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Philippine Standard Time

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Philippine Standard Time
Time zone
The Clock tower of Manila City Hall is the icon for synchronizing the time in the whole Philippine archipelago, before an atomic clock was introduced in the country in 2012. The purposes of these Philippine "towering timepieces" are to tell the time and to serve as landmarks.
UTC offset
PHTUTC+08:00
Current time
:: 

PHT [refresh]
Observance of DST
DST is not observed in this time zone.

Philippine Standard Time (PST[1][2] or PhST;[3][4] Filipino: Pamantayang Oras ng Pilipinas), also known as Philippine Time (PHT),[citation needed] is the official name for the time zone used in the Philippines. The country only uses a single time zone, at an offset of UTC+08:00, but used daylight saving time for brief periods from November 1, 1936 until July 28, 1990.

Geographic details

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Countries that use UTC+08:00 are in yellow.

Geographically, the Philippines lies within 114°17′/116°53′ and 126°37′ east of the Prime Meridian,[5] and is therefore fully located within the UTC+08:00 time zone. Philippine Standard Time is maintained by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). The Philippines shares the same time zone with China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Western Australia, Brunei, Irkutsk (Russia), Central Indonesia, and most of Mongolia.

History

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Precolonial era

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Before the arrival of Spanish colonizers in the 16th century, communities throughout the Philippine archipelago measured time using natural and astronomical observations, including the positions of the sun, moon, and stars, as well as seasonal changes and agricultural cycles. The portions of the day and night were described using traditional terms, such as bukang-liwayway (dawn), katanghalian (midday), takipsilim (dusk), and hatinggabi (midnight). Timekeeping practices varied among communities, and there was no single nationwide system of standardized clock time equivalent to today's Philippine Standard Time (PST). Although local time could be determined by the sun's position, it would be misleading to describe these communities as formally following a single national time standard.[6]

At that time, the International Date Line (IDL) had not yet been established as an internationally recognized civil convention. Therefore, it would be historically inaccurate to classify the precolonial Philippines as formally belonging to either side of the modern IDL. The country's relationship to the date line must instead be understood in the context of later developments in global navigation, timekeeping, and civil calendar standardization.

Age of Exploration

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When Ferdinand Magellan set sail westward from Seville on August 10, 1519, he and his crew lost a few minutes each day. Because they were traveling in the same direction as the sun's apparent motion, their days ended slightly later than those of the people remaining in Europe, causing each subsequent day to start later as well. On November 28, 1520, the Magellan–Elcano expedition had crossed the Pacific Ocean from the coast of South America, traversing the region now associated with the International Date Line (IDL). However, it would be anachronistic to suggest the expedition should have adjusted its clocks or advanced its calendar by one day upon crossing this threshold, as neither standardized time zones nor the IDL existed at the time. Instead, the calendar discrepancy was simply the natural consequence of their continuous westward journey around the globe.[7]

After navigating the strait that would later bear Magellan's name, the expedition sailed through largely uncharted waters toward the Spice Islands (present-day Maluku Islands). When they reached the Philippines on March 16, 1521, they introduced the date of the western hemisphere on the island.[7] According to the firsthand account of chronicler Antonio Pigafetta, the crew first sighted the island of Zamal (present-day Samar) on the same day, and landed in Humunu (present-day Homonhon). Recorded in the Julian calendar, this date distinguish the initial landfall sighting from the crew's actual shore landing. The fleet continued to visit other islands in the archipelago until Magellan was killed at the Battle of Mactan on April 27, 1521.[8][9]

This historical episode illustrates the early challenges of reconciling calendar dates during global circumnavigation—a problem that grew increasingly critical with the expansion of maritime trade and international timekeeping. Because the shipboard log strictly followed European day-counting practices, the surviving crew members discovered upon their return to Spain on September 6, 1522, that their recorded calendar date was a full day behind the date kept by those who had remained at home. Ultimately, the expedition provided one of the earliest empirical demonstrations of the time discrepancy inherent in westward circumnavigation, laying the groundwork for the eventual establishment of the modern International Date Line.[7]

Erroneous International Date Line from the 1888 Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, running between the Spanish Philippine Islands and British Hong Kong. The Philippine Islands along with the rest of New Spain are shown on the eastern side of the IDL. They had moved west of the line in 1845. Bonin Islands and Fiji are also shown east of the line. They were actually west of the line.

