PRBGC Updates: Licensure Requirements

Last night, February 27, 2007, we the forerunners: forefather and foremothers of IPCAP (Integrated Professional Counselors Association of the Philippines) met as scheduled. The first on the agenda was on licensure requirements. The Professional Regulatory Board of Guidance & Counseling (PRBGC) deliberated at PRC (Professional Regulation Commission) the requirements for licensing the Grandfather’s Clause, i.e., what is stipulated under Section 14 of RA 9258 which reads (and I quote here in toto):

SEC. 14. Registration Without Taking Licensure Examination. – A person
who possesses the pertinent qualifications required for admission in
the examination for registration as a Guidance Counselor pursuant to the
provisions of this Act may be registered without examination: Provided,
That the applicant files with the Board within two (2) years after its creation,
an application for registration and issuance of a Certificate of Registration and
Professional Identification Card by submitting credentials showing that the
applicant before the effectivity of this Act:
a) Had been doctoral and masters degree holders in Guidance and Counseling with at least three (3) years of teaching experience in Guidance and Counseling courses and/or full-time counseling practice for the same period;
b) Had passed at least eighteen (18) units of Master’s level courses in Guidance and Counseling such as Counseling Techniques/Theories, Organization and Administration of Guidance Services, Tests and Measurement, Group Process/ Counseling and Career Guidance/Counseling; and have, at least seven (7) years of experience in counseling work; and
c) Had completed academic requirements for a master’s degree in guidance and counseling and have five (5) years experience as full-time guidance counselors.

Hence, the following are the requirements further stipulated:

1. P1,950.00 registration fee. The license to be awarded is, like most professional licenses, good for three years. This may reduce the economic advantages of those in the habit of producing fake licenses as well as the fixers around PRC. Having a license good for three years is actually convenient for the professional, both those living in the urban and rural settings.

2. Certificate/s of Good Moral Character from one’s employer/s for the past seven years work as Counselor. This/these certificate/s are to be submitted to PGCA National Office who shall issue a certificate of active membership, i.e., having participated actively in PGCA activities, at least once a year. The Official Receipt for being a member of PGCA shall serve as evidence of one’s membership with PGCA, the Accredited Professional Organization. The latter may be true for new members, hence they should keep their official receipt and/or deposit slip of the latest payment, particularly for 2007. For those residing in the provinces, they may submit this/these document/s to the Local Chapter of PGCA which shall then send them in bulk to the National Office of PGCA who shall issue the certificate of active membership to applicants.

3. NBI clearance for both Counselors working in the private and government sectors. The clearance required is that which is issued for local purposes, not migration or international. It should be easy to get this since every local government has an NBI branch all over the country. In Quezon City, such clearance can be had within two hours.

4. Certificate of Clearance from the Ombudsman – only for Counselors working in the government sector.

5. Birth Certificate – from the NSO. The photocopy can be submitted but the original copy should be made immediately available.

6. Transcript of Records (TOR) – both undergraduate and graduate. A certified true photocopy of this document may be submitted, provided that the original be immediately available upon application. For schools that don’t issue original copies of the TOR, a certified true copy should suffice, and a photocopy of this document may be submitted provided that the original certified true copy is made immediately available when requested upon application.

7. 2 x 2 ID, recent, colored, with white background (recent is within the last 6 months)
Certificate of Employment or Service Record of seven years’ experience.

8. PRC Form for Application to have the license under the Grandfather's Clause. (Those who will take the 1st and succeeding Board Exams shall need to fill this Form at the appropriate time.)

Note that the Certificate of Good Moral Character should first be submitted to PGCA for certification of active membership, as well as verification. Hence, if one has paid one's membership fee of P500, a copy of the OR or the bank deposit slip should also be included together with the Certificate/s of Good Moral Character. PGCA as APO is tasked with enforcing the Code of Ethics of our Counseling practice. The PGCA address given by its current President Dr. Rosa Ma. Llanes is: #2 Diamond St., UP Professors Village, Tandang Sora, Quezon City

As to the dates when these applications should be made:

March 19, 2007 – start of filing for the application for licensure under the Grandfather’s Clause. Application should be done personally at the PRC. Bring all required documents.

March 22– May 22, 2007: the time PRB evaluates submitted applications and documents

May 23, 2007: License release date for those approved under the Grandfather’s Clause. Schools will then have knowledge if one’s school Counselors are licensed or not. Under RA9258, no Counselor shall practice without the license.

Oct. 29 – Nov. 29, 2007: period for application for the first batch to take the Board Exam.

Dec. 8, 2007: Schedule for 1st Licensure Exams in Guidance and Counseling

Dec. 16, 2007: Release of results

I shall be downloading the following documents on this blog for everyone to have a first-hand look at them: The Guidance & Counseling Act of 2004 otherwise known as RA9258, its Implementing Rules & Regulations (or IRR), the Code of Ethics, and the 2nd Revision of the Standards of Good Practice. PGCA has been roaming around the country to have the last three ratified by all Counselors who went to its meetings. I have myself attended two of these related activies: one at FEU and another at Adamson University. Those of us at IPCAP have been directed to do our part to disseminate the information so that those affected may get reliable information. Hence, please pass the word around, and if you have any inquiries, feel free to communicate to me through my gmail account since my yahoo account has been taking forever this afternoon to open. My new email address is berngu721@gmail.com

So long. God bless