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Public Holidays and Bank Holidays for Philippines

The list of Philippines bank holidays, national holidays and public holidays for 2008, comes from the Q++ Worldwide Public Holidays Database, the professional source of international public holidays long trusted by the world's foremost diary publishers. The information on this page is provided for private, non-professional, use. Qualified professionals can license data for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and beyond. For details, please visit our licensing information page or

 © 1989-2008 Alter Ego Services

16 Dec 2008 (The Sun Star-Manila) Earlier today, Executive Secretary, Eduardo Ermita, said that he would consult with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to determine if Friday, January 2, 2009, should be declared a public holiday in the Philippines. • 07 Dec 2008 (Sun Star-Manila) The Philippines' Commission on Elections (Comelec) has indicated that it expected Friday, January 2, 2009, to be declared a bridge public holiday in the Philippines. • 20 Nov 2008 (Philippine Headline News-Manila) Malacañang has not yet made any announcement as to the possibility of Friday, January 2, 2009, being a one-off public holiday, but local sources deem it quite likely, as it would give the Philippines 11 consecutive days of public holidays, from Thursday, December 25, 2008, to Sunday, January 4, 2009, inclusively. • 23 Oct 2008 (Philippines Information Agency-Tacloban City) Reacting to the many queries received about what weekday would be a public holiday, as November 1st falls on a Saturday in 2008, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita re-stated that both Friday, October 31, and Monday, November 3, 2008, would be regular working days. • 22 Oct 2008 (PIA Press Release-Malacañang) President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (PGMA) has issued Presidential Proclamation No. 1643 making Monday, November 10, 2008 is a special one-off non-working holiday for the Province of Eastern Samar. • 22 Sep 2008 (The Inquirer) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (PGMA) issued a directive making Wednesday, October 1, 2008, a regular holiday throughout the country, on the occasion of the Eid al Fitr (End of Ramadan) Muslim religious festival. The directive was issued under Proclamation number 1625, released by Malacañang earlier this morning. • 17 Aug 2008 (Philippine Daily Inquirer) Philippines Senator, Benigno Aquino III (aka. Noynoy), has announced that he will soon introduce legislation to change the "holiday economics" policy mandated by last year's Republic Act No. 9492, which moves certain public holidays, except those religious in nature, to form three-day weekends to encourage travel and leisure spending. • 14 Aug 2008 (Philippines' Presidency Website) Philippines' President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (PGMA) has declared a series of upcoming dates as special non-working public holidays in five cities, one municipality and one province. • 07 Aug 2008 (GMA News) Earlier today, Executive Secretary, Eduardo R. Ermita, signed Proclamation 1578, declaring Friday, August 8, and Monday, August 11, as non-working holidays in the ARMM (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao) where elections will be held, as well as in Cotabato and Isabela cities, areas where the counting of votes will be held. • 28 Jul 2008 (Philippines Information Agency) The government of the Philippines has announced that, pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 1083 of 1977, the date of Wednesday, July 30, 2008, had been chosen for this year's celebration of Lailatul Izra Wal Miraj (Nocturnal Journey and Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad). • 18 Jul 2008 (Philippines Information Agency-Bohol) On Tuesday, July 22, 2008, the province of Bohol will to celebrate 154 years since Bohol was officially separated from Cebu province. • 10 Jul 2008 (The Inquirer-Northern Luzon) To make uninterrupted holidays breaks (aka. PGMA's holiday economics), Malacañang has declared Monday, July 14, 2008, a non-working public holiday in Baguio City and six Cordillera provinces, instead of the expected date of July 15 which would mark the 21st anniversary of President Corazon Aquino's Executive Order 220 creating the Cordillera Administrative Region on July 15, 1987. • 16 Jun 2008 (ABS CBN News) President Gloria Macapal Arroyo (PGMA) has declared Tuesday, June 24, 2008 as a one-off public holiday in the City of Manila by virtue of Proclamation No. 1500, to mark the 437th Foundation anniversary of the capital of the Philippines. • 11 Jun 2008 (PIA and Balita) Thursday, June 19, 2008, was declared a one-off public holiday in the the Province of Laguna and the City of Calamba to mark the 147th birth anniversary of Dr. Jose P. Rizal. • 02 Jun 2008 (Office of the President) Proclamation No. 1513 was issued, making Friday, June 6, 2008 ( the 56th Foundation Day anniversary of the western Mindanao province), as a special non-working day in Zamboanga del Norte. • 05 Mar 2008 (GMA News) President Arroyo (PGMA) issued Proclamation No. 1461, declaring Monday, March 10, 2008, as a special non-working day in Bukidnon, on the occasion of the 91st anniversary of the province's foundation. • 25 Feb 2008 (Philippine Information Agency) Decrees 1465 and 1466, have been released, declaring Tuesday February 26 and Thursday February 28, 2008, as municipal public holidays in the cities of Zamboanga and Tangub, to celebrate their respective foundation anniversaries. • 18 Feb 2008 (Malacañang Press Office) Earlier today, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Proclamation No.1462 declaring Monday, February 25, 2008, as a Special Non-Working Day throughout the country in connection with the observance of the 22nd anniversary of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution. In addition, • 12 Feb 2008 (Inquirer.net) Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, in behalf of President Macapagal-Arroyo, earlier signed Proclamation No. 1455 which declared Wednesday, February 13, 2008, a special nonworking holiday in the city of Parañaque, for both the private and public sectors. • 11 Jan 2008 (Philippine Information Agency) Through Proclamations No. 1441 and 1443, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has declared January 15 and 16, 2008, as special non-working days in San Pablo City in Laguna, and in Batangas City, respectively. • 09 Jan 2008 (Philippine Information Agency) Through Proclamation No. 1440, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (PGMA) declared January 10, 2008, as a special non-working day in Koronadal City, South Cotabato, to mark its Foundation Day. • 08 Jan 2008 (Philippines Information Agency) Wednesday, January 9 has been proclaimed as a legal Muslim holiday in Region 12. All city government employees (muslims and non-muslims) will be excused from work on that day on the occasion of the Islamic New Year. • 25 Jul 2007 (Sun Star) Today, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (PGMA) signed Republic Act 9492, "An Act Rationalizing the Celebration of National Holidays", into law. • More News Updates For the full version of the summarized news items above, and older news items not displayed above, go to the Philippines public holidays news and updates page, or worldwide public holidays news and updates page, or subscribe to one of our free email newsletters.

