By JOANNA AGLIBOT | March 11, 2026

SAN ANTONIO, Zambales — More towns in this province have begun adopting a four-day workweek for government employees as part of efforts to conserve fuel and electricity amid rising global oil prices.

Local government units (LGUs) in the municipalities of San Antonio, Masinloc, and Candelaria announced on March 9 the implementation of a compressed workweek. San Marcelino and the capital town of Iba earlier announced the implementation of the same measure.

Under the setup, government offices will operate on-site from Monday to Thursday with extended working hours. At the same time, alternative arrangements such as work-from-home or skeletal staffing may be implemented on Fridays.

The measure also requires a 10 to 20 percent reduction in electricity and fuel consumption and limits nonessential travel and activities. However, offices providing emergency and critical frontline services are exempt from the arrangement to ensure uninterrupted public service. 

Meanwhile, in response to the continuing rise in fuel prices, authorities in the town of San Marcelino have implemented new measures to monitor fuel costs and prevent unauthorized price increases.

Mayor Elvis Soria issued an executive order on Sunday creating the Municipal Task Force on Fuel Price Monitoring under the supervision of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

The task force is mandated to “oversee the monitoring and documentation of fuel prices in all gasoline retail stations within the Municipality of San Marcelino,” the order stated.

Under the directive, the task force will conduct regular checks of pump prices at gasoline stations across the municipality to ensure no unauthorized price hikes are implemented.

Members are also tasked with providing regular situational updates on oil price increases and assessing their potential impact on public services and emergency response operations.

In a separate executive order, the local government also adopted energy conservation measures, including implementing a four-day workweek for municipal and barangay offices. ▲