The Complexity of U.S. and Philippine Holidays

IN THIS ISSUE...

Ask remithome: Philippine Holidays and Remittance Deliveries »

As the end of September approaches, it won’t be long until we’re preparing for the busy holiday season – both in the U.S. and the Philippines. Keeping track of all the holidays in both countries is harder than it appears. Surprisingly, the countries have only two holidays in common:
New Year’s Day and Christmas Day!

Why is it so complicated? In the U.S. there are federal holidays, state holidays, and observed religious holidays. Federal holidays apply specifically to U.S. government employees, but are also commonly observed by banks. While states generally follow federal holidays, each state is free to determine its own holidays. For example, California observes Veteran’s Day but not Columbus Day, both federal holidays. But California also observes Cesar Chavez Day, which is not a federal holiday.

In the Philippines, there are regular holidays, special non-working holidays, additional non-working holidays by special proclamation, and holidays that are local in scope and application. It’s difficult to plan vacations or business trips far in advance because Philippine national holidays are declared each year, and special holidays are often declared on short notice. The article “Holidays in the Philippines” describes some of these types of holidays. Since banks are closed on national Philippine holidays, the Ask remithome article discusses how these holidays affect remittance deliveries.

Holidays in the Philippines

“I need to go to the Philippines for business several times over the next three years. Since I will be meeting with clients and employees during this time, I need to avoid national holidays when banks and other businesses are closed. Please give me a list of dates for Philippine national holidays for next three years. ”

You want to know holidays three years in advance? Sorry, that’s not how things are done in the Philippines. You will be lucky to get next year’s holidays declared in advance and, even then, there are likely to be other non-working holidays declared on short notice throughout the year.

Here are some basic concepts that may help you understand how holidays work in the Philippines.

Concept	Discussion
Holiday Economics (RA No. 9492)	In 2007, the Philippines passed a “Holiday Economics” law (Republic Act No. 9492, “An Act Rationalizing the Celebration of National Holidays”). The purpose of this law was to boost domestic tourism by creating 3-day weekends. This was to be accomplished by celebrating most holidays on Mondays. The law designated 11 “Regular Holidays” and 3 “Nationwide Special Days”.
Holidays Scheduled by Presidential Proclamation	While the “Holiday Economics” law specifies which holidays are to be observed on specific dates