CAGAYAN de Oro City government is targeting up to a 20 percent reduction in electricity and fuel consumption after shifting to a four-day onsite workweek as part of its energy conservation program.

Mayor Rolando Uy signed Executive Order No. 103-26, directing all city government offices to adopt a compressed workweek from Monday to Thursday, 8:00 am to 7:00 pm, starting March 9.

The order aligns with Memorandum Circular No. 114 issued by the Office of the President, which calls on government agencies and local government units to adopt stricter energy conservation protocols amid rising global energy costs.

City officials said the policy seeks to reduce operational expenses while ensuring the continued delivery of public services.

Under the order, all city offices must maintain the standard 40-hour workweek, meaning the compressed schedule will not reduce the total number of working hours nor compromise productivity.

Energy-saving protocols

The executive order outlines a series of energy efficiency measures across city government offices.

The directive requires departments to keep air-conditioning units at 24 degrees Celsius and to turn them off by 5:00 p.m., except for cases with authorized extensions

Executive Order No. 103-26 requires departments to prioritize natural lighting and power-saving settings while transitioning to energy-efficient LED systems.

The city government also encourages paperless transactions, digital documentation, and double-sided printing to reduce energy and resource consumption.

Executive Order No. 103-26 mandates virtual meetings for most conferences and limits official travel to essential business.

The order mandates fleet-efficiency measures for city vehicles, focusing on route optimization and the strict reduction of engine idling.

Essential services remain uninterrupted.

Despite the compressed workweek, the city government assured residents that essential services would remain fully operational.

Facilities such as J.R. Borja General Hospital and its annex hospitals, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department, City Health Office, and other critical frontline units will continue to operate through staggered schedules and skeleton workforces.

The policy aims to ensure that emergency response, health services, sanitation, and other critical public functions remain uninterrupted.

Legal basis

Former National Labor Relations Commission commissioner lawyer Proculo Sarmen said the four-day workweek adopted by the city government is legally permissible under existing Philippine labor policies.

Sarmen noted that the Labor Code accommodates four-day schedules, provided departments adopt recognized flexible work arrangements.

Under this arrangement, employees complete the standard 40-hour workweek within fewer working days, without reducing total work hours.

“The key requirement is that employees’ wages and benefits must not be diminished without their consent, and the work arrangement must comply with health, safety, and labor standards,” Sarmen said.

He noted that the local chief executive’s executive order provides the necessary administrative authorization for these government scheduling shifts.

The adoption of a four-day workweek remains an administrative choice rather than a statutory requirement, according to Sarmen’s analysis.

“In the final analysis, the legality of the four-day workweek must always be measured against the fundamental principles of Philippine labor law — protection to labor, fairness to management, and the promotion of social justice,” he said.

Monitoring and compliance

The city requires each department to designate an Energy Conservation Focal Person who will monitor office-wide energy and fuel consumption."

Departments are required to submit monthly reports on electricity and fuel usage to the City General Services Office.

The city aims to reduce electricity and fuel consumption by 10 to 20 percent over the 2025 monthly averages.

Under the new order, the city may impose administrative sanctions on officials who ignore conservation protocols, following civil service guidelines.

The executive order took effect at 12:00 a.m. on March 9 and remains in force until the city mayor lifts or revokes it.