DOJ implements 4-day onsite workweek amid oil price spike

Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Fredderick Vida has ordered the agency to implement a four-day onsite workweek as part of its energy conservation efforts amid rising oil prices driven by the conflict in the Middle East.

Under the temporary arrangement, DOJ support personnel will be onsite from Monday to Thursday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Mandatory work-from-home days will be on Fridays.

Meanwhile, frontline services will remain fully operational from Monday to Friday through staggered personnel shifts.

This move is expected to generate an estimated 20,142 kilowatt-hours of energy savings per month, DOJ said.

Engagements such as inter-agency meetings and seminars will default to virtual platforms whenever feasible.

The arrangement will remain in effect until further notice.

"The DOJ stands committed to energy conservation while upholding our mandate to deliver swift and accessible justice," said Vida.

He also directed all DOJ offices to ensure uninterrupted and efficient service delivery under the new work arrangement.

On Friday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that starting March 9, 2026, a four-day work week will temporarily be implemented in offices under the executive department.

This was part of his call to save energy resources amid the conflict in the Middle East, which severely impeded the shipping of petroleum products in the Strait of Hormuz, which is considered the world's most vital oil export route.

It connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/LDF, GMA Integrated News