IN A BID to honor Lapu-Lapu's bravery in resisting foreign rule, President Rodrigo Duterte has signed Republic Act (RA) 11040, declaring April 27 as a special working public holiday nationwide and a special non-working holiday in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
Employees who work during a special non-working holday shall receive 130 percent of their daily rate, while those who work on special working holidays are entitled only to their basic rate.
The President signed RA 11040 on June 29. The newly-signed law was a consolidation of Senate Bill 108 and House Bill 6782 respectively passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives in March this year.
Last year, Duterte signed Proclamation 200, declaring April 27 as "Lapu-Lapu Day," to acknowledge Lapu-Lapu's "leadership, extraordinary bravery, courage, and love for his own land."
In Proclamation 200 signed April 26, 2017, the President said "it is fitting and proper that Lapu-Lapu be given the highest honor and that his legacy be remembered by all Filipinos through appropriate ceremonies."
On April 27, 1521, tribal men led by Mactan chieftain Lapu-Lapu won the fight against Spanish invaders headed by Ferdinand Magellan. (Ruth Abbey Gita/SunStar Philippines)