Midyear Workshop Notes

Speech from :
Hon.  RUTH RAñA  PADILLA PRC- Commissioner 
During the MIDYEAR Workshop of Philippine Guidance and Counseling Assoc., Inc.
St. Mary’s University, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
November 19-21, 2009

It is a pleasure to join the Philippine Guidance and Counseling Association of the Philippines Inc., in this Midyear Workshop.  It gives me the great pride to know that you have chosen my home province of Nueva Vizcaya as a venue for the first ever gathering of professional Guidance Counselors in this region.  I thank the Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Ifugao, and Southern Isabela Chapter President, Dr.Roscoe Gacusana, for honoring our province and for inviting me to address you all today.

I would also like to extend warm greetings to our PGCA President and Vice-President, Dr. Imelda Villar and Dr. Lucy Bance.  Welcome to Nueva Vizcaya.

I commend the PGCA for choosing the theme “Creating Futures: The Counselor as an Advocate” as this year’s theme.  A counselor’s role is crucial in the development of an individual by helping him/her realize the fullest potentials and plan their future in accordance with his/her abilities , interests and needs.  This, in a nutshell is what you, my dear guidance counselors, have committed yourselves as your advocacy.  Yes, a counselor is an advocate, an advocate of emotional, psychological well-being.

Guidance Counseling as a profession is the youngest among the 43 professions regulated by the Professional Regulation Commission but it does not mean that this profession is new.  In fact, it antedates other profession in the country.

The History of Guidance Counseling in the Philippines shows that from its inception, its foremost mission has been to help our young Filipinos create bright, promising futures.  As early as 1913, the Bureau of Public Schools stressed the need to collect information about employment opportunities in different industries.  From 1926 to 1930, teachers made available to pupils numerous materials for occupational and educational guidance.  However, there was no specific training for guidance counselors.

That training came during the postwar period with the birth of organized professional associations. Formal degree programs in counselor education began at the graduate level in the mid- 1950’s.  Later, guidance counseling was introduced as field of specialization at the undergraduate level as well.  A joint Congressional Committee on Education mandated in 1951 that guidance and counseling programs should assists students with career choices,  personal difficulties, school and home tasks, job placement, and initial work adjustment.  It is worth noting that, as our young Republic Progressed in all social and economic field, Guidance Counseling was there, putting its shoulders to the wheels of nation building.

It is heartening to note that the founding in 1965 of the Philippine Guidance and Personnel Association, the predecessor of the PGCA, spurred the improvement of standards of guidance and personnel work, even with the presence of other professional organizations of Filipino counselors.  Counselors then were challenged “to prepare students in careers that will give them satisfaction, financial security, and employment after completing their studies”. This creating futures for the young individuals that comprise your clients.

We have all heard of students choosing courses under the influence of family and peer pressure, prestige, social status, ability, media, influence, and opportunity for overseas work.  This is where you come in, helping them to develop attitudes, beliefs and values, skills and abilities, interests, personality traits or behaviours; discovering aptitudes; and acquiring knowledge about the world of work  so that they make decisions at every stage of her [or his] life and commit herself [or himself] to implement them.  A tough task, but I know you can deliver.

The year 2004 was a pivotal year in the history of Guidance Counseling Republic Act 9258 or the “Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004” was passed, officially professionalizing the practice of couseling in the country for the development and enrichment of individuals and groups and recognizing the important role of guidance counseling in nation building.  Those who aspire to be licensed for the practice of Guidance and Counseling, are now required to undergo a licensure examination.

The PRC has conducted two licensure examinations for Guidance Counselors since the creation of the PRB in 2007.  Most of you obtained your licenses under Section 14 Article III of the RA 9258, better known as the Grandfather Clause.  This provision was included in consideration of your long years of service to the profession.  It places you on an equal footing with the practitioners of the 42 other professions in terms of the recognition of your credentials and expertise.  For some of you who were pioneers of this profession, the Grandfather Clause was the ultimate tribute to your achievements in Guidance Counseling.  However, let me point out that, in any profession, the license usually signals the beginning of the profession, not the end.  The license is not the goal, it is the opportunity to pursue your practice.  It is not enough to rest on one’s laurels.  One of the hallmarks of a professional is the ceaseless desire to learn, to improve one’s craft in order to render one’s absolute best.

And now that desire to learn must be placed in the service of your profession.  The entire world is experiencing an explosion of knowledge on all fronts, including Guidance Counseling.  The knowledge that you gleaned from your past training must be constantly reviewed and renewed.  You must not be guidance counselors of the past, you must now be the guidance counselors of the 21st century.  This is how you can create a future for Guidance Counseling.

The world is no longer the way it was when many of you entered this field.  Developments in science and technology, are bursting upon us with lightning speed.  Unfortunately, while they usher in progress, they also herald new stressors and harder challenges that threaten our emotional well-being.   Those who cannot cope with these modern stressors and challenges become prone to anxiety and depression.

Right here, in our own country, thousand s of our people were subjected to severe emotional trauma within the past year.  The global recession caused many of our overseas workers to come home, jobless and uncertain of their future.  Then, more shockingly, in September this year, typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng left a path of death and destruction across our country from which our people are still struggling to recover.

I commend the PGCA for heroically dong its share in helping the victims of the typhoons by calling on volunteers to join its Citizens Network for Psychosocial Response which coordinates with the DSWD, the NDCC, and the DOH Health Emergency Services.  They banded together to build support for our typhoon-ravaged people and to plan and coordinate long term rehabilitations and plans.  This is an example of Guidance Counseling helping our people cope with modern- day sources of stress and trauma.

If you are to build a future for Guidance Counseling and for your clients, you must be armed with the most up-to-date strategies and modalities to help your clients withstand and survive these onslaughts and fulfill their highest potential.  You cannot apply the antiquated solutions of the past problems of the 21st century.  You must move with the times or be left behind as a forgotten relic of obsolete knowledge.

The only way to keep abreast of the times is to pursue a consistent program of Continuing Professional Education.  The PRC is an active proponent of CPE for all professions.  I am pleased to note that Guidance and Counseling already has providers for CPE.  I am now taking this opportunity to encourage your members to actively and aggressively pursue CPE.  CPE units with proper certification can earned through attendance and participation in seminars and other training programs.  This is purely a voluntary undertaking and is not mandatory.  However we do encourage all of you to pursue continuing professional education.  It will boost your competitive edge in the market, whether you practice here or abroad.

In the light of the economic and other challenges that our country faces, you my dear guidance counselors have even greater contributions to make. Our government has embarked on an intensive effort to close the gulf that divides industry demands and our sources of manpower. You are now in a strong position to close this gap by helping people identify their aptitudes and find the career for which they are best suited and you will be making a substantial contribution to our country’s well-being.  In this endeavor, you will not only be helping them build a brighter future for themselves, but also for the profession of Guidance Counseling.

I am confident that the progress we have seen in your profession since it became the 43rd profession is only a glimpse of more ompressive achievements.  I personally look forward even more eciting developments in the Guidance Counseling Profession.

Thank you for this delightful opportunity to enjoy the pleasure of your company and to share my thoughts on this wonderful profession.  Thank you very much and a pleasant day to you all!