Filipino Muslims offer prayers to mark Eid al-Adha outside a mosque in Manila City, suburban Manila on July 20, 2021. —Agence France-Presse
MANILA, Philippines—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared June 17 as a regular holiday in observance of Eid al-Adha or the Feast of Sacrifice, one of two main holidays celebrated by Muslims.
In Proclamation 579, dated June 4, Marcos cited the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos’ recommendation that the date be observed as a national holiday.
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The President declared June 17 as a regular holiday throughout the country to give way to the celebration of Eid al-Adha, as mandated under Republic Act No. 9849.
Eid al-Adha is one of Islam’s two main holidays and falls on the 10th date of the Zhul Hiija or the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. The Feast of Sacrifice honors the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God’s command.
The other main holiday in Islam is Eid al-Fitr, or the Feast of Ramadhan, which marks the end of the monthlong, dawn-to-sunset fasting during Ramadhan. This year’s Eid al-Fitr fell on April 10, which the President also declared a national holiday. —Julie M. Aurelio