In the wake of recent fatal shooting incidents in educational institutions, Senate President Win Gatchalian urged the national government to tackle the severe deficit of mental health practitioners to expand psychosocial support across public schools and local communities.
Gatchalian emphasized that while training existing healthcare staff offers short-term relief, long-term educational pipelines must be established to produce qualified practitioners capable of delivering comprehensive, school-based mental health services.
“The Department of Health’s plan to train healthcare workers to provide mental health support can help address the shortage of mental health professionals,” Gatchalian said.
“In the long run, however, we need to ensure that we will produce enough graduates who will become mental health professionals and such other professionals who are qualified to deliver school-based mental health programs and services,” he added.
The Senate President noted that expanding the mental health workforce supports Republic Act No. 12089—the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act—which mandates institutionalized mental health programs across basic education institutions.
“This should not be a privilege; mental health services should be accessible to everyone in all schools and communities,” Gatchalian said.
In a radio interview, Health Secretary Edwin Mercado revealed that the Department of Health (DOH) plans to implement a “task-shifting” framework, certifying general healthcare workers to deliver immediate psychological first aid and baseline mental health interventions.
The lawmaker’s call comes following a deadly shooting incident at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University High School campus, where two students lost their lives, including a Grade 8 student identified as the shooter.
In response to growing safety concerns, the Department of Education (DepEd) revealed a national requirement of 48,000 school counselor associates, though current 2026 budget allocations only fund 10,000 positions.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara confirmed that the government’s ultimate objective is to deploy at least one counselor associate to every school nationwide to safeguard student well-being.