NEWS RELEASE𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗮 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗟𝗲𝗻𝘀: Better Steps Psychology’s Raphael Inocencio Challenges DepEd Leaders at 2025 National Planning Conference

BUTUAN CITY, February 5, 2026— 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗢. 𝗜𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗼, 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆, 𝗜𝗻𝗰., 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟱, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗹, 𝗕𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸, 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟲𝟬𝟬 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟴 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗘𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲, 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴.

𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

Inocencio opened by clarifying that he would present a different angle on mental health, one that moves away from the purely individualistic view of resilience. He emphasized that resilience is not merely a personal trait, but a dynamic response to environments that either support or challenge employees.

He argued that focusing solely on individuals risks ignoring systemic issues, especially in large bureaucratic institutions.

“Resilience is often viewed as a matter of character, but this overlooks the realities of work environments that shape behavior, stress, and wellbeing,” Inocencio emphasized. He illustrated how public institutions sometimes adopt a “machine model,” where employees are reduced to cogs, resulting in stress, apathy, silence, and disengagement.

𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

Drawing from organizational psychology, Inocencio described how bureaucratic structures can unintentionally create environments where employees feel like “cogs in a machine.”

This culture, he explained, often results in silence, apathy, stress, and other forms of disengagement that undermine productivity and wellbeing.

He underscored that stress is not a personal failure, but often a symptom of systemic organizational defects that need urgent attention.

𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

During his session, Inocencio presented practical, evidence based actions aimed at strengthening mental health across education systems, including:

• Policy Ecology Framework – A holistic approach where policies support training, supervision, and the organizational costs of sustaining effective mental health programs.

• Humble Leadership and Psychological Safety – He emphasized that leaders must foster environments where employees feel safe to express ideas and concerns without fear of negative consequences.

• Knowledge Sharing Systems – Encouraging teams to avoid “locked vault” practices and instead adopt open knowledge transfer systems to reduce burnout and ensure continuity.

• Total Stress Management (TSM) – A data driven managerial approach to identify, measure, and address workplace stress at its organizational roots.

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆

He also walked the audience through a reflective exercise centered on Demands–Control–Support, helping them recognize how workplace structures influence stress levels.

In concluding his message, Inocencio underscored that mental health is a shared responsibility, one that requires mindful policies, awareness of systemic pressures, and supportive leadership. “Resilience must be cultivated not only within individuals but across the entire organization,” he said.

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄

The National Planning Conference, which ran from February 3 to 5, 2026, was spearheaded by the DepEd Central Office in coordination with the DepEd Caraga Regional Office, and the Division Offices of Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, Cabadbaran City, and Agusan del Sur. The event gathered education leaders nationwide to strengthen strategic direction, promote wellness, and build a more resilient public education system.

By: DepEd Caraga Public Affairs Unit

NB. The title “2025 National Planning Conference” has been retained despite the activity being held in 2026. The conference was originally scheduled for implementation in 2025; however, it was postponed due to adverse weather conditions. Keeping the original title preserves the integrity of the 2025 planning cycle and maintains alignment with the preparatory documents and communications already issued for that year.

For more information, contact (085) 221-1151, 0961-737-0873, or 0915-808-4734. Website: www.caraga.deped.gov.ph; email: caraga@deped.gov.ph; pau_caraga@deped.gov.ph.

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