Palace bares 2016 regular, special holidays

This early, you can start drawing up travel plans after Malacañang released the list of regular and special holidays for 2016.

President Aquino has signed Proclamation No. 1105 on August 20 declaring 10 regular holidays and nine special nonworking days next year.

The regular holidays for 2016 are: New Year’s Day (January 1), Maundy Thursday (March 24), Good Friday (March 25), Araw ng Kagitingan (April 9), Labor Day (May 1), Independence Day (June 12), National Heroes Day (August 29), Bonifacio Day (November 30), Christmas Day (December 25), and Rizal Day (December 30).

The special non-working days are: Chinese New Year (February 8), EDSA People Power Revolution (February 25), Black Saturday (March 26), Ninoy Aquino Day (August 21), and All Saints’ Day (November 1).

The President also declared January 2, October 31, December 24 and December 31 as additional special non-working days “to strengthen family ties by providing longer New Year, All Saints’ Day, and Christmas weekends and (to) promote domestic tourism as well.”

The proclamations declaring national holidays in observance of Eid’l Fitr and Eidul Adha will be issued once the dates of the Islamic holidays have been determined in accordance with the lunar calendar. “To this end, the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) shall inform the Office of the President of the actual dates on which these holidays shall respectively fall,” the proclamation read.

The same proclamation declared February 25, 2016 a special holiday as the country marks the 30th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution.