MMDA to implement 4-day workweek, energy conservation measures

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has ordered the implementation of a four-day workweek and other energy conservation measures.

This comes after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on Friday that a four-day workweek will temporarily be implemented in offices under the executive department amid the conflict in the oil-rich Middle East.

According to MMDA Memorandum Circular No. 05, series of 2026, the new work schedule, which begins on Monday, March 9, covers “selected personnel performing support functions within the MMDA New Building in Pasig City.”

The schedule mandates employees to work ten hours a day from Monday to Thursday to complete the 40-working-hour mandate.

Fridays through Sundays will be designated as non-working or rest days for affected employees. Overtime service with pay beyond the allotted working hours, excluding Saturdays or holidays, will not be allowed.

The MMDA said the prescribed working hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. follow the Civil Service Commission’s (CSC) policies regarding flexible or alternative work arrangements for employees.

“This arrangement aims to optimize the use of office facilities, reduce energy consumption, and promote a more efficient and sustainable work environment while ensuring that the agency’s mandates and services to the public remain uninterrupted,” the memorandum circular read.

Meanwhile, the MMDA said that office air conditioners must maintain the thermostat setting of 24°C, and lights and non-essential electrical equipment must be turned off during lunch breaks.

The MMDA said the arrangement does not apply to personnel performing essential, field, operational, or emergency response functions outside the MMDA Main Building, as well as personnel under the Operations Monitoring and Control Group—Metrobase and the No Physical Contact Policy Program (NPCCP).

Shuttle services will be suspended, except for the route C-5, Pasig City to EDSA (SM Megamall) and vice versa, the MMDA added. — VBL, GMA Integrated News