PH remains world’s ‘bullying capital’, DepEd calls for more counselors in schools

Amid the rising cases of bullying, the Philippines has kept its tag as the world’s “bullying capital”, with nearly two in three Grade 5 students reporting that they are bullied at least once a month, according to the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II). 

Referencing the findings of Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA), Department of Education (DepEd) records, and studies with De La Salle University, EDCOM II Executive Director Dr. Karol Mark Yee reported that 63 percent of Grade 5 pupils said they were harassed or threatened by classmates, excluded from activities, mocked, physically harmed, or subjected to false rumors. 

“The Philippines is seen to be the bullying capital of the world with the highest prevalence of bullying in our country, double the average of OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and also 63 percent of grade 5 students saying that they experience bullying at least once a month,” Yee said during a joint House briefing on September 2. 

“The definition of bullying in this context is that they felt harassed or threatened by classmates, that wrong news or allegations were spread about them,” Yee added.

DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara also revealed that the country continues to face an alarming shortage of guidance counselors in schools, with the agency resorting to creating “counselors associate” posts to fill the gap. 

During the House committee on appropriations hearing on September 3, Angara noted that the country had only 4,069 licensed guidance counselors as of 2022, a major deficit from the more than 50,000 requirement to meet the global ratio of one counselor for every 250 students, as raised by Kabataan Rep. Renee Co.

To bridge the gap, DepEd opened 4,460 guidance counselor positions nationwide this year. However, the supply of trained professionals is extremely low.

“There’s a long-term plan, but the implementation of the mental health and well-being [program] will cost over a trillion pesos, so it can’t be funded overnight. And the over 50,000 filling up of positions you raised, according to the psychology professionals, there are only 32,000 psychometricians in the country. So there’s also a supply problem,” Angara said.

He also added that these job vacancies are unlikely to be filled in the next five years, since universities are producing few graduates.

“There are no takers in the universities,” Angara said, noting that some regions even reported “zero enrollees” in guidance counseling programs.

Even Yee noticed the major shortage of guidance counselors in various regions. 

“There is a high demand, but a very limited supply. In some regions like MIMAROPA and Eastern Visayas, not a single graduate in guidance counseling was recorded, yet there are hundreds of vacancies.” Yee stressed, underlining the major concern.

Angara said they scrapped over 4,000 positions to create more positions for counselor associates. 

“For 2026, under the proposed National Expenditure Program (NEP), we have 10,000 student counselor associates. They are easier to hire because they don’t need a master’s degree for this,” he said.

Lawmakers also called for closer collaboration between DepEd and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to ensure state universities and colleges offer guidance counseling programs, which are usually not offered. 

EDCOM II has flagged bullying and the lack of mental health professionals as urgent education gaps that need sustained government attention.

It can also be recounted that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, in his recent SONA, also directed the hiring of more school counselors in public schools, quoting the rising cases of bullying and mental health challenges among learners.