AM 02 2 10 SC; (December, 2005) (Digest)
A.M. No. 02-2-10-SC December 14, 2005
RE: REQUEST OF MUSLIM EMPLOYEES IN THE DIFFERENT COURTS IN ILIGAN CITY (RE: OFFICE HOURS)
FACTS
Several Muslim employees in the courts of Iligan City requested two accommodations. First, they sought to observe office hours from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. without breaks during the month of Ramadan. Second, they requested to be excused from work from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. every Friday to observe the Muslim Prayer Day throughout the year. They based their requests on Presidential Decree No. 291, as amended by P.D. No. 322, and implementing resolutions from the Civil Service Commission (CSC). The Executive Judge forwarded the request to the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) for study.
The OCA recommended granting the first request regarding Ramadan hours, as it has a clear statutory basis. For the Friday prayer request, the OCA proposed a compromise: employees could be excused from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. but must compensate by working a flexible schedule from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Fridays to complete the mandated 40-hour workweek.
ISSUE
Whether the Muslim court employees are entitled to the requested adjustments to their office hours for Ramadan and for Friday prayers.
RULING
The Supreme Court granted the request regarding Ramadan office hours but denied the request for a blanket excuse from work every Friday. The legal logic turns on the presence or absence of a statutory mandate. For the Ramadan schedule, Section 3(a) of P.D. No. 291, as amended, explicitly provides that during Ramadan, Muslim government employees shall observe office hours from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. without a lunch break. This clear legal provision justified the Court’s approval.
However, the Court denied the Friday prayer request due to the lack of a similar statutory basis. The Court noted that while the CSC had issued resolutions allowing Muslim employees to be excused on Fridays, these resolutions exceeded the CSC’s authority. P.D. No. 291, as amended, enumerates specific Muslim holidays, and “Friday, the Muslim Prayer Day” is not included in that list. Therefore, there is no law mandating such an excuse. The Court emphasized that while it is mindful of the constitutional guarantee of free exercise of religion, the requested accommodation for weekly Friday prayers finds no support in the specific legislation (P.D. No. 291) invoked by the employees themselves. The absence of a legal mandate precluded the grant of the second request.