Spanish colonial period

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For 323 years, 9 months, and 2 days,[note 1] which lasted from Saturday, March 16, 1521 (Julian Calendar), until Monday, December 30, 1844 (Gregorian Calendar), the Philippines had the same date as Mexico. This was because it was a Spanish colony supplied and controlled via Mexico through Manila-Acapulco Galleon trade, which lasted up to 250 years from June 1, 1565, until September 14, 1815, a few years before Mexico gained independence from Spain on September 27, 1821. After this, the Spanish Crown took direct control of the Philippines and governed directly from Madrid. Additionally, its trade interests turned to Imperial China, the Dutch East Indies and adjacent areas.[10]

The Spanish Governor-General Narciso Clavería consulted the Archbishop of Manila, José Seguí, about fixing the time discrepancy between the Philippines and its Asian neighbors for easier trade and the economic sustenance of the colony. To improve communication and trade with neighboring Asian countries and territories, including those to the west and south, the Spanish civil and religious authorities agreed that the entire Philippine archipelago and its nation had to follow the eastern hemisphere. On August 16, 1844, Clavería issued a decree that the local calendar date would jump from Monday, December 30, 1844 to Wednesday, January 1, 1845, effectively removing Tuesday, December 31, 1844 from the calendar. The change also applied to the other remaining Spanish colonies in the Pacific: Caroline Islands, Guam, Marianas Islands, Marshall Islands and Palau as part of the Captaincy General of the Philippines; these became the first places on Earth to redraw the International Date Line. This meant that the date line in effect moved eastwards, from being west to the east of these Spanish Pacific colonies (including the Philippines) to align them with the calendars elsewhere in other parts of Asia.[10][11][7][12][13][14]

At the time, local mean time was used to set clocks, meaning that every place used its own local time based on its longitude because the time was measured by locally observing the Sun.[citation needed]

During Spanish colonial rule (1565–1898), timekeeping became increasingly associated with churches, government administration, shipping, commerce and astronomical observation. Church bells played an important part in regulating daily community activities. They announced religious services, prayer times and other significant occasions. Mechanical clocks also became important in colonial towns. However, there was not yet a uniform modern standard time throughout the entire archipelago.

The Manila Observatory was established in 1865 by the Jesuit mission in the Philippines. Initially, it concentrated on meteorological observations and forecasting. Its work eventually expanded to astronomical observations and timekeeping.[15][16] In 1885, the Manila Observatory introduced a time service that benefited merchant shipping. Its astronomical instruments allowed observers to determine accurate local time. A daily noon time-ball signal was introduced, followed by a cannon shot at Manila Harbour. Ships could use the signal to check and adjust their marine chronometers, which were essential for navigation.[15][16] A historical study by Kerby C. Alvarez discusses the Observatory's time service, including its continuation under the American administration and its maintenance from 1892 to 1945.[16]

American colonial period

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After the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the United States in 1898, the Philippines began moving toward modern standardized time offsets rather than individual local solar times. In the following year, the archipelago first adopted a standard time based on the 120th meridian east of Greenwich, equivalent to GMT+08:00. (May 11 is associated with the American military government's standard-time order, while September 6 is the documented date of the Manila Observatory's operational time-signal adjustment.)[14][17][18] Act No. 131 established the Philippine Weather Bureau on May 22, 1901, assigning it responsibilities relating to the provision of standard time. Telegraphic signals helped distribute accurate time from Manila to connected stations.[19] In 1917, wireless time signals transmitted from Cavite provided another means of disseminating standard time throughout the archipelago.[16] On October 26, 1936, Commonwealth Act No. 91 formally fixed Philippine Standard Time on the basis of mean astronomical time at 120° east longitude and authorized the President to establish daylight saving time through proclamations.[20]

During World War II, particularly under Japanese occupation (1942–1945), the Philippines was nine hours ahead of GMT and operating on Japan Standard Time (JST). To bring this about, the clocks were not put back by an hour (Philippine Daylight Saving Time having started early, on December 16, 1941 under Proclamation No. 789, signed by President Manuel L. Quezon).[21] Following the liberation of the Philippines and restoration of the Commonwealth government, the country continued observing the one-hour-advanced time as a wartime arrangement (to Philippine Daylight Saving Time).[17][22] On November 11, 1945, President Sergio Osmeña issued Proclamation No. 20, terminating daylight saving time; the clocks were put back by an hour at the end of November 30, 1945, so the Philippines reverted to standard time.[14][23]

Postwar and contemporary period

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Following independence in 1946, time synchronization remained largely voluntary for decades. During this period, the Manila City Hall Clock Tower served as the primary visual anchor for civil time.[24] The Time Service Division was established in the Philippine Weather Bureau in 1949. Mechanical clocks were subsequently replaced by quartz and satellite-based timing systems. PAGASA was established in 1972 under Presidential Decree No. 78. Presidential Decree No. 1149, issued in 1977, designated the National Geophysical and Astronomical Office as the official time service agency.[4]

Philippine Standard Time was instituted through Batas Pambansa Blg. 8 (that defined the metric system), approved on December 2, 1978, and implemented on January 1, 1983. The Philippines is one of the few countries to officially and almost exclusively use the 12-hour clock in non-military situations.[note 2][citation needed][dubious – discuss]

In 1997, PAGASA installed a GPS-based timing system. A rubidium/GPS time-transfer system was acquired in 2003, followed by a modern Precise Time-Scale System consisting of three high-performance caesium atomic clocks in 2015.

