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DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/9 March) – All Regional Trial Courts in the 11th Judicial Region in Davao City have adopted a four-day work week effective Monday in response to rising fuel costs due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
In a memorandum dated March 8, 2026, Executive Judge Rowena M. Apao-Adlawan directed RTC judges and personnel of the Office of the Clerk of Court to implement a four-day on-site and work-from-home schedule effective March 9 until the end of April 2026, pursuant to the Memorandum Circular No. 02-2026 issued by Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo.
Under the new schedule, RTC branches with odd court numbers, such as 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 33, and 53, will have Fridays as their designated work-from-home day, while RTC branches with even numbers, such as 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 52, and 54 will have theirs on Mondays. This arrangement will alternate through April.
But at least two regular employees from each court will remain on-site during the designated work-from-home days to assist litigants posting bail bonds or to respond to their queries, she said.
Gesmundo, in his Memorandum Circular No. 02-2026, said the judicial branch “deems it proper, in the exercise of its own constitutional authority, to align the internal operations of the entire Philippine Judiciary with the national policy on energy conservation, insofar as such alignment is consistent with the uninterrupted administration of justice.”
Section 15 of the Supreme Court’s Circular has directed all courts and offices to observe energy conservation measures on travel and transportation, including limiting their official travel, whether domestic or international, to “essential and indispensable functions.”
“Travel shall be deemed unnecessary when the objectives may be effectively accomplished through alternative modalities, such as virtual meetings, electronic communications, or through the consolidation of tasks with other previously scheduled official activities,” the Court noted.
It added that travel undertaken “without a clear justification of urgency, operational necessity, or direct programmatic relevance shall likewise be considered unnecessary.”
Upcoming travels of officials and employees will be re-evaluated, according to the Circular.
On March 6, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “directed the strict adoption of energy conservation protocols and flexible work arrangements in government in light of continuing volatility in global energy markets and the resulting rise in fuel costs that affect the national economy.”
The Department of Energy (DOE) had announced on Monday that a gradual increase in fuel prices will take effect starting March 10. According to DOE, the adjustments are estimated to range from P17.50 to P24.25 per liter for diesel, P7 to P13 per liter for gasoline, and P32 to P38 per liter for kerosene. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
