RA 9258 Rules & Regulations Published!

Monday afternoon, September 3, I got a text from Dr. Llanes (current PGCA President) informing me about the publication of the Rules and Regulations (RR) of the Guidance & Counseling Act of 2004 (RA9258). We did not have the newspaper where it was published so I personally went to Cubao to get my copy. I was lucky to get the last copy in the newstand. At first I felt cheated after not finding it in any of the pages. But Ms. Belen Mandin had texted me earlier that she had read it, so I called her to inquire where it was.

Yes, The Rules & Regulations of RA 9258 has been published today September 4, 2007 in the Manila Standard Today newspaper. The material can be found in page B5 Business Section. I pored through it immediately and felt happy. However, I felt sad to read that some portions/lines of Section 14 paragraph b had been missed out. So I alerted Dr. Llanes about it. After I got back to the seminary, I texted one of the Board members about the matter. I also called PRC and alerted them about it. Atty. Almelor assured me that they will check their records to validatae my observation, and if so, something should be done. This afternoon Dr. Guzman texted me back the following information: Manila Standard will publish an erratum on the matter on SEPT 6, 2007. Hope the misssed out portion will be clarified then because of its importance. Get your copy, or already tell your newsboy to reserve a copy for you. I hope to get my copy in Davao.

The implication of this publication is this: 15 days after the publication, i.e., starting Sept. 5, thoe among us who would like to apply for the Grandfather's Clause (license without examination) may already start the application process at PRC. This means that by Sept. 20, 2007 PRC will be accepting applications for the Grandfather's Clause licenses for Guidance & Counseling. Dr. Guzman told me that we need to ready our documentary requirements so they can process our application starting then. Please read the pertinent portions in the RR to get the idea.

In the meantime, I will be leaving for Davao tomorrow together with the PACERS Board for our Midyear Workshop which will be held at Grand Men Seng Hotel. I shall be back on Sept 8 in the afternoon. I shall read the material again (RR) and write here in this blog what the required documents are needed to be prepared for those applying for the licensure (Grandfather's & examinations). In this way those who may not have gotten their copies of Manila Standard Today Sept. 4, 2007 may also have an idea about the official contents of the RR. Now we need no longer panic because the publication of the document makes this whole thing really official and binding.

I checked with the website of Manila Standard Today just half an hour ago. Unfortunately, they don't seem to include such essential documents in their website. I wrote an email to them requesting if they can have it plublished online so we can read it ourselves, i.e., those who may not have had the chance to get their Sept. 4 copy. Let's pray they grant our request. The moment it happens I shall immediately blog it here, linking their site in here. You may also want to give them the same request. Just go to www.manilastandardtoday.com and in their Contact Us page, write your email.

Let's pray that the Guidance & Counseling profession grow and develop in our land so we may become more integrated as persons through the service of our colleagues. Remember that the Lord Jesus Himself was a Counselor. God bless