The four-day workweek is back in two local government units in Negros Occidental, with officials turning to longer workdays and an additional day off as fuel and energy costs remain a concern.
Silay City and Cauayan resumed their compressed work schedules on Monday, October 5, reversing their earlier decisions to return to the regular five-day workweek.
In Silay City, employees covered by Mayor Joedith Gallego’s Executive Order No. 09-29-26-66 will report from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Thursday, with Friday set as the nonworking day.
Gallego said the arrangement is intended to make government operations more economical and responsible by cutting building energy consumption and transportation fuel use while maintaining public services.
The 10-hour daily schedule, however, does not reduce the required 40 working hours per week.
Frontline offices must continue operating despite the compressed schedule. The order also provides for adjustments when a holiday or work suspension falls on the designated nonworking day.
Cauayan is taking a slightly different route.
Under Executive Order No. 64, issued by Mayor John Rey Tabujara, covered employees will work from Tuesday through Friday, 7am to 6pm, making Monday the regular day off.
The municipality said the arrangement likewise requires 40 working hours a week, excluding lunch breaks.
Not everyone, however, will follow the compressed schedule.
Personnel performing essential or continuous functions—including emergency response, security, health, sanitation, social services, disaster response, public safety, market and hospital operations—may be excluded or placed under modified schedules.
Tabujara said the move is designed to lower energy and transportation expenses, improve employee welfare, and make better use of government resources.
The two local governments anchored their new schedules on Memorandum Circular No. 114, issued by the Office of the President in March, which encouraged flexible work arrangements and energy conservation in government.
Cauayan also cited a June 2026 Civil Service Commission resolution recognizing government agencies’ authority to compress work schedules into fewer days, provided they maintain the 40-hour workweek and continuous service delivery.
The return to four-day schedules comes after both LGUs had abandoned similar arrangements earlier this year.
Silay ended its previous flexible work setup on May 11, while Cauayan restored its regular five-day schedule on July 1.*
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, contributes to Negros Daily Bulletin, and maintains a blog on Medium.