Updated: Official List Of 2019 Philippine Holidays

3 min read By eCompareMo on August 9, 2019

UPDATED: Malacañang has released the official list of regular holidays and special non-working days for 2019. We all know what that means: Time to start thinking about how and when to plan your next big trip for 2019!

So how many days off are there exactly?

The most recently declared holiday was August 12. On August 8, the current administration declared that date would be a regular holiday in observance of Eid al-Adha.

Eid al-Adha is one of the two most important Islamic holiday’s and Republic Act 9849 states that it should be observed as a regular holiday. This means, that it is a rest day but employers are still required to pay their employees.

On May 21, 2019, the Senate passed a bill on it’s third and final reading that declares September 8, which is the commemoration of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a special working holiday.

House Bill No.7856 passed the Senate unanimously and September 8 became a special working holiday means that, if an employer has an employee come into work on that day, they need to pay them their basic rate.

There are are also two more holidays on the calendar, the Islamic holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. These two days will also be proclaimed national holidays, but the exact dates have yet to be determined.

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, an Islamic holy month. The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, which means months begin with the first crescent of a new moon has been sighted. This makes it different from the regular calendar we use, which is the Gregorian calendar and a solar calendar.

A lunar calendar year is 10 to 11 days shorter than the solar calendar year, and the start and end days of the month are not fixed. Right now, the estimated date of Eid al-Fitr is July 3 (Wednesday).

Eid al-Adha is known as the Festival of Sacrifice. It honors the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to give up his son in obedience to the command of Allah (God). Eid al-Adha occurs on the 10th day of the 12th and final month of the Islamic calendar.

Like Eid al-Fitr, the date of Eid al-Adha on the regular, Gregorian calendar varies. The date changes, drifting approximately 11 days earlier every year. This year, many non-Islamic people thought it would fall on August 22, but it turned out it fell on August 21. For 2019, it is calculated that it might fall on August 11 (Sunday).

What about long weekends in 2019?

With regards to the coveted long weekends, basically we have five.

For starters, we’re starting the year with a long holiday. December 30 (Sunday) and December 31 (Monday) of 2018 are a regular holiday and special non-working holiday, respectively. If you add Tuesday, January 1, 2019 to the mix, we have a four-day weekend starting December 29 (Saturday).

The next long holiday is Holy Week. Starting April 18 to April 20, plus Easter Sunday, this gives us a five-day weekend.

National Heroes Day (August 26) is a Monday. So, that gives us a three-day weekend, starting August 24 (Saturday).

All Saints Day (November 1) falls on a Friday and is followed by All Souls Day (November 2) on a Saturday. That gives us a three-day weekend!

The last long weekend will start on December 28 (Saturday) and includes December 29 (Sunday), December 30 (Monday), and December 31 (Tuesday). That’s another four-day weekend. There’s a good chance that January 1, 2020 will be declared a regular holiday as well, so we’re looking to end the year with a five-day weekend.

Wondering what exactly this means for your paycheck? Rule of thumb: Regular holiday, you rest and get paid. Special Non-working day: You work, you get paid extra. Learn more in detail in this article about holidays and payslips.