President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will kick off the implementation of the four-day work week by virtue of Administrative Order (AO) 117 through the Holy Eucharist which will be celebrated in thanksgiving for her 58th birth anniversary tomorrow.
The President, in celebration of her natal day, will provide free haircut for 5,000 government employees and their dependents under the "Libreng Gupit" (Free Haircut) program. No other activities have been set for her birth anniversary. Malacañang officials said the President will have an ordinary working schedule tomorrow.
The four-day work week will be implemented until May 31 to mitigate the effects of oil price hikes on the government’s financial position and the country’s dollar reserves.
Under the scheme, all national government workers are required to report for work from Monday to Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., including the one-hour lunch break from 12 noon to 1 p.m.
The Chief Executive assured that the four-day work week will still have a total of 40 hours in compliance with civil service regulations and labor laws.
"There will also be no interruption in the delivery of basic services as government teams shall remain on duty," a Malacañang statement said, allaying fears that the new work week will disrupt government operations along with the private sector.
Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Waldo Flores said government workers who come in after 7:30 a.m. will be considered tardy. There is no provision for them to offset this tardiness after the 6:30 p.m. cut-off, he added.
The four-day work week will also allow government employees to save one day of their weekly transportation allowance and subsequently, allow a three-day weekend, he said.
Meanwhile, these offices are not covered by the four-day work week:
Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Bureau of Customs, government hospitals and health centers, and public schools.
Offices under the Office of the President not covered by the four-day work week are:
Office of the Executive Secretary, the Presidential Security Group, Authentication, Antique House, the Dialysis Service Center at the Malacañang Clinic, the Protocol Office, of Records, Internal House Office, Appointments, and Motorpool.