Governing Law: Official regular public holidays, in the Philippines, are regulated by Executive Order 203 and incorporated in Executive Order 292, and as amended by Republic Act No. 9177. The 2 additional, so called, nationwide special days (November 1 and December 31) are regulated by EO 203. • It is the President's prerogative to declare the next working day a public holiday if the actual public holiday falls on a Sunday. Sometimes this is only done at the last minute. • Public Holidays Economics: In order to boost domestic tourism, the government, in 2002, made it a policy to move public holidays falling on a weekend to Friday or Monday, thus extending the weekend to three days. But, in 2004, Malacañang decided to give its "holiday economics" a rest following complaints from business executives. However, in early 2007, President Arroyo declared 4 non-working public holidays for the year, under Proclamation No. 1211 . • Muslim Holidays: The holidays of Amun Jadid (New Year), Maulid-un-Nabi (Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad), Lailatul Isra Wal Mi'raj (Nocturnal Journey and Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad), Id-ul-Fitr (Hari Raya Pausa), and Id-ul-Adha (Hari Raja Haji), are officially observed, pursuant to Presidential Decree 1083 and Civil Service Commission Resolution No. 81-1277, in the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur and in the cities of Cotabato, Iligan, Marawi, Pagadian and Zamboanga, and in such other Muslim Provinces and cities as may be created. Upon proclamation by the President of the Philippines, Muslim holidays may also be officially observed in the provinces and cities. • Eid al Fitr (End of Ramadan, first day of the month of Shawwal) is a national public holiday, created by virtue of Republic Act No. 9177 and signed on November 13, 2002. It was observed as a national public holiday for the first time on December 6, 2002. • The Christmas season in the Philippines started with dawn masses from Dec. 16 and ends on Jan. 6 as Filipinos hold family reunions, exchange gifts and feast on roasted pig and delicacies, such as rice cake and ginger tea. • Since 1986, the government has observed a holiday ceasefire with communist and Muslim rebels as the mainly Roman Catholic country celebrates one of the world's longest yuletide seasons . • Other Sources of Information For information not covered here, see the following specialized websites: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Philippines central bank), ASI Hot Spots (security-related world events: terrorist threats, political strife, strikes, criminal activity, aviation incidents and health outbreaks), CIA World Factbook (maps, demographic and economic statistics), Copp Clark (financial markets' trading hours, settlement holidays and currency non-clearing days), and the IFES Election Guide (information covering upcoming elections, referenda, electoral structures and past voter participation).

Observance : Any entry in the Observance column indicates that, in Philippines, the holiday may be regional or non-official or limited to certain religious and/or linguistic groups, or begin at a time other than midnight. Note that religious holidays are included only if they are national public holidays, or if the national labour code has specific holiday allowances for employees of specific religions. For more information, see our pages on the religious calendars of the world.

Religious Holidays : Public holidays in Philippines that are based on certain religious calendars may be subject to local variations due to differing interpretations between different religious authorities, or to seemingly arbitrary changes in the date a holiday is celebrated because it conflicts with another holiday that is based on another calendar, or because the day of the holiday is deemed inauspicious (bad luck). To find out more about these uncertainties, see the footnote below, if any, for each specific religion.

Muslim Holidays : Muslim bank holidays, legal holidays and public holidays for Philippines were evaluated using the Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia which is used in Saudi Arabia and in most of the Persian Gulf States. Holidays may occur a day later in countries outside the Gulf region. The sunrises, sunsets, moon phases, moonrises and moonsets used in these calculations are based on the location of Mecca (latitude 21.42°N, longitude, 39.82°E, GMT+3 hours, no summer time rules). For more details on Muslim holidays, see Muslim Calendar Holidays. For Salat (prayer times) calculations, see our Freeware page.

Disclaimer
In many parts of the world, holidays are subject to arbitrary, last minute, changes by local authorities. While every effort has been made to present an accurate list of 2008 bank holidays, legal holidays and public holidays for Philippines, we cannot accept any responsibility for any error or omission in the data presented above. You are therefore advised to verify the above dates with the embassy or consulate of Philippines, before planning any trip to Philippines. For last-minute updates to worldwide public holidays, visit our blog or subscribe to our free email newsletters.