Case Digest (G.R. No. 188708)
Facts:
In A.M. No. 02-2-10-SC, Re: Request of Muslim Employees in the Different Courts in Iligan City, decided December 14, 2005, several Muslim court employees in Iligan City, through a letter dated November 19, 2001 addressed to Executive Judge Valerio M. Salazar of the Regional Trial Court, sought two special accommodations: (1) modified office hours from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. without lunch or coffee breaks throughout the month of Ramadan, and (2) excusal from work between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. every Friday for the Muslim Prayer Day year-round. Judge Salazar endorsed the requests to the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA), expressing support for the Ramadan schedule but reservations about the weekly Friday exemption. The petitioners relied on Presidential Decree No. 291, as amended by P.D. No. 322, which recognizes Muslim holidays and mandates modified working hours during Ramadan, and on Civil Service Commission (CSC) Resolutions No. 81-1277 (1981) and No. 00-0227 (2000) exCase Digest (G.R. No. 188708)
Facts:
- Request and Background
- On November 19, 2001, several Muslim employees in various Iligan City courts sent a letter to Executive Judge Valerio M. Salazar requesting:
- Office hours from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. without lunch or coffee breaks during Ramadan.
- Excusal from work every Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Muslim Prayer Day) year-round.
- Judge Salazar forwarded the request to the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA), concurring with the Ramadan hours but expressing misgivings on the Friday prayer break.
- Statutory and Administrative Context
- Presidential Decree (P.D.) No. 291, as amended by P.D. No. 322, recognizes specific Muslim holidays and mandates that during Ramadan “all Muslim employees…shall observe office hours from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. without lunch break or coffee breaks,” with no salary diminution.
- Civil Service Commission (CSC) Resolution No. 81-1277 (1981) modified official hours to 7:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. during Ramadan and excused Muslims each Friday from 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.; CSC Resolution No. 00-0227 (2000) extended the Friday excusal to all Fridays of the year.
- Omnibus Rules Implementing Book V of E.O. No. 292 (Sec. 5, Rule XVII) require civil servants to render at least eight hours per day or forty hours per week, leading the CSC to prescribe flexible work schedules to make up hours lost on Fridays.
- Court Proceedings and Recommendations
- On October 1, 2002, the Supreme Court directed the Court Administrator to study the matter.
- Court Administrator Presbitero J. Velasco, Jr. recommended granting both requests but requiring compensatory flexible hours (7:00–10:00 a.m. and 2:00–7:00 p.m.) every Friday.
- The Court En Banc, in A.M. No. 02-2-10-SC, evaluated statutory bases and constitutional issues before resolving the requests.
Issues:
- Ramadan Office Hours
- Whether Section 3(a) of P.D. No. 291, as amended by P.D. No. 322, authorizes office hours from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. without breaks during Ramadan for Muslim employees.
- Friday Prayer Break
- Whether any law or rule (including P.D. Nos. 291/322 or CSC resolutions) entitles Muslim employees to be excused from work each Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. throughout the calendar year.
- Constitutional Free Exercise Clause
- Whether denying the Friday prayer break or modifying Ramadan hours violates the free exercise of religion guaranteed by Section 5, Article III of the 1987 Constitution.
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)