In September 2011, the Department of Science and Technology proposed to synchronize time nationwide, which was an effort to discourage tardiness and non-standard time displayed on television and radio stations. PAGASA installed a rubidium atomic clock, a GPS receiver, a time interval counter, a distribution amplifier, and a computer to help calculate the time difference with every satellite within its antenna's field of view.[25][26]

In order to promote synchronicity with official time, on May 15, 2013, President Benigno Aquino III signed Republic Act No. 10535 setting the Philippine Standard Time,[27] requiring all government offices and media networks to synchronize their timepieces with PAGASA's rubidium atomic clock.[28][29] It also designates the first week of every year as National Time Consciousness Week to promote punctuality and awareness of accurate timekeeping.

Timeline

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Period in use Time offset from GMT/UTC[note 3] Name of time
Saturday, March 16, 1521 (Julian Calendar) – Monday, December 30, 1844 (Gregorian Calendar) GMT−15:56 (in Manila) Local mean time
GMT−16:12 (in Balabac, the westernmost island)
GMT−15:34 (in Davao Oriental, the easternmost area)
Tuesday, December 31, 1844 The day that never occurred as ordered by the Spanish Governor-General Narciso Claveria to add 1 day or 24 hours to the local mean time.[30] Time zone change[note 4]
Wednesday, January 1, 1845 – September 5, 1899 GMT+08:04 (in Manila) Local mean time
GMT+07:48 (in Balabac, the westernmost island)
GMT+08:26 (in Davao Oriental, the easternmost area)
September 6, 1899 – October 31, 1936 GMT+08:00 Philippine Standard Time[note 5]
November 1, 1936 – January 15, 1937 GMT+09:00 Philippine Daylight Saving Time
January 16, 1937 – December 15, 1941 GMT+08:00 Philippine Standard Time
December 16, 1941 – February 11, 1942 GMT+09:00 Philippine Daylight Saving Time
February 12, 1942 – March 3, 1945 GMT+09:00 Tokyo Standard Time
March 4, 1945 – November 30, 1945 GMT+09:00 Philippine Daylight Saving Time
December 1, 1945 – April 11, 1954 GMT+08:00 Philippine Standard Time
April 12, 1954 – June 4, 1954 GMT+09:00 Philippine Daylight Saving Time
June 5, 1954 – March 27, 1977 GMT/UTC+08:00 Philippine Standard Time
March 28, 1977 – September 21, 1977 UTC+09:00 Philippine Daylight Saving Time
September 22, 1977 – May 20, 1990 UTC+08:00 Philippine Standard Time
May 21, 1990 – July 28, 1990 UTC+09:00 Philippine Daylight Saving Time
July 29, 1990 – present UTC+08:00 Philippine Standard Time

Use of daylight saving time

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Since 1991, the Philippines has not observed daylight saving time. It was in use for short periods (and even long periods during wartime) during the presidencies of Manuel L. Quezon in 1936–1937 and 1941–1944, Sergio Osmeña in 1943–1945, Ramon Magsaysay in 1954, Ferdinand Marcos in 1977, and Corazon Aquino in 1990.[31][32][33]

IANA time zone database

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The IANA time zone database contains one zone for the Philippines in the file zone.tab, named Asia/Manila

Date and time format

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Date

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Standard: August 18, 2023 (month day, year or mm/dd/yyyy)
Formal (public documents): the 18th day of August, 2023 or 18 August 2023 (day month year)
Filipino: ika-18 ng Agosto, 2023 or 18 Agosto 2023 (dd-mm-yyyy)
Passport: 18 08 2023 (dd mm yyyy)

Time

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Standard: 12-hour clock
Military/Scouting: US Military Time
Public Transport and Marathon events: 24-hour clock
Common spoken language
Tagalized Spanish terminology (original Spanish spelling in parentheses; am radio stations and everyday conversation)
8:41 – Alas otso kuwarenta y uno (A las ocho cuarenta y uno)
5:30 – Alas singko y medya (A las cinco y media)
3:00 – Alas tres (A las tres; en punto, literally meaning "on the dot", may be added to signify "o'Clock".)
English (Business, Legal and others)
8:41 pm – Eight forty-one pm
5:30 am – Five Thirty am
3:00 pm – Three O'Clock or Three pm
12:00 pm – Twelve Midday or Twelve Noon – Twelve pm is seldom used as it might be confused with 12 Midnight
12:00 am – Twelve Midnight – Twelve am is seldom used as it might be confused with 12 Noon
Tagalog and Filipino
Starts with Spanish-derived (original spelling in parentheses) and ends with Tagalog – Umaga starts at 5:00 am and ends 11:59 am. Tanghalì is noon. Hapon starts at 1:00 pm and ends 5:59 pm. Gabí starts at 6:00 pm and ends 12:00 am which is Hatinggabi. Madalíng Araw starts at 12:01 am and ends 4:59 am. Except in very formal situations, Filipinos rarely use the vernacular numbers in telling time.
8:41 P.M. – Alas otso kuwarenta y uno (A las ocho cuarenta y uno) ng gabí or Apatnapú't-isá(ng minuto) makalipas ng ikawaló ng gabí or (ika)waló at apatnapú't-isá (na) ng gabi
5:30 A.M. – Alas singko y medya (A las cinco y media) ng umaga or Tatlumpû(ng minuto) makalipas ng ikalimá ng umaga or Kalahati makalipas ng ikalimá ng umaga or (ika)limá at kalaháti ng umaga or (ika)limá at tatlumpû(ng minuto) (na) ng umaga
3:00 P.M. – Alas tres (A las tres) ng hapon o Ikatló ng hapon
12:00 P.M. – Alas dose (A las doce) ng tanghalì o Ikalabíndalawá ng tanghalì
12:00 A.M. – Alas dose (A las doce) ng hatinggabi o Ikalabíndalawá ng hatinggabí
2:00 A.M. – Alas dos ng madalíng araw (A las dos) o Ikalawá ng madalíng araw

Notes

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  1. ↑ Under the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, which mandated the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, Catholic countries such as Italy, Portugal, and Spain, including their overseas possessions in the Philippines and the Americas, skipped 10 calendar days to correct the accumulated discrepancy between the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Thursday, October 4, 1582, was immediately followed by Friday, October 15, 1582. The difference between the two calendars gradually increased because the Julian calendar treated every fourth year as a leap year, whereas the Gregorian calendar excluded century years ending in “00” from being leap years unless they were evenly divisible by 400. Consequently, the discrepancy increased from 10 to 11 days in 1700 and from 11 to 12 days in 1800. These differences applied from March 1, 1700 (Gregorian; February 19, Old Style), through February 28, 1800 (Gregorian; February 17, Old Style), and from March 1, 1800 (Gregorian; February 18, Old Style), through February 28, 1900 (Gregorian; February 16, Old Style), respectively. At the end of 1844, the Philippines implemented a calendar adjustment that shifted its civil dates forward by one day, effectively correcting the accumulated discrepancy associated with its position relative to the International Date Line. As a result, the calendar adjustment reduced the difference between the Philippines’ previously observed dates and the corresponding dates under the Gregorian calendar by one day. However, this change should not be described as reducing the Julian–Gregorian calendar discrepancy from 14 days to 2 days, since the two issues are distinct: the Gregorian reform concerned the alignment of the calendar with the solar year, whereas the Philippine date adjustment concerned the civil calendar date observed in the archipelago.
  2. ↑ Aside from the 12-hour clock, the Philippines also uses the 24-hour clock format, which some Filipinos prefer for personal use. Smartwatches sold in the country are typically programmed to display the 24-hour format by default. Likewise, smartphones, laptops, and personal computers can be set to either the 12-hour or 24-hour format, depending on the user’s preference. However, despite the availability and use of the 24-hour format on devices, Filipinos generally continue to pronounce and express time using the 12-hour format in everyday conversation.
  3. ↑ The official abbreviation UTC was formally adopted in 1967 by the International Astronomical Union to create a unified global time standard. While international coordination first began on January 1, 1960, the modern version of UTC used today was officially implemented worldwide on January 1, 1972, introducing leap seconds and successfully replacing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) for civil use.
  4. ↑ The change also applied to Caroline Islands, Guam, Marianas Islands, Marshall Islands and Palau for being part of the Captaincy General of the Philippines during that time.
  5. ↑ Historical time zone tracking databases from Time and Date specifically record that Manila adjusted its clocks on September 6, 1899, at 12:04 PM. Clocks were turned back by four minutes to align exactly with UTC+08:00. Prior to this change, Manila used an LMT offset of UTC+08:04.

