President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has declared a special non-working day for the anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, giving Filipinos a surprise long weekend. However, this also means that Saturday, February 25 will now be a regular working day, according to the Official Gazette, the official journal of the Philippines.
Read: February 24 declared Special Non-Working Holiday in PH, says Malacañang
This means that those who have work or classes on Saturday may be required to show up unless the school or workplace announces otherwise. In Proclamation No. 167, it was not immediately clear whether February 24 is an additional special non-working day on top of February 25 holiday to celebrate the EDSA People Power Revolution anniversary, which marks the toppling of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, the incumbent president’s father.
The holiday was moved to allow Filipinos to have a longer weekend pursuant to the principle of holiday economics. President Marcos Jr. stated that February 24, 2023, is a special non-working holiday to mark the EDSA anniversary, in lieu of February 25, 2023, a regular working day, but without diminishing the latter’s significance.
The Official Gazette said in a Facebook post that “Consistent with the holidays moved in furtherance of holiday economics as contained in Proclamation No. 90 dated November 11, 2022, February 24, 2023, has been declared a special non-working holiday to mark the EDSA anniversary in lieu of February 25, 2023 (a regular working day) but without diminishing the latter’s significance.”
As per the Department of Labor and Employment, February 24 is a special non-working day, so the “no work, no pay” rules apply. Any overtime work should be compensated with an additional 30% of their hourly rate on the day. If the special non-working day happens to fall on a day off, workers should be paid an additional 50% of their basic wage for the first eight hours. Overtime work is met with an additional 30% of their hourly rate.
