Following the adjustment of work hours in the local governments in the National Capital Region (NCR) to ease traffic and give respite to workers from the extreme heat, San Juan City Mayor and Metro Manila Council (MMC) President Francis Zamora said the council will discuss the adjustment of mall hours in NCR as another way of solving the traffic situation in the metro.
Mayor Francis Zamora
"I will relay it to the body. These are the things we can discuss," Zamora said in a radio interview, adding that the adjustment of mall hours have been producing good results during the Christmas season.
"Yung mall hours na hindi lang dapat talaga sila sumasabay sa rush hour, kumbaga maging standard operating hours ng malls, imumungkahi ko ho yan pag nag-usap ulit kami ng aming Metro Manila Council (I would suggest with the Metro Manila Council to standardize mall hours that will not fall within the rush hours)," Zamora noted.
On May 2, the sixteen cities and lone municipality in Metro Manila started the implementation of its adjusted working hours of 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Zamora said there are more than 100,000 LGU employees who will be traveling to their work places an hour earlier than regular commuters and motorists during rush hour.
"Yung 112,000 na mga taong ito ay hindi sasabay sa rush hour araw araw. Isipin nyo kung gaano kadaming tao at sasakyan yan na iiwas na sumabay sa ibang mga sasakyan tuwing rush hour (These 112,000 individuals will not be part of the rush hour. Just think of how many people and vehicles will be removed from our streets during rush hour)," he explained.
Despite the new schedule, the mayor noted that each LGU still has the freedom to implement its own flexible time schedules.
"With only 22 percent of the total 645,000 permanent government employees in NCR, peak hours will be spread out. There is also a huge impact in public utility vehicles ridership with almost half a million government employees commuting. From our observation 4pm is off-peak hours in terms of ridership, the employees can easily go home while those in the private sector can expect decongested public transportation,” Artes said.
Citing what it described as a comprehensive examination on the prevailing traffic condition in Metro Manila, the MMC said the existing traffic congestion in Metro Manila has highlighted the need for innovative measures to address it.
The council explained that the 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. working hours would certainly ease congestion in Metro Manila roads since this means that government workers would have time to adjust their travel time.
Another benefit of the adjustment of working hours, according to the resolution, is that government workers would no longer be joining employees of private companies that usually implement the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. working hours during the morning and afternoon rush hours.