PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed into law on Monday, December 9, 2024, a measure that aims to institutionalize the mental health and well-being programs for both basic education learners and teaching and non-teaching personnel in public and private schools.
Marcos enacted into law “Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act” in a bid to ensure that students and teachers are emotionally and mentally “equipped to excel” amid facing modern challenges and to allow schools to become “sanctuaries of learning and of well-being.”
“Today, we renew our promise to every Filipino: that they will not only succeed academically but thrive holistically. Together, we envision a Philippines where mental health is prioritized alongside education, fostering a generation equipped to lead with resilience, compassion, and with purpose,” Marcos said in his speech during the ceremonial signing at Malacañang Palace.
“When our learners and school personnel are mentally healthy, academic performance improves, absenteeism decreases, and a culture of compassion and understanding flourishes. Beyond being a safeguard to our youth and school personnel, this law is also an investment in the intellectual, emotional, and social future and development of our nation,” he added.
Under the law, each public basic education school will establish care centers headed by a school counselor and assisted by school counselor associates that will provide counseling and stress management workshops and implement programs that will help reduce stigma on mental health.
These include screening, evaluation, assessment, and monitoring; mental health first aid; crisis response and referral system; mental health awareness and literacy; and emotional, developmental and preventive programs, among other support services.
Marcos raised the need for such legislation, noting that mental health challenges could cost P16 trillion in losses by 2030 globally.
He said such losses can be prevented by making the students more productive and ready to contribute to nation-building.
“Locally, the toll is evident in decreased academic outcomes, burnout, and turnover rates among students and school personnel,” Marcos added.
To address the nationwide shortage of guidance counselors, the law also creates the plantilla positions of school counselor associates I to V to help in the delivery of school-based mental health services.
School counselor associates can be graduates of a Bachelor's Degree in Guidance and Counselling or Psychology; any Bachelor's Degree with at least 18 units of courses in Guidance and Counseling or Psychology; or any related Bachelor's Degree with a minimum of 18 units of Behavioral Science subjects, including 200 hours of supervised practicum or internship experience on guidance and counseling, preferably in a school or community setting.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, principal author of the measure, hailed the passage of the law, which increases learners' access to mental health services.
"On top of experiencing what I call a 'pandemic' of mental health, the Philippines is also considered the bullying capital of the world. By ensuring the accessibility of mental health services, we can instill resilience in our learners, prevent suicides, and make our schools safer," he said. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)