By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Legislature, that:

SECTION 1. Section twenty-two of Act Numbered Sixteen hundred and ninety-eight, known as "The Revised Civil Service Act," is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 22. The required office h0urs of all Bureaus and Offices in the Philippine civil service shall be fixed by executive order of the Governor-General, but 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 clays declared public holidays by law or executive order: Provided, That when the nature of the duties be performed or the interests of the public service require it, officers and employees may by direction of the chief of the Bureau or Office, be required to work o. Sundays and  holidays without additional compensation unless otherwise specifically authorized by law.   It shall be the duty of chiefs 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 during tion unless otherwise provided by law:  Provided,  however, That  from the first day of April to the fifteenth day of June, both dates inclusive, in each year, the beads of the Bureaus and Offices of the Insular Government, of the provincial governments, and of the city of Manila, are hereby  authorized, without need of an executive order by the Governor-General, to reduce the required hours of labor on each working day to five hours, which shall be from seven o'clock and thirty minutes  in the morning to twelve o'clock and thirty minutes in the afternoon, when in their judgment the transaction of public business will not suffer thereby, or to again extend, at any times within the said period, the said hours for any or all of the employees under them, if in their discretion it be necessary in  the interests of the  public  service: And provided further, That on Saturdays throughout the year the Governor-General may, by executive order, reduce the required number of hours of labor 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. Unless specifically authorized by law no payment shall be made for overtime work. The length of sessions of the courts shall be regulated by exiting law, and the provisions of this section does. The number of hours for the daily  schools shall be fixed by the Secretary of Public Instruction, but they shall  not be less than five hours a day.''

SEC. 2. This  Act shall take effect on its passage.

Enacted, April 5, 1909.