IN RE REQUEST OF MUSLIM EMPLOYEES IN THE DIFFERENT COURTS IN ILIGAN

CITY (RE:OFFICE HOURS)

A.M. No. 02-2-10-SC | December 14, 2005
Callejo Sr., J.

Doctrine: Where the individual externalizes his beliefs in acts or omissions that affect the
public, his freedom to do so becomes subject to the authority of the State. As great as this liberty
may be, religious freedom, like all other rights guaranteed in the Constitution, can be enjoyed
only with a proper regard for the rights of others.

FACTS
Several Muslim employees wrote a letter addressed to Executive Judge Salazar
requesting that they be allowed to hold office hours from 7:30 am-3:30 pm without any breaks
during the month of Ramadan and that they be excused from work from 10:00 am-2:00pm every
Friday which coincides with the Muslim Prayer Day during the whole year. The said letter was
forwarded to the Office of the Court Administrator in which Judge Salazar has no objection to
the first request but expressed his reservations about the second one.
To bolster their position, petitioners invoked PD 291 which recognized Muslim holidays
and considered them to be part of national holidays. In return, Muslim employees were excused
from attending work during the days provided in the law. Also, a resolution was passed by the
Civil Service declaring that Muslims are excused from work from 10:00am-2pm during all
Fridays of the year. Based on the foregoing, the Court Administrator recommended that granting
of the requests in the condition that Muslim employees should work from 7:00 am to 7pm,
except for the hours provided, in order to compensate for the lost hours.

ISSUES AND HOLDING

1. W/N the request of the petitioners should be granted- NO.

Regarding the first request, the Court finds enough merit to grant the said request.
It was supported by Section 3 of PD 291 as amended by PD 322. However, the request
that the Muslim workers be excused from work every 10:00am-2pm during all Fridays of
the year is denied. It is said that the CSC has issued a resolution which allowed Muslims
to be excused from work during the specified hours every Friday. Notwithstanding this,
the Court held that the CSC exceeded their authority in issuing such resolution because it
was not stated in the granting law that Fridays are considered as one of the recognized
holidays.

While the Court recognizes the right to religious profession and worship, it is
evident that such right contains two aspects: the non-establishment clause and the free
exercise clause. The former is absolute while the latter may be subjected to regulation if
the belief is translated into acts which affect public welfare. Quoting Justice Franfurter,
the Court emphasized that “the constitutional provision on religious freedom terminated
disabilities, it did not create new privileges. It gave religious liberty, not civil immunity.
Its essence is freedom from conformity to religious dogma, not freedom from conformity
to law because of religious dogma.”

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 Moreover, the request to be excused every Friday should not be granted on the
ground that it would tantamount to a diminution of the prescribed working hours. Also, in
the interest of the general public, all civil employees, regardless of their religious
denomination, needs to render public service 8 hours a day or 40 hours per week. Lastly,
the court emphasized that the performance of any religious practice should not prejudice
the courts and the public.

ACCORDINGLY, the Court resolved to:

 
1. GRANT the request to allow the Muslim employees in the Judiciary to hold office
hours from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. without break during the month of Ramadan pursuant to
Section 3 (a) of Presidential Decree No. 291, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 322; and

2.     DENY for lack of legal basis the request that the Muslim employees in the Judiciary
be excused from work from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. every Friday, the Muslim Prayer Day, during
the entire calendar year.

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