July 23 declared ‘special non-working holiday’ in Batangas

INQUIRER FILES

LUCENA CITY —Batangas Gov. Hermilando Mandanas has declared July 23 a “special non-working holiday” for the province to allow residents to celebrate the 160th birthday of hero and patriot Apolinario Mabini, a native of Tanauan town.

“The province of Batangas regards it fit and proper to commemorate Apolinario Mabini’s heroic contributions to ensure that his legacy will always be remembered,” Mandanas said in his Proclamation No. 01 issued on Wednesday, July 17.

The governor said Mabini’s “brilliance, anchored on his nationalistic ideals and principles, was key in fighting for our independence and he was recognized as the brain of the revolution.”

A copy of the proclamation was posted on the Facebook page of the Batangas Public Information Office on Thursday, July 18.

On April 10, 2007, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Republic Act 9430, declaring July 23 each year as “Apolinario Mabini Day” and a “special working holiday,” but only in Tanauan City.

Mabini, known as the “sublime paralytic” due to his polio, was a key figure in the revolution against Spanish and American colonial rule, earning him the title of one of the “brains of the revolution.”

Born on July 23, 1864, he died on May 13, 1903, in Manila at the age of 38, shortly after returning from exile in Guam.

According to the Department of Labor and Employment, workers get no pay if they don’t work on a special non-working holiday unless a company orders otherwise. If they work on that day, they shall be paid an additional 30 percent of their basic wage for the first eight hours of work.