This article discusses the Philippine Holidays 2023, Special Working and Non-Working Days for the year 2023, as declared by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., under Proclamation No. 42 and amended by Proclamation No. 90.
Proclamation No. 42, as amended by Proclamation No. 90, Declaring Philippine Holidays 2023, Special Working and Non-Working Days
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. signed Proclamation No. 42 on 22 August 2022, wherein he declared the Regular Holidays, Special Working and Non-Working Days to be observed for the Year 2023.
Subsequent to Proclamation No. 42, President Marcos, Jr. penned another mandate, under Proclamation No. 90, after seeing the need to adjust the holidays “pursuant to the principle of holiday economics wherein a longer weekend will help encourage domestic travel and increase tourism expenditures in the country”.
In light of the changes in the Philippine holidays 2023, the President moved several dates falling on Sundays, and likewise declared certain days traditionally observed as holidays, as regular working days.
No Special Working Days Mentioned
Also, compared to the previous year 2022, the third category called Special Working Day no longer appears in Proclamation No. 90. 02 November, which was previously declared as a Special Working day, is now a special non-working day, as was traditionally held. The same holds true for 31 December, which was previously a Special Working Day, but under Proclamation No. 90, is reverted to the traditional Special Non-Working Day. While falling on a Sunday, there is no mention of Christmas Eve or 24 December, which was traditionally a special non-working day, but declared previously as a Special Working Day.
Thus:
02 November 2023, November – Special non-working day
24 December 2023, Sunday – Christmas Eve (a regular working day)
31 December 2023, Sunday – last day of the year is a Special non-working day
The declaration of these dates as special non-working days is a reversion to the decades-long tradition wherein these days, while unpaid holidays, are non-working days and allows the general public more time for the family and festivities.
Adjusted Dates and Additional Dates for Certain Philippine Holidays 2023
Since New Year’s day on 1 January 2023 falls on a Sunday, Proclamation No. 90 declared the following day, 02 January 2023 as a Special Non-Working Day, in support of the Filipino tradition of visiting relatives and spending time with their families for the occasion.
Since Araw ng Kagitingan, which falls on a Sunday for 2023, the President declared 10 April 2023, which is a Monday, as an additional special non-working holiday.
Bonifacio Day, which is a regular holiday traditionally observed on 30 November, was moved to 27 November, which is the Monday nearest to 30 November (a Thursday), pursuant to Republic Act No. 9492. Consequently, 27 November is a regular holiday while 30 November is a working day.
Finally, unlike in the previous years, there is no mention of Chinese New Year as a Special non-working day, unlike in the previous years.
With all these changes in mind, Proclamation No. 90 enumerated the holidays for the year 2023, as follows:
01 January 2023, Sunday – New Year’s Day (regular holiday)
02 January 2023, Monday – Special non-working day
25 February 2023, Saturday– EDSA People Power Revolution Anniversary (Special non-working day)
01 April 2023, Monday– Araw ng Kagitingan (regular holiday)
06 April 2023 – Maundy Thursday (regular holiday)
07 April 2023 – Good Friday (regular holiday)
08 April 2023 – Black Saturday (Special non-working day)
April 2023 – Eidl Fitr -actual date to be confirmed (regular holiday)
01 May 2023, Monday – Labor Day (regular holiday)
12 June 2023, Monday – Independence Day (regular holiday)
June 2023 – Eidl Adha -actual date to be confirmed (regular holiday)
21 August 2023, Monday – Ninoy Aquino Day (Special non-working day)
28 August 2023, last Monday of August – National Heroes’ Day (regular holiday)
01 November 2023, Wednesday – All Saints’ Day (Special non-working day)
02 November 2023, Thursday –Special non-working day
27 November 2023, Monday – Bonifacio Day (regular holiday)
08 December 2023, Friday– Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (Special non-working day)
25 December 2023, Monday– Christmas Day (regular holiday)
30 December 2023, Saturday– Rizal Day (regular holiday)
31 December 2023, Sunday– Last day of the year (Special non-working day)
There are a total of twenty (20) days listed above, based on the latest Proclamation No. 90.
The Changes on the Benefits and Premium Pay for Philippine Holidays 2023 and Special Non-Working Days
The theme for the Philippine Holidays 2023 is centered on holiday economics. It is hoped that long weekends would yield to more domestic travel and provide gains for Philippine tourism. Indeed, long weekends may encourage tourism and local travel and impact the economy positively. Still, employees are reminded of the usual principles governing holiday pay and entitlement to additional or holiday premium pay.
As stated under the Labor Code of the Philippines, for regular holidays, employees are paid based on their daily wage for such day even if they do not come to work. This means that employees are entitled to receive their salary on regular holidays.
However, to be entitled to holiday pay, employees must be present or must have reported for work during the workday previous to the holiday. If absent on the previous workday, the absence must either be considered as a leave, or the absence excused. An employee who does not report to work during the workday that precedes the holiday is not entitled to payment of holiday premium.
If they work on a regular holiday, the employees are entitled to double their daily rate. The daily rate is computed based on a factor rate that the company uses. The factor rate considers the total number of days worked by the employee and his or her annual compensation.
For special non-working days, the principle of “no work, no pay” shall also apply. Thus, if the company follows the holiday, the employee is not entitled to receive salary for that special non-working holiday. However, if an employee comes to work on a special non-working day, there must be a premium of 30% added to his daily rate.
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