As part of their “Juan Time” campaign, launched back in 2014, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) reiterated its call for Filipinos to adhere to Philippine Standard Time (PhST), as part of National Time Consciousness Week, which is observed in the first week of every year.

The push is based on RA 10535, or the Philippine Standard Time Act of 2013. Among the tenets of the policy includes a call for government offices and schools to “conduct a continuing information campaign about the value of time and the need to respect the time of others.”

“Filipino Time,” a supposed cultural trait where Filipinos are always late, is said to have originated during the Spanish colonial period, when the Spanish requested native Filipinos to arrive 30 minutes to an hour after gatherings began.

However, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the agency in charge of monitoring PhST, admitted it is impossible to ensure everybody is in compliance./PLL, WDJ