Are Your Clocks Set to Philippine Standard Time?
We’ve all made fun of so-called “Filipino time” for years—that unfortunate habit to be late for scheduled events many of us have. It’s funny until it’s not. In many other places in the world, being on time or even early to appointments is a sign of respect for other people’s time, which we should recognize as just as valuable as ours.
The need to shift away from this “Filipino time” mindset is at the main thrust of the the National Time Consciousness Week campaign by the Department of Science and Technology. And at the core of the campaign is for Filipinos to adopt the Philippine Standard Time (PHST).
Based on Republic Act No. 10535 or the PHST Act of 2013, local government agencies as well as broadcasting companies are mandated to adhere to and display PHST in their offices, which will lead to better efficiency and synergy that will hopefully influence regular citizens to be more mindful of their time.
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But what exactly is PHST?
What is Philippine Standard Time
According to the DOST, PHST is kept according to the Coordinated Universal Time or UTC, which is the standard to which the planet holds in regulating and keeping time. What was formerly called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is now essentially the world’s official time. PAGASA or the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) is the country’s official timekeeper.
To ensure that the country gets the correct time all the time, the DOST and PAGASA makes use of what is called a rubidium atomic clock, which is widely recognized as one of the two most widely used atomic clocks in the world. (In case you’re curious, the other one is called the cesium clock, which is even more accurate). Both agencies have been using the rubidium atomic clock since 2003.
Located at the DOST-PAGASA station, the rubidium clock is equipped with a receiver that receives timing signals from at least four orbiting satellites in the Global Positioning System (GPS) within its range. These satellites, in turn, are each equipped with up to four atomic clocks which are periodically updated from a cesium atomic clock based in Boulder, Colorado.
“This system keeps the DOST-PAGASA clock synchronized to the UTC,” the DOST said in a release promoting the NTCW campaign. “GPS is the same technology being used for modern navigation consisting of 24 satellites that broadcast their location, status, and precise time. Precise time is necessary for the GPS to work, as this will be used to compute the exact location of a receiver using geometry principles.”
If you’re interested in syncing your own clocks and timepieces to PHST, visit the DOST-PAGASA website and get the official ‘Oras Pinas.’
“Oras Pinas hopes to institutionalize the new Filipino culture of being always on time and having only one time as a nation,” the DOST says.
