• CHERYL G. CRUZ
There will be two regular holidays next week, after Malacañang declared April 10, Wednesday, a holiday throughout the country in observance of Eid’l Fitr, or Feast of Ramadhan.
April 9 has earlier been declared a regular holiday in celebration of the Araw ng Kagitingan.
In Proclamation No. 514 dated April 4, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said it is necessary to declare April 10 a regular holiday throughout the country “to allow the entire Filipino nation to join their Muslim brothers and sisters in peace and harmony in the observance and celebration of Eid’l Fitr”.
This is also in order to bring the religious and cultural significance of the Eid’l Fitr to the fore of national consciousness, the proclamation states, adding this is in accordance with the recommendation of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos and Republic Act No. 9177, which declared Eidul Fitr (Eid’l Fitr) a regular holiday throughout the country.
As per the pay rules for regular holidays, private sector employees who work on these days should be paid 200 percent of their wage for the day for the first eight hours, computed as basic wage x 200 percent.
If the employee does not work on a holiday, the employer shall pay 100 percent of the employee’s wage for that day, provided that the employee reports to work, or is on leave of absence with pay, on the day immediately preceding the regular holiday. | CGC
