"Pakyawan" or "Arawan"

To define as a setup in construction...

"Pakyawan" - You have an informal contract with your workers and agreed to finish a certain scope of work for a certain amount. Usually, the Foreman or Leadman bills you weekly according to the accomplishment of their work. This can be Labor and Materials or Labor only.

"Arawan" - You pay your workers weekly according to the number of days they worked. This is very common in the province. In some place, meals are even provided for the workers by the owner.

So which is better?

Actually, as a professional, I wouldn't recommend any of the two except maybe if you have a very simple project. Hiring a Contractor or Project Manager is still ideal. I'll explain why in my succeeding posts. But for now, we'll get into the things we should know about the two setup.

In "Pakyawan" the faster they finish the works, the bigger the earnings they get. Unfortunately, often times, the quality is sacrificed because the workers tend to work in their fastest pace otherwise they will only end up earning less than their daily rates. While in "Arawan". The workers tend not to care about the time to finish the works since they would have their salaries at the end of the week anyway.

In "Pakyawan", the weekly accomplishment is often hard to quantify since there would be probably unfinished works that we can only assume percentage of completion. So, its either you overpay or less likely underpay. But of course accomplishment claim is always more than the actual accomplishment. In "Arawan" you only have the weekly payroll as basis of your labor expenses.

So how can we deal with these?

If you decide to engage in pakyawan, here are some of my tips;

1. Have a written agreement.

Can be handwritten as long as understandable. This will be good for both of you. This will prevent the workers from denying a specific work as not included in their scope. If you have a list of scope of their works in your written agreement, you can easily check what's included and what is not. It can also help you in evaluating the cost of the finished work since every item has corresponding amount in the agreement. For the workers' favor this will also prevent you from insisting item of works that is not really included in the agreement.

You can also have an agreement on the quality. You can set an existing house or building near you as basis or benchmark of the quality that they should deliver, otherwise they will not be paid.

2. Ask other parties for quotation.

This is to gauge more or less if someone is overpricing. Or if the quotation is too good to be true. 

3. Learn to Evaluate.

At least check the basics. measure, check the straightness, level and plumb line. Inspect visually. If this would be hard for you, go ask someone who can do this for you. Don't rely only on the claims of your workers. Remember, if you overpay them at first they tend not to finish the works since they are thinking that the remaining works has now lesser value.

4. Have a regular inspection

Inspection and monitoring the progress of your project will boost the work and avoid cheating and wasting of your materials.

As you have guessed, engaging to this might take up more of your time. Otherwise, you accept the risks of not completing the project or spending more than you expected.

If you decide to engage in arawan, here are some of my tips;

1. Know your workers.

Atleast the foreman or leadman is a relative of yours or someone you know. Some workers claim that they are skilled carpenters or masons but actually knows nothing but labor works. You will then be paying higher rates and worst, wouldn't get the job done correctly.

2. Set schedule.

Be idealistic! Expect that they will argue with your set schedule, but that's just fine! You can then arrive at a good agreed schedule. Atleast they are aware that they should finish the works by then.

3. Have a regular inspection.

This is very necessary. You should always let them know that you're always there watching them. So that they will not be encouraged in working slowly. You can also always remind them of the schedule.

4. Set site rules.

Curfew, Timekeeping, proper outfit, safety, etc.

If you don't make this, most probably, your jobsite will be a mess! Workers like to drink after work. If your place allows it, let them take a bit. But be clear that this should be regulated. Your neighbors might file complaints that may compromise your project. And also, hangover may cause your workers not to be efficient the following day.

5. Pay on time.

Remember that most of your workers rely only on their weekly salary. If you delay their payroll, they might get angry and even intentionally make damages on your project or worst, beat you.


As you have guessed, engaging to arawan might take up most of your time. Otherwise, you need to hire a trusted supervisor to do the works for you.

What I've discussed are just mere part of the issue. There are other important matters like; reading the plans, estimating bill of materials, securing permits etc. We'll go in details with these in my next posts.

Thanks for reading.