PALACE DECLARES NOV. 16 (FEAST OF EID'L ADHA) A HOLIDAY
MANILA, NOVEMBER 11, 2010 (STAR) President Aquino has declared Nov. 16 (Tuesday) – the day he is to arrive from the Asia -Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Yokohama, Japan – a non-working holiday in celebration of Eid'l Adha, the Islamic feast of sacrifice.
The President issued Proclamation 60 based on Republic Act 9849, which provides that Eid'l Adha, though movable, shall be celebrated as a national holiday.
Proclamation 60 stated that the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) has confirmed that the feast of Eid'l Adha falls on Nov. 16 this year.
Eid'l Adha is one of Islam's two major festivals celebrated by 1.6 billion Muslims around the world, the other being Eid'l Fitr. It is the celebration before the end of the Hajj pilgrimage.
Eid'l Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, is celebrated on the 10th day of the 12th Islamic month.
The last holidays Malacañang declared and the country enjoyed was last Oct. 25 and Nov. 1, the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections and All Saints' Day, where Filipinos had two long weekends.
Mr. Aquino issued Proclamation 48 to give Filipino voters in 42,000 barangays all over the country "the fullest opportunity to participate in the said elections and exercise their right to vote."
Prior to this, the President declared Aug. 30 a holiday, in commemoration of National Heroes Day.
Mr. Aquino earlier declared Aug. 21 a non-working holiday. Aug. 23, which, according to the law on holiday economics should have been a regular holiday, was declared a regular working day instead.
He made the decision even if the occasion was the 27th death anniversary of his late father, martyred Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr.
Malacañang justified that the President has the authority to modify, from time to time, the observance of holidays.
In 2007, former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed into law the bill rationalizing national holidays (holiday economics), effectively giving the public more long weekends to enjoy.
Republic Act 9492 amends Section 26 Chapter 7, Book I of Executive Order 292 or the National Administrative Code of 1987, and provides that most holidays except those with religious significance be moved to the nearest Monday.
There are a total of 11 national regular holidays and three nationwide special days mandatorily observed in the country.
Under the law, four holidays would continue to be celebrated on a fixed date, namely Jan. 1 or New Year's Day; Nov. 1, All Saints' Day; Dec. 25, Christmas Day; and the last day of the year, Dec. 31.
Three other holidays, namely Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Eid'l Fitr, have always been movable dates so their status would remain unchanged under the law.
The remaining holidays that would be affected by the law are as follows:
Araw ng Kagitingan, Monday nearest April 9; Labor Day, Monday nearest May 1; Independence Day, Monday nearest June 12; Ninoy Aquino Day, Monday nearest Aug. 21; National Heroes Day, last Monday of August; Bonifacio Day, Monday nearest Nov. 30; and Rizal Day, Monday nearest Dec. 30.
"In the event the holiday falls on a Wednesday, the holiday will be observed on the Monday of that week. If the holiday falls on a Sunday, the holiday will be observed on the Monday that follows," a portion of the law read.
Senator Arroyo livid on holiday changes
However, Sen. Joker Arroyo and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said Malacañang might as well seek the repeal of RA 9849 if its officials find difficulty in dealing with such a simple matter of declaring holidays.
Upon learning that the Palace has again issued statements about not wanting to follow RA 9492, this time moving the commemoration of this year's Bonifacio Day from Nov. 30 to Nov. 29, Arroyo said that the "little boys there" should follow the law.
"If Malacañang doesn't like it, those little boys there, all they have to do is ask for its repeal. But since that is the law, they should follow the law," he said.
Based on the law, Bonifacio Day is a movable holiday and so if it falls between Tuesday and Thursday, it would be moved to the nearest Monday.
Arroyo, the principal author of the law, emphasized that the law was crafted upon the request of big business which were having a hard time in planning because of the constant announcements by Malacañang about changes in the commemoration of holidays.
"They cannot keep thinking about it every time there is a forthcoming holiday," Arroyo said.
He said Congress passed the bill without any opposition and among the lawmakers who voted in favor was then Tarlac congressman Benigno Aquino III.
"I don't know why it seems to be a problem for them when the law is there," Suarez said. "They might as well push for its repeal if they have their own mind on the matter."
Suarez said the law even specifies which holidays are movable and those that can be declared as non-working holidays on the nearest Monday. – Marvin Sy, Paolo Romero
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