This is a list of public holidays in the Philippines.
The final two weeks of 2008 had the largest number of holidays based on Presidential Proclamation 1463 with offices closed from December 25, 2008 until January 4, 2009.
To create three-day weekends, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo moved those holidays that fell on a Wednesday or Thursday to that week's Friday; or to that week's Monday if these were on a Tuesday. When she introduced the policy in 2001, she coined the term holiday economics and argued that the policy was less disruptive of business and production schedules, encouraged domestic tourism, and gave employees longer weekends. In 2004 she issued a proclamation making Christmas Eve as special non-working holiday and December 27, the Monday after Christmas as special non-working holiday.
On July 25, 2007, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed into law "An Act Rationalizing the Celebration of National Holidays" (RA 9492), designating 11 Regular Holidays and three Nationwide Special Holidays. Specific dates or days for celebration are designated. The law provides that holidays falling on a Wednesday will be observed on the Monday of the week and that holidays falling on a Sunday, the holiday will be observed on the Monday that follows. Three holidays (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Eid ul-Fitr) are designated as having movable dates, and the law provides that for movable holidays the President shall issue a proclamation, at least six months prior to the holiday concerned, the specific date that shall be declared as a non-working day. Though it was allowed by RA 9492, Labor Day was never moved to another date by President Arroyo at the request of labor groups.
A public holiday, national holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year.
Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history. For example, Australians celebrate Australia Day.
They vary by country and may vary by year. India leads the list with 21 National Holidays in the year 2015. Cambodia has over 20 days of official public holidays per year. Hong Kong and Egypt have 16 days of holidays per year. The public holidays are generally days of celebration, like the anniversary of a significant historical event, or can be a religious celebration like Christmas. Holidays can land on a specific day of the year, be tied to a certain day of the week in a certain month or follow other calendar systems like the Lunar Calendar.
Solemn ceremonies and children’s festivals take place throughout Turkey on National Sovereignty and Children’s Day, held on April 23 each year. Children take seats in the Turkish Parliament and symbolically govern the country for one day.
Coordinates: 13°N 122°E / 13°N 122°E / 13; 122
The Philippines (i/ˈfɪlᵻpiːnz/; Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas), is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,500 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City; both are part of Metro Manila.
To the north of the Philippines across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan; Vietnam sits west across the South China Sea; southwest lies Malaysia in the island of Borneo across the Sulu Sea, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia; while to the east it is bounded by the Philippine Sea and the island-nation of Palau. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator makes the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons, but also endows it with abundant natural resources and some of the world's greatest biodiversity. At approximately 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi), the Philippines is the 72nd-largest country in the world.
2012 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 2012.
Philippines 2000 was the socio-economic program of former Philippine president Fidel V. Ramos. The plan envisioned the Philippines achieving newly industrialized country status by the year 2000.
The Philippines 2000 platform largely hinged on five major areas:
The Philippines 2000 program formed the core of the Ramos campaign platform in the 1992 elections which largely centered on economic reforms and improved national security and unity.
The Philippines 2000 platform was widely successful, making it one of the greatest legacies of the Ramos administration to the Philippines. Ramos was successfully able to open the then-closed Philippine economy and break Marcos-era formed monopolies, especially with regard to Philippine Airlines and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, which were privatized and de-monopolized during his tenure. He was also able to resolve the power crisis in the Philippines through privatization of power plants and the construction of new ones. The reforms spurred additional investment into the Philippines.