7-to-4 work schedule takes effect May 2

MANILA, Philippines — The implementation of the modified work schedule of local government offices in Metro Manila will be deferred by two weeks.

Instead of the initial target date of April 15, the new work hours for local government offices in Metro Manila will become effective on May 2, said San Juan Mayor and Metro Manila Council (MMC) president Francis Zamora.

Employees of Metro Manila’s 17 local government units (LGUs) will report for work from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., instead of the current 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to MMC Resolution 24-08.

“More than two weeks will be enough for the public to know the changes in work hours,” said Zamora during a media briefing at the headquarters of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) in Pasig yesterday.

He said the body believed the new work schedule will spare around 112,000 employees of Metro Manila LGUs getting stuck in traffic jams during rush hour, as well as help in decongesting major roads in the metropolis.

Zamora assured the public that while work in Metro Manila LGUs would end at 4 p.m., a skeletal force will remain to attend to transactions until 5 p.m.

For his part, MMDA acting Chairman Romando Artes said the adjusted work schedule for LGU employees of Metro Manila will become an advantage for them because they will be able to use their vehicles before the enforcement of the number coding scheme.

At present, the number coding policy that bans vehicles from traversing major roads on certain days depending on the assigned plate numbers is effective from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The traffic decongestion program in Metro Manila is one of the key strategic infrastructure programs of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), aimed at easing traffic flow and improving transportation efficiency in the metro.

This was revealed yesterday by Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan after attending the Bagong Pilipinas town hall meeting on traffic concerns convened by President Marcos on Wednesday in San Juan, where he also discussed some of the infrastructure projects to alleviate bottlenecks and provide alternative routes to ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila.

Bonoan said the