Vacation mode Pinoys

With the annual  commemoration of the historic EDSA People’s Power anniversary on Feb. 25, 2024 falling on a Sunday, a lot of hullaballoo arose after Malacañang did not include it anymore in the list of “special non-working” days in our country. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. got a lot of flak for excluding the EDSA Day next year under Proclamation 368 issued on Oct.11.

As a tradition and practice, Malacañang issues a year ahead the calendar of regular holidays and special non-working days that will be observed nationwide. This is to enable both the government and private sector to plan ahead their schedule of business and activities.

Subsequently, Malacañang issued a clarification on Proclamation 368 that EDSA Day falls on a Sunday next year. Since a Sunday is usually a day off from work and offices, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil explained it was not included anymore in the list of four “special non-working days” for next year.

Garafil, a lawyer by profession, herself got foot-in-mouth disease. In the same proclamation, the Feast of Immaculate Concepcion of Mary on Dec. 8 next year, one of the four “special non-working days,” also falls on a Sunday.

Except for those in certain industries like us in media, we observe 24/7 work schedule and offices, including Sundays. We who work in the media, especially those in print like us at The STAR, are like doctors – always on call for duty, way beyond the 9 o’clock to 5 o’clock bundy clock hours.

In fact, we still report for work and office during official holidays and non-working special days. We are only able to spend two official holidays that we get to enjoy each year – these are on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. I’m not complaining but that’s how much sacrifice we do in media.

Employees in the private sector working on special non-working days will not receive any payment unless their company has a favorable policy in place. If ever an employee reports for work on that day, they will be paid an additional 30 percent of their regular pay, which adds up to 130 percent pay for the day.

Naturally, private companies that are not doing well groan every time the government declares a non-working day.

There is no issue though on the three other “non-working special days” which all fall on weekdays next year. These are: Ninoy Aquino Day (Aug. 21, Wednesday); All Saints Day (Nov. 1, Friday) and the last day of the year (Dec. 31, Tuesday).

In fact, PBBM included four “additional” special non-working days. These are Chinese New Year (Feb. 10, Saturday); Black Saturday (March 30); All Souls Day (Nov. 2, Saturday) and Christmas Eve (Dec. 24, Tuesday). He justified these additional special non-working days in the same Proclamation 368, invoking Congress-approved special laws.

• Republic Act (RA) 106966 for the Feast of Immaculate Concepcion of Mary, after all we’re largely a Catholic nation;

• RA 9256 on the annual observance of Ninoy Aquino Day;

• RA 9177 observing the Islamic month for the Eid’l Fitr;

• RA 9849 for the observance of Eid’l Adha.

To the credit of PBBM, he continued with the practice of promoting “holiday economics” under RA 9492 that allows moving the holiday or special non-working day closer to either Monday or Friday. In this way, Filipino families are given long weekend vacations. It was former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) who institutionalized this practice in the “holiday economics” law she signed on July 24, 2007. RA No. 9492 provided that holidays, except those which are religious in nature, are moved to the nearest Monday unless otherwise modified by law, order or proclamation.

So the late president Benigno Simeon “PNoy” Aquino III issued Proclamation 84 issued on Dec. 20, 2010 that saw the end of the holiday economics law. In the same PNoy proclamation though, it justified the inclusion of special non-working day the EDSA People Power Revolution, “which restored and ushered political, social and economic reforms in the country, serves as an inspiration to Filipinos everywhere as a nation and as a people.”

In January this year, neophyte Senator Raffy Tulfo filed Senate Bill (SB)1651 seeking to amend RA 9492. Under SB No. 1651, if the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it will be automatically observed on the following Monday.

Nobody can accuse PBBM of trying to dishonor the EDSA Day. For the Marcos family, it was a day of infamy when PBBM’s late namesake father president Ferdinand Sr. was ousted from power and the entire family was forced to flee to Hawaii.

In his first year into office at Malacañang, PBBM declared Feb. 24, which fell on a Friday last year, as a special non-working day. This was on the eve of EDSA Day. In Proclamation No. 167, it stated the celebration of the EDSA People Power Revolution Anniversary may be moved from Saturday, Feb. 25, to Friday, Feb. 24, “provided that the historical significance of EDSA People Power Anniversary is maintained.” Further, PBBM cited this will “enable our countrymen to avail of the benefits of a longer weekend pursuant to the principle of holiday economics.”

To obviously forestall unintended bickering and avoid opening up of old wounds, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman filed last Monday House Bill (HB) 9405, seeking to institutionalize the annual celebration of EDSA anniversary as a “regular national public non-working holiday” every year.

In HB 9405, the veteran lawmaker wants to commemorate the Filipinos’ “triumph against the despotism and profligacy during the darkest era in Philippine history.” It also proposes to “memorialize the heroism and sufferings of the victims and survivors of the martial law period and promote historical truth and help guarantee non-repetition of massive violations of human rights.”

The measure, once legislated into law, Lagman cited, shall “forego the varying degrees of celebrations decreed by Philippine sitting presidents to the extent of ambivalence and negation.”

With a lot of holidays in the Philippines, all Filipinos are into vacation mode. That’s all there is to it.