Nov. 27, 28 no longer national holidaysBy Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star) Updated November 01, 2009 12:00 AM
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=519362&publicationSubCategoryId=63MANILA, Philippines -Bad news for Filipino workers who have already made plans for the long weekend at the end of this month.
MalacaƱang has announced that Nov. 27 and 28 would no longer be national holidays as originally declared earlier this year.
Proclamation No. 1808-A, issued by President Arroyo last Monday, amended the original Proclamation No. 1808, which declared the two days as national holidays in celebration of the Muslim feast of Eid’l Adha.
The President cited the provision of Republic Act 9492 or the law rationalizing the country’s holidays, which states that Eid’l Adha shall be celebrated as a regional holiday in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
In the original Proclamation 1808, the President decided that the great feasts of the Muslims should be given equal treatment as the ones celebrated by the Christian faith namely Christmas Day, Easter Sunday and All Saints’ Day.
Apparently, the President was advised that RA 9492 specifically states that Eid’l Adha is celebrated as a regional holiday only in the ARMM.
The law allows the President to move the dates of certain holidays to either the nearest Friday or Monday in order to allow the people to spend more time with their families.
It also allows the President to declare special non-working holidays.
However, some holidays have fixed dates while others, like Eid’l Adha, were specifically meant to be celebrated only in a region.
With the issuance of the new proclamation, the workforce would still enjoy a somewhat long weekend since Nov. 30 (Monday) would still be a national holiday for the commemoration of the birthday of national hero Andres Bonifacio. – With Mayen Jaymalin