Malacanang declares September 12 as a regular holiday due to commemoration of Eid’l Adha.
Filipinos will enjoy a long weekend, while others will also enjoy double pay for those who will be on duty on Monday, which is a regular holiday.
On Tuesday, the Malacanang Palace announced that President Rodrigo Duterte issued a Presidential Proclamation on this.
This regular holiday is for the commemoration of Eid’l Adha, Islam’s Feast of the Sacrifice.
The holiday was declared by Proclamation No. 56 issued Monday, before Duterte and his delegation flew to Laos for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Vientiane, the capital city.
On Monday night, Duterte and his delegation arrived in Laos to attend the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits.
The Presidential proclamation noted that Republic Act No. 9849 mandates that Eid’l Adha, “one of the two greatest feasts of Islam,” be celebrated as a regular holiday with the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos recommending the date of its observation this year.
The declaration of Eid’l Adha as a Philippine holiday is covered by said Republic Act, which was then signed by former President Gloria Arroyo.
It states that Eid’l Adha is the “tenth day in the month of Hajj or Islamic Pilgrimage to Mecca wherein Muslims pay homage to Abraham’s supreme act of sacrifice and signifies mankind’s obedience to God.”
The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos recommended the date to Malacañang, thus it served as the basis of the Palace to issue the proclamation.
Eid al-Adha is an Islamic festival to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim (also known as Abraham) to follow Allah’s (God’s) command to sacrifice his son Ishmael. Muslims around the world observe this event.
It is a four-day Islamic festival starting on the 10th day of the month of Dhul Hijja (Thou al-Hijja) to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son.