Malacañang declares August 20 a non-working day in Lucena City

The  Lucena City Government Complex (Delfin T. Mallari Jr./Inquirer Southern Luzon)

LUCENA CITY – Malacañang has declared August 20 as a special non-working holiday in this capital city of Quezon province to mark its Charter Day anniversary.

Proclamation No. 997, issued August 17 and signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, said the holiday declaration will give the people of Lucena City the “full opportunity to celebrate and participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies.”

However, the proclamation stressed that the celebration will still be “subject to community quarantine, social distancing and other public health measures” to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The city is under modified general community quarantine, the most relaxed government public health safety protocol.

Lucena Mayor Rhoderick Alcala posted a copy of the proclamation on his Facebook page on Tuesday.

Lucena became a chartered city on June 17, 1961 by virtue of Republic Act No. 3271 sponsored by the late Quezon Rep. Manuel Enverga.

But the local government celebrates the occasion every 20th of August each year to commemorate its formal inauguration as a city on August 20, 1962.

Lucena is now classified as a highly urbanized city.