MANILA, Philippines -- As if Filipinos did not have enough holidays, Congress is proposing to add seven more red-letter days to the calendar that would raise the number of nonworking holidays in a year to 23.

Catanduanes Rep. Joseph Santiago warned too many holidays could further dampen the economy, especially the 24/7 call centers that have to pay a premium to their employees on nonworking holidays.

“If we must mark additional eventful days via new legislation, we would prefer they be classified strictly as rest days for schools only, or special working days,” Santiago said.

The extra nonworking holidays being sought are Feb. 4 (Philippine-American War Heroes Day), Chinese New Year’s Day (movable date), March 18 (Bangsa-
moro Day), March 22 (Emilio Aguinaldo Day), June 19 (Jose Rizal Day), Nov. 20 (Children’s Day), and Sept. 1 (Filipino Family Day).

Santiago said congressmen should address the complaints of businesses against the large number of holidays.

The chair of the House information and communication technology committee said the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and American Chamber of Commerce had warned that adding more holidays would adversely impact on the productivity of businesses across all sectors.