Preamble
By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that: SECTION 1. The required office hours of all Bureaus and Offices in the Philippine civil service shall he fixed by executive order, hut they shall not be less than six and one-half hours of labor each day, not including time for lunch and exclusive of Sundays and of days declared public holidays by law or executive order: Provided, That when the nature of the duties to be performed or the interests of the public service require it officers and employees may, by direction of the head of the Bureau or Office, be required to work on Sundays and holidays without additional compensation unless otherwise specifically authorized by law. It shall be the duty of heads of Bureaus or Offices to require of all employees, of whatever grade or class, not less than the number of hours of labor authorized by law or executive order, but the head of any Department, Bureau, or Office may, in the interests of the public service, extend the daily hours of labor therein specified for any or all of the employees under him, and in case of such extension it shall be without additional compensation unless otherwise provided by law: Provided, however, That during the heated term from the first day of April to the fifteenth day of June in each year and on Saturdays throughout the year the Civil Governor may, by executive order, reduce the required number of hours of labor on each day to five hours. This executive order shall not oblige the head of a Department, Bureau, or Office in the Philippine civil service to reduce the hours of labor to five hours, but it shall be within his discretion to reduce the number of hours if consistent with the needs of the public service; nor shall this provision be regarded as conferring a right upon officers or employees. This reduction of the required hours of labor shall not apply to the officers or employees of any Bureau or Office to whom an overtime wage is allowed and paid. The length of sessions of the courts shall be regulated by existing law, but the provisions of this Act shall apply to all officers and employees in the Bureau of Justice except judges. The number of hours for the daily sessions of the public schools shall be fixed by the Secretary of Public Instruction, but they shall not be less than five hours a day.