MALACAÑANG has signed Proclamation 348, declaring November 8, Wednesday, as a special non-working day in Tacloban City, Leyte to commemorate the thousands of victims who perished at the height of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, by authority of President Rodrigo Duterte, signed the proclamation.
"On 08 November 2017, the City of Tacloban will commemorate the persons who perished and survived Typhoon Yolanda and highlight the resilience of its people," Medialdea said.
"It is but fitting and proper that the people of City of Tacloban be given full opportunity to celebrate and participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies," he added.
Yolanda (international name Haiyan), one of the strongest tropical cyclones to make landfall in world history, devastated Tacloban and nearby towns as it pummeled central Philippines on November 8, 2013.
The typhoon killed over 6,000 people and injured 27,022. Some 1,779 missing persons have not been found.
The catastrophe affected nearly 12.2 million people and caused a total damage estimated at around P571.1 billion.
Tacloban City and the provinces of Leyte, Biliran , Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Southern Leyte, and Western Samar have been observing a yearly commemoration of Yolanda since 2014 through a local executive order.
Proclamation 348, which was released by Malacañang on Wednesday, was signed on November 7, Tuesday. (SunStar Philippines)