MANILA, Philippines--President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has declared the two-day celebration of Eid’l Adha later this month as holidays only in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Eid’l Adha, also known as the Feast of Sacrifice or Day of Sacrifice, is observed after the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
The Office of the Press Secretary announced on its website Saturday that Ms Arroyo issued Proclamation No. 1808-A declaring Nov. 27 and Nov. 28 regular holidays only in the ARMM and not the entire country.
This new proclamation amends Proclamation No. 1808, which declared the two dates as national holidays in observance of Eid’l Adha and which was issued on April 12 this year.
“The reason being is that when we first announced it to be a holiday, we found out a little later that there’s a republic act that declared this holiday only in the ARMM. We had to correct it,” Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said in a phone interview.
He was referring to Republic Act No. 9492 which provides for the celebration of Eid’l Adha as a regional holiday in the ARMM.
Businessmen have been complaining about the many holidays every year, saying that an excess would adversely impact on productivity across all sectors.
“Not necessarily,” Ermita said when asked if the amendment was prompted by pressure from the business community.
But he admitted that Malacańang always consulted with the Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Labor and Employment before issuing holiday proclamations in order to get a reading of the concerns of the community.
“You might say we just want to be sure we don’t want to adversely affect the interests of the business community,” he said.
Had Malacańang stuck to the original proclamation of making Nov. 27 and 28, a Friday and a Saturday, national holidays, the public would be seeing one of the longest weekends this year, because the following Monday, Nov. 30, is Bonifacio Day, a regular non-working holiday.
This wasn’t the first time Malacańang amended a proclamation on holidays. TJ Burgonio
