If you’re a teacher reading this or maybe a student wondering bakit laging pagod si Ma’am at Sir... listen up. We are witnessing what is probably the biggest "win" for the Philippine education sector this year.
Last week, Education Secretary Sonny Angara officially signed DepEd Order No. 002, s. 2026. It’s a landmark policy granting up to 5 days of annual Wellness Leave for all teachers and non-teaching personnel.
As someone who spent a full decade in the classroom, from 2014 to 2024, and as a current law student, I have a lot of feelings about this. After ten years of being treated like a machine, finally, may batas na tumitingin sa atin bilang tao. Pero ang tanong: Is five days enough to cure a decade of burnout? Let’s break it down.
What is DepEd Order 002?
Direct to the point tayo. Unlike your usual sick leave or vacation leave, itong 5 days annual leave na ito is specifically for "rest and recharge." Ang pinakamagandang feature nito? You can take up to 3 days consecutively without being questioned. Hindi mo kailangang mag-present ng medical certificate na nagsasabing "may sakit ako." You don’t need to fake a fever. You just have to say, "I need to breathe."
Secretary Angara mentioned that this is a direct response to the Mental Health Crisis inside our schools. For the longest time, ang "wellness" sa DepEd ay madalas "Zumba session" lang pagkatapos ng klase o kaya "team building" na trabaho pa rin ang pinag-uusapan. This policy recognizes that mental health is just as important as physical health. I see this as the executive branch finally operationalizing the Mental Health Act (RA 11036) in a way that actually hits the grassroots. It's a shift from "compliance" to "care."
A Decade of Exhaustion
Dito tayo sa personal side. During my ten years in the classroom, "leave" was almost a dirty word. Kapag um-absent ka, feeling mo pinabayaan mo ang mga estudyante mo. You feel the "Moral Injury" of leaving your class to a substitute who is already overloaded.
We were trained to "sacrifice." 'Yung "tiis-chalk," 'yung pagpapatuloy kahit may lagnat, 'yung pag-uwi ng trabaho hanggang Sabado at Linggo. We weren't professionals; we were machines. Seeing this law now feels like a validation. It’s an admission from the top: "Hey, we know you're tired. We know the 0.4% proficiency crisis and the mass promotion issues are draining your soul. Take a break." But here’s the reality check: For a teacher who has been carrying the weight of the system for 10 years, can 5 days really fix the damage? Five days is a "band-aid." It’s a beautiful, much-needed band-aid, but the "wound" is the workload, the administrative tasks, and the systemic pressure we’ve talked about before.
The Logic of Rest
I know that for a policy to work, it needs a culture shift. Kahit bigyan tayo ng 100 days of leave, kung ang environment sa school ay "shaming" pa rin sa mga kumukuha ng break, wala ring mangyayari. We need to stop the narrative na ang "best teacher" ay 'yung hindi marunong magpahinga. The logic of this leave is Sustainability. If we want our teachers to teach our children how to read and think, we cannot have them running on empty. 5 days of Wellness Leave is a start, but the real "Wellness" will come when we:
Reduce clerical and administrative work.
Improve base salaries to match the cost of living.
Actually hire enough support staff so teachers aren't "overloaded."
The Bottom Line
DepEd Order 002 is a win. It treats teachers like humans. Pero as informed citizens, kailangan nating bantayan kung paano ito i-implement sa mga probinsya at malalayong schools.
To my former colleagues in DepEd: Take the leave. Don’t feel guilty. The classroom will still be there, but your sanity is irreplaceable. The law finally gave you the "Right to Rest": use it.
Kayo, mga ka-Boredom? Do you think 5 days is enough? O dapat bang gawing 15 days para talagang "recharged"? I-comment niyo ang thoughts niyo!
'Wag hayaang mag-strike ang burnout bago ka magpahinga. Manatiling gising, manatiling informed, at higit sa lahat, manatiling tao.