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Republic Act No. 10535, The Philippine Standard Time (PST) Act of 2013". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. May 15, 2013.
  2. ↑ Medina, Marielle (January 4, 2017). "National Time Consciousness Week". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Inquirer Research. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  3. ↑ Lacanilao, Arianne (January 5, 2018). "DOST urges Pinoys to follow PH Standard Time". Philippine News Agency. Philippine Canadian Inquirer. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "PAGASA". www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph. Retrieved November 2, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Republic Act No. 9522". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Archived from the original on August 14, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  6. ↑ Guzman, Daniel De (August 6, 2017). "The Concept of Time According to Pre-Colonial Filipinos | Aswang Project".
  7. 1 2 3 4 DBCantillas (September 30, 2020). "Gregorian Calendar". Prehispanic CEBU. Retrieved October 15, 2026.
  8. ↑ "PH Navy, Spanish Navy Join the Quincentennial - 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines". 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines. March 14, 2021.
  9. ↑ Pigafetta, Antonio (1521-03-16). "16th-17th of March, 1521". The Philippine Diary Project. Retrieved 2026-10-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. 1 2 van Gent, R. H. "A History of the International Date Line". Webspace.science.uu.nl. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
  11. ↑ Tantiangco, Aya (January 1, 2017). "Philippines skipped New Year's Eve and lost a day in 1844". GMA News Online. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  12. ↑ Ocampo, Ambeth R. (February 15, 2013). "A sense of order". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved October 20, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa: Gobernador y Capitán General de las Islas Filipinas (1844-1849)". studylib.es (in Spanish). Retrieved October 20, 2026.
  14. 1 2 3 "Time Zones in Philippines". www.timeanddate.com. Retrieved October 22, 2026.
  15. 1 2 "History | Manila Observatory". Retrieved November 2, 2026.
  16. 1 2 3 4 https://dds.sciengine.com/cfs/files/pdfs/view/1440-2807/ED532113476F4CE39017776B774643D8.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. 1 2 "I Challenge Thee". sources.debian.org. Retrieved November 2, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Time Zone & Clock Changes in Manila, Philippines". www.timeanddate.com. Retrieved November 2, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Act No. 131 | Senate of the Philippines Legislative Reference Bureau". issuances-library.senate.gov.ph. Retrieved November 2, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Commonwealth Act No. 91 - AN ACT TO FIX THE STANDARD TIME OF THE PHILIPPINES, AND TO AUTHORIZE THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES TO ESTABLISH A DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME THEREIN. - Supreme Court E-Library". elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Proclamation No. 789". www.lawphil.net. Retrieved November 2, 2026.
  22. ↑ "EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 31 - PRESCRIBING THE OFFICE HOURS TO BE OBSERVED IN THE DIFFERENT BUREAUS AND OFFICES OF THE GOVERNMENT - Supreme Court E-Library". elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph. Retrieved November 2, 2026.
  23. ↑ "PROCLAMATION NO. 20 - PROVIDING FOR THE RETURN TO STANDARD TIME, AS PROVIDED IN COMMONWEALTH ACT NO. 91 - Supreme Court E-Library". elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph. Retrieved November 2, 2026.
  24. ↑ Macababbad, E. J. "Move away from 'Filipino time'". Philstar.com.
  25. ↑ Pedrasa, Ira (September 26, 2011). "Juan Time: Filipino time redefined". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on January 24, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  26. ↑ "Clocks and countdowns set for 'Juan Time'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. December 31, 2011. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018.
  27. ↑ Republic Act No. 10535 (May 15, 2013), "The Philippine Standard Time (PST) Act of 2013", Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines, archived from the original on July 3, 2017
  28. ↑ "PHL Standard Time to counter 'Filipino time' starting June 1". GMA News. May 25, 2013.
  29. ↑ "Are you on Philippine Standard Time? | ABS-CBN News". Archived from the original on January 24, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  30. ↑ Joel (August 27, 2007). "Missing date in Philippines history: 31 December 1844". wordpress.com. Far Outliers. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  31. ↑ Dela Cruz, Christa I. (August 30, 2024). "The Philippines Actually Observed Daylight Saving Time in the Past – History of Daylight Saving Time in the Philippines". Esquire Philippines. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  32. ↑ "Executive Order No. 415". The Lawphil Project – Arellano Law Foundation. July 20, 1990. Retrieved June 8, 2026. LIFTING THE DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME (DST) PROGRAM INSTITUTED UNDER THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 17, SERIES OF 1990, EFFECTIVE MIDNIGHT OF JULY 28, 1990
  33. ↑ "Daylight saving time 2024 in Philippines". timeanddate.com.
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