‘STILL AT FOUR’: City Hall retains reduced work week

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The Iloilo City government said it will continue implementing its four-day onsite work arrangement and one-day work-from-home scheme after the Department of the Interior and Local Government clarified that the setup remains consistent with existing national directives.

The decision comes despite a recommendation from the Iloilo City Crisis Management Council to resume the regular five-day workweek following its assessment that conditions in the city have largely normalized.

In a statement, the city government said it sought guidance from the DILG on the legality and propriety of reverting to a full five-day onsite work arrangement for city employees.

DILG-6 Director Juan Jovian Ingeniero, in a June 9 letter to Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu, clarified that the current four-day onsite work arrangement remains aligned with national policies, particularly Memorandum Circular No. 114 and Executive Order No. 110, which remain in force.

MC No. 114 directed government agencies to adopt strict energy conservation protocols, while EO No. 110 declared a state of national energy emergency for one year.

“The adoption of a 4-day onsite work arrangement complemented by a designated common day for work-from-home arrangement is consistent with MC No. 114 […] and shall remain in effect until lifted or sooner revoked by the president,” Ingeniero said.

Ingeniero further noted that returning to a five-day onsite workweek would effectively revoke the interim measures established under existing national policies.

“While heads of offices are granted the discretion to determine their respective operational modalities – namely, a compressed workweek or a designated common day for work-from-home arrangement – reverting to a five-day workweek effectively revokes these interim measures, an authority that rests solely with the president,” he stressed.

DILG-6 also emphasized that EO No. 110 was issued in response to disruptions in global oil supply and economic challenges.

The agency described the measure as a binding emergency framework rather than a “suggestive policy guidance.”

Following the clarification, the city government said it would continue implementing the current work arrangement while awaiting further guidance from the national government and the Office of the President.

“Even if the ICCMC has assessed that the situation in the city has normalized, we continue to give importance to complying with prevailing national policies and directives,” the city government said.

The city government assured residents that maintaining the alternative work arrangement would not affect the delivery of government services.

“Despite this, we assure the public that efficient delivery of services to Ilonggos remains our priority,” it added.