Date and time notation in the Philippines

Date

In the Philippines, the dates are written both in dd-mm-yy format as well as in a way similar to that of the United States, except in the way similar to the United States, the days are usually said with a cardinal number (e.g., "December thirty-one") in English. Consequently, it is the only country whose immigration embarkation/disembarkation forms ask passengers to write pertinent dates in the mm-dd-yy format but like most countries, passports and visas issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs (handwritten or computer-encoded) also use the "day month year" format. Sometimes though, especially in selected written communication in offices and the academe, the "day month year" format can be used. In the Filipino language, the "day month year" notation is the proper way of expressing the dates (e.g., "ika-31 ng Disyembre" which stands for the 31st of December) however the "month day year" is also used sometimes (e.g., "Disyembre 31").

Time

The Philippines uses the 12-hour clock in most oral or written communications, whether formal or informal. The use of the 24-hour clock is usually confined to airports, military, police and other technical purposes.