Gov't may begin work at 7 AM to 4 PM | Read full details

The Philippine government is contemplating a shift in office hours from the usual 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Mondays to Thursdays, with work-from-home arrangements on Fridays, according to Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno.

This is part of the government's short-term measures to mitigate high inflation in the country, with the Department of Energy planning to implement daylight saving time within its agency to conserve electricity and promote energy efficiency. 

The DOE is also considering a four-day in-person work week, with Fridays being designated for work from home.

If this experiment proves successful, the new working hours and schedule will be implemented in other government agencies.

While the private sector will not be mandated to implement these changes, they may be encouraged to do so. The DOE also proposed maintaining the default air-conditioning temperature setting at 25 degrees Celsius.

The Finance chief stated that the default temperature would be reduced to 25 degrees, although he was unsure of the current temperature. 

When questioned about the amount of electricity that would be saved by implementing daylight-saving time and lowering the air-conditioning temperature, Diokno was unable to provide a specific answer but believed that the savings would be significant.