed to professionalize the practice of guidance and counseling in the Philippines. The law also entails the creation of a Professional Regulatory Board of Guidance and Counseling who will then be mandated by this very law to formulate the necessary rules and regulations that will implement the provisions contained within, in coordination with the accredited professional organization. The interim accredited professional organization happens to be the PGCA or the Philippine Guidance and Counseling Association, Inc.

Under the Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004, there is also a provision which makes way for Registration without having to take the licensure examination (The grandfather’s clause). This goes with its own set of requirements and qualifications. Those who are eligible to fall under this provision are those who live up to the following criterion:

They are Ph.D. or M.A. holders in Guidance and Counseling with at least 3 years of teaching experience &/or full time counseling practice for the same period.

They have passed at least 18 units of Master’s level courses in Guidance and Counseling such as Counseling Techniques, Organization and Administration of Guidance Services, Psychological Tests and Measurement, Group Process/Group Facilitating and Career Guidance; and have at least 7 years of experience in counseling work.

They have completed academic requirements for a master’s degree in guidance and counseling and had 5 years experience as full-time guidance counselor/part time guidance counselor with officially designated teaching load in guidance and counseling.

This law basically states that “No person shall engage in the practice of guidance and counseling without a valid Certificate of Registration and a valid Professional Identification Card or a Special Permit” and that “no corporation, partnership, association or entity shall operate a guidance and counseling office, center/clinic, testing center, rehabilitation center, or otherwise engage in the practice of guidance and counseling without first securing a permit from the Board. The permit shall be issued only after it has satisfied the Board that such establishment is properly staffed by duly Registered and Licensed Guidance Counselors.”

What are the most important points of the Guidance Act?

Given that the Guidance Act was created to regulate and professionalize counseling in the country, terms must first be clarified and well defined to understand how this law comes into play. First of all, how is Guidance and Counseling itself defined under RA 9258? According to this law, guidance and counseling is “the profession that involves the use of an integrated approach to the development of a well-functioning individual primarily by helping him/her to utilize his/her potentials to the fullest and plan/his/her present and future in accordance with his/her abilities, interests and needs.”

What then are the requirements for one to be able to apply for a license under this law?

For any person desiring accreditation under RA 9258, he or she must be able to live up to the following qualifications:

•Be a citizen of the Philippines, or a foreigner whose country has reciprocity with the Philippines for the practice of guidance and counseling.

•Not have been convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude

•Be a holder of either a Bachelor’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling or in other allied disciplines, a Master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling from an institution in the Philippines or abroad, or a Ph.D. or Ed.D in Guidance and Counseling or Counseling Psychology.

The authors of the law continued to define it further by saying that “it includes functions such as counseling, psychological testing (i.e. personality, career, interest, aptitude, mental ability, achievement), learning and study orientation, research placement, referral and group processes. It includes the teaching of guidance and counseling subjects particularly those covered in the Licensure Examinations and necessary in other human development services.”