House approves Daylight Saving Time bill

The House of Representatives is exploring ways to address the loss of productivity caused by flooding, one of which is daylight saving time.

Congress on Tuesday, Aug. 27 approved House Bill No. 7750, or Daylight Saving Time Act of 2013. This grants the President the power to declare daylight saving time from Jan. 1 to Jun. 1 of a given year.

This means the executive chief is allowed to adjust the Philippine Standard Time (PST) by one (1) hour at exactly midnight in the first six months to "take advantage of the clear sunny weather during the Philippine's dry season."

“Currently, both the labor and the educational sector are suffering from interruptions in the productive hours brought about by torrential rains and the consequent floodings during the rainy season,” read the measure.

The bill also indicated that the extra hours of school or work time should be devoted to offset productivity losses in the second half of the year due to the rainy season, which causes interruptions in school days or working hours. 

"The State recognizes the effects of global warming and climate change on the weather systems of the Philippines depressions that beset the country and the consequent flooding due to torrential rains during the rainy season which substantially interrupt the student's schooling as well as the workers productive hours," it added.

In 1990, former President Cory Aquino briefly implemented DST when the country suffered from electricity issues.

Ex-presidents who also applied DST during their administration were Manuel L. Quezon in 1936–1937, Ramon Magsaysay in 1954, and Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in 1978.