Sunday, August 19, 2007 Cabaero: Movable holidays By Nini B. Cabaero Beyond 30
THE holiday tomorrow, Monday, will be the first movable holiday to be authorized by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo after she had approved Republic Act No. 9492.
The Act, signed last July 25, rationalizes the celebration of national holidays by amending provisions of the Administrative Code. It allows President Arroyo to move regular and nationwide special holidays to other dates.
The country marks Ninoy Aquino Day on August 21 but, with the approval of RA 9492, the no-work and no-school day will be tomorrow, August 20. (Activities to mark Ninoy Aquino Day, however, will be held on August 21.) It will be the same case for next Monday, August 27, wherein National Heroes Day will now be marked on the “last Monday of August” according to RA 9492 and not on a specific date.
The new directive will give Filipinos three-day weekends now and next week.
It is not clear what the benefits will be to the nation and to the individuals who would begin to enjoy extended weekend breaks.
One criticism hurled at President Arroyo as early as 2004 was her penchant to declare holidays or to move holidays for one or another reason---to appease critics or to reduce the number of warm bodies in scheduled opposition mass actions, for example.
The declaration of no-work and no-school days became her own political tool, her critics said in 2004. It was then the term “holiday politics” to refer to using holiday declarations for a political purpose came about.
At some points, the President revised her stance especially when employers decried the costs of overtime and not meeting production deadlines because of the holidays.
Republic Act No. 9492 took some time to be passed. Maybe because of the many aspects to be considered like its impact on production, the take-home pay of daily workers and whether the extended weekends could help reunite families or allow them to go on vacations.
The Act was approved by the Senate on Jan. 30, 2007 and by the House of Representatives last February 7. But it was only last July 25 when Arroyo approved it and it was ordered to take effect 15 days after publication.
The Act amends provisions of the Administrative Code of 1987, particularly the section on regular holidays and nationwide special days. It states that national holidays like Independence Day (June 12), Labor Day (May 1), Rizal Day (December 30), and Bonifacio Day (November 30) are movable to the Monday nearest the holiday itself.
When a holiday falls on a Wednesday, the holiday will be observed on the Monday of the week. If on a Sunday, the holiday will be observed on the Monday that follows. As to movable holidays, the President will issue proclamations specifying the date to be declared as a non-working days.
Lawmakers and the President must have studied the impact of the movable holiday scheme before changing the law. But the real impact on national economics and on the workers would be known after the new rule has been tried.
