MANILA, Philippines — If it were up to Senator Cynthia Villar, there should be no more special non-working holidays in the country, saying “it destroys economic activity.”
Speaking at the sidelines of a Senate hearing held by the committee on local government, Villar said that she would prefer a working holiday instead of a non-working holiday since it is the government anyway that would celebrate, and employees may go to work and celebrate with their local governments.
“Alam mo ‘pag lahat dineclare natin na non-working holiday, katakot-takot ang non-working holiday natin sa Philippines and that will destroy also the business, the economic condition of the Philippines,” Villar said during Monday’s hearing on local holiday bills by the Senate committee on local government.
“There’s nothing wrong with working holiday kasi yung mga government employees naman, even if they are working, they can celebrate, they dont have to go to their offices. They can celebrate with the local government. Yun lang ang opinion ko dyan, Kasi di ba sa atin sa senado, parang binabawasan na rin natin yung non-working holiday kasi ang dami-dami na nila,” she added.
On the other hand, increasing the number of non-working holiday, she said, would have negative effects on businesses, including employers having to pay 30 percent more to employees who would report to work, the senator said.
Villar, nevertheless, clarified that she had no problems with having working holidays.
“But yung padamihing masyado yung non-working holiday, that’s detrimental. Baka puro na tayo non-working holiday all-year-round,” she said.
(But to increase the number of non-working holiday, that’s detrimental. We may have non-working holiday all-year-round)
During the same hearing, however, the committee approved a bill declaring September 11 a special non-working holiday in Ilocos Norte to commemorate the birth anniversary of former President Ferdinand Marcos.