Energy saving: 7 a.m.-4 p.m. government work hours proposed

MANILA, Philippines — To conserve energy amid the rising cost of power in the world market, government agencies were urged to adopt work hours from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and to limit air conditioning temperature in offices to 25 degrees Celsius.

This was part of the recommendations made by economic managers to President Marcos during a meeting at Malacañang yesterday to address the high energy cost in the country, deemed as the most expensive in Southeast Asia, according to Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno.

At a briefing at Malacañang, Diokno said the economic team proposed the creation of an Energy Conservation Plan, with focus on the demand side.

“Because we cannot influence the supply side … the prices of gasoline in the world market, but we can start conserving,” he added.

One of the proposals, according to the Department of Finance chief, is that the Department of Energy (DOE) will start changing their work hours from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“So this is the daylight-saving time, and then, I think, on Friday, work from home,” he said.

Should the DOE experiment succeed, it can be adopted by other government agencies, according to Diokno.

He said they also proposed to limit the temperature of air conditioning in state institutions to 25 degrees Celsius.

He added that the government can expect “substantial” savings from these energy saving measures.

In 2022, the National Economic and Development Authority proposed a four-day workweek with increased hours of duty per day to conserve energy.

Former socioeconomic planning secretary Karl Kendrick Chua had said the Philippines had implemented such changes in the 1990s during the Gulf War and in 2008 when fuel prices also increased.

In 2019, energy prices in the Philippines were deemed to be the most expensive in Southeast Asia at roughly $0.20 per kilowatt-hour or P10 per kWh, according to a report from think tank Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.