Sources: GMA News and Philippines public holidays. Late yesterday, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, by authority of Her Excellency, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (PGMA), issued Proclamation 1353, which implements the August 2007 public holidays changes resulting from Republic Act 9492 of July 25, 2007, and confirms the list of henceforth movable public holidays as: Araw ng Kagitingan (April 9), Labor Day (May 1), Independence Day (June 12), Ninoy Aquino Day (August 21), National Heroes Day (last Sunday of August); Andres Bonifacio Day (November 30), and Rizal Day (December 30).However, in the same statement, Executive Secretary Ermita went on to announce while August's upcoming public holidays would follow the new rules, these same new rules would not apply to Bonifacio Day (November 30) and Rizal Day (December 30), in 2007, when both these holidays would remain on their traditional fixed dates.
Analysis: President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has a well-deserved reputation for being the world champion in the field of government tinkering with public holidays. But, yesterday, she surpassed herself, by tinkering with the dates of two public holidays, barely 2 weeks after signing Republic Act 9492, "An Act Rationalizing the Celebration of National Holidays", which was supposed to put an end to all the last-minute tinkering and offer some form of medium-term predictability to public holidays in the Philippines.
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