Holiday weekend in Cebu next week

THERE will be no work and classes in all levels of public and private schools in Cebu City and the entire province on Thursday and Friday next week.

Sept. 9 or Osmeña Day was declared a non-working holiday in Cebu City, Cebu Province and its component cities by Republic Act 6953, signed into law by the late former President Corazon Aquino.

Updates on President Benigno Aquino III's presidency

President Benigno Aquino III, meanwhile, declared Sept. 10, 2010 as a regular holiday throughout the country, in observance of Eid’l Fitr or the Feast of Ramadhan, which the Muslim world celebrates for three days after the end of a month of fasting.

In his proclamation, President Aquino said the holiday is meant “to promote cultural understanding and integration.”

Declaring the day a regular holiday is important “to bring the religious and cultural significance of the Eid’l Fitr to the fore of national consciousness.”

Osmeña Day is celebrated in honor of Don Sergio Osmeña, a Cebuano who spent 42 years in public service.

When he began serving in 1904, he was Cebu’s youngest governor at 25. Four years later, he became speaker of the First Philippine Assembly.

He also became senator and was elected vice president in 1935. Don Sergio assumed the presidency in 1944, following the death of president Manuel Quezon. (RSB)