"Holiday Economics"
Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo usually issues proclamations moving the holiday to Friday if a holiday falls on a Wednesday or Thursday, or to Monday if a holiday falls on a Tuesday. The sole purpose is to enable government and private employees to enjoy a three day weekend holiday. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, coining the term holiday economics, introduced the policy in 2001 to reduce disruption to business and production schedules, encourage domestic tourism and give employees long weekends. In 2004 she issued a proclamation making Christmas Eve as special non-working holiday and December 27, the Monday after Christmas as special non-working holiday.
On July 25, 2007, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed into law Republic Act (RA) 9492 also known as "An Act Rationalizing the Celebration of National Holidays", designating 11 Regular Holidays and three Nationwide Special Holidays. Specific dates or days for celebration are designated. The law provides that holidays falling on a Wednesday will be observed on the Monday of the week and that holidays falling on a Sunday, the holiday will be observed on the Monday that follows. Three holidays (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Eidul Fitr) are designated as having movable dates, and the law provides that for movable holidays the President shall issue a proclamation, at least six months prior to the holiday concerned, the specific date that shall be declared as a non-working day. Though it was allowed by RA 9492, Labor Day was never moved to another date by President Arroyo at the request of labor groups.
In addition to the Regular Holidays and Nationwide Special Days which it designates, the law specifies that the Eidul Adha shall be celebrated as a regional holiday in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
While Arroyo's "holiday economics" has been praised for boosting domestic tourism and for encouraging more quality time among members of Filipino families, businessmen are complaining over lost productivity and the hassle of preparing mandatory holiday and overtime salaries in a short period of time. Others deplored it as presidential tinkering with history via executive fiat.
The final two weeks of 2008 have the largest number of holidays based on Presidential Proclamation 1463 with offices closed from December 25, 2008 until January 4, 2009.
Read more about this topic: Public Holidays In The Philippines
Famous quotes containing the words holiday and/or economics:
“You will think me very pedantic, gentlemen, but holiday though it may be, I have not the smallest interest in any holiday, except as it celebrates real and not pretended joys.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Religion and art spring from the same root and are close kin. Economics and art are strangers.”
—Willa Cather (1876–1947)