List of Philippine Holidays 2009 – Ten Long weekends

15 Responses to ”List of Philippine Holidays 2009 – Ten Long weekends”

1. Ferdz on January 4th, 2009 8:45 pm

   Ei thanks for this list Eric! Very helpful to plan ahead.

   Happy new year!

2. dvopilgrim on January 7th, 2009 4:45 am

   This last Christmas break in the Philippines must have been a blast for salaried employees, but a bummer for the daily worker. Except for the big malls and grocery stores, the country was practically shut down from December 25, 2008 through January 4, 2009. (This stands out as another Philippine oddity: most people have lost their respect for holidays, even religious ones; malls open half-day even on Christmas Day and New Year.)

   The total official holidays for 2008 was 15 days: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, April 9 (Fall of Bataan), Labor Day (May 1), Independence Day (June 9, moved from June 12), Ninoy Aquino Day (August 21), National Heroes Day (August 25), All Saints? Day (November 1), Bonifacio Day (December 1, moved from November 30), Christmas Day, Rizal Day, plus December 26, 29, 31 and the end of Ramadan. In addition, the poor daily workers lost a few days due to typhoons and public transport strikes.

   Here?s what I propose to minimize the number of holidays and to increase productivity:

   Eliminate these holidays: EDSA Revolution Day, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Fall of Bataan, Rizal Day.

   Grounds: EDSA Revolution Day is minor compared with the Philippine Revolution of 1896. We all know that EDSA I had more negative than positive lasting effects; in fact, it set a disastrous precedent in Philippine politics. The other three holidays only accentuate the Filipino sentimental, melodramatic and defeatist culture. The death and resurrection of Christ should be celebrated together on Easter Sunday and on every Lord?s Day. And why celebrate the surrender of Bataan (and formerly of Corregidor) and the execution of the national hero?

   Combine these holidays into one day: Bonifacio Day (birthday – November 30) and Ninoy Aquino Day (birthday – November 27) should be combined into a National Heroes Day (to be celebrated on the last Monday in November).

   Grounds: Celebrate Aquino’s birthday, not his assassination day. As well, these two holidays are only a few days apart.

   Eliminate Ninoy Aquino Day on August 21 and replace it with a ?Philippine Revolution Day.?

   Grounds: Since Aquino?s birthday will be celebrated together with Bonifacio?s birthday on the last Monday in November, there is no need for another Ninoy Aquino Day. I propose instead a ?Philippine Revolution Day? on the last Monday in August to commemorate the start of the Philippine Revolution with the Cry of Pugadlawin on August 23, 1896. This holiday would inculcate something that is lacking in the Filipino consciousness: the rich heritage of the Philippine Revolution.

   Bottom line, the following is my suggested 9-day holiday schedule, assuming that Rizal Day is still celebrated, a huge improvement from the 15 holidays in 2008:

   New Year (January 1)
   Labor Day (May 1)
   Independence Day (June 12)
   Rizal Day (3rd Monday in June)
   Philippine Revolution Day (last Monday in August)
   End of Ramadan (variable)
   All Saints? Day (November 1)
   National Heroes Day (last Monday in November)
   Christmas (December 25)

   And here are a few other food for thought:

   * Why not move Independence Day to January 21, to celebrate the real inauguration of the First Philippine Republic by the First Philippine Congress in Malolos, Bulacan in 1899? We can cite as a parallel to this the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress of the United States on July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence read on June 12, 1898 in Kawit, Cavite, on the other hand, was written by a single individual, and signed by 98 individuals, not ratified by a congress in session.

   * I?m also for changing the national hero from Rizal to Bonifacio. Rizal may be a genius and a reformer, but he was not a leader of the Philippine Revolution. I do not know of any country in the world that has for its national hero one who was adamantly against a revolution for independence. He disowned it in a manifesto, ?From the very beginning, when I first had notice of what was being planned, I opposed it, fought it, and demonstrated its absolute impossibility.? A case could be argued that he was a traitor to his countrymen during the last days of his life, when he volunteered to serve as a doctor in the Spanish army in Cuba to avoid being implicated in the revolution. His move was in vain, because he was nevertheless implicated and arrested on his way to Cuba, taken back to Manila, and executed.

   * However, if the government insists his execution is to be ?celebrated,? it could be held on January 1, since it is very close to New Year?s Day.

   * The Balintawak Monument should be renovated to make it at least as beautiful, dignified and signified as the Rizal Monument at the Luneta Park.

   * Finally, the most dimwitted holiday of all was when the Independence Day holiday was moved to June 9, Monday, because June 12, the real day, fell on a Thursday! In the U. S., there would b

3. ohmski on January 8th, 2009 10:16 am

   link ko po ha.

4. Eugene on January 8th, 2009 10:33 am

   Reduce holidays, on the grounds that daily workers are affected? You might be interested to know that Japan actually had around 20 holidays in 2008. So reducing holidays for “productivity” sake is a red herring.

5. Tom on February 20th, 2009 2:01 pm

   Sa february 23, 2009 ba kasama empleyado ng eskwelahan walang pasok?

6. lai on February 20th, 2009 3:33 pm

   ello mga fwendz????????????? f holidays come I am not xcited bcoz I am so bz in our house…Hayzzzzzzzzzzzzz…

   itz mhe lai

7. jun on March 9th, 2009 5:52 pm

   ellow mga friendship…..

   pwede bang ipakulong ang amo ko kung hindi n’ya kami pinagholiday ng Maundy Thursday at hindi siya marunong sumunod sa batas ng PILIPINAS dahil cia ay isang krung2?????

   busit cia!!!!!!!!

   sama-sama nten ciang ihabla………

   salamat

8. Ennaem on March 30th, 2009 1:54 pm

   How true na pinalitan n ang april 6 to april 8 in lieu to April 9 araw ng kagitingan? pls clarify..

   thanks

9. meanstalks on April 2nd, 2009 4:35 pm

   I work for a Korean company based in Korea pero home based kami, kasali ba kami sa holiday? mabwebwesit ako pag di kami kasali huhuhuh

10. kristine on April 15th, 2009 3:35 pm

    yung april po ba e 30% salary lang ung babayaran ng company?

11. kristine on April 15th, 2009 3:36 pm

    yung april 6, po ba e 30% salary lang ung babayaran ng company?

12. Pam Edlagan on May 26th, 2009 5:41 pm

    June 1 is the foundation day of Makati. Will it be declared a non-working holiday (only in Makati, of course)?

13. Enrico Dee on May 26th, 2009 9:32 pm

    never in the history of makati under binay’s administration that it has declared a holiday for makati.

14. arman on June 3rd, 2009 9:47 am

    how true that the June 12 independence day celebration has been moved to june 8? tnx for your reply.

15. Leah C. Villajuan on June 3rd, 2009 1:47 pm

    Is Independence Day, June 12 a legal holiday is moved to june 8?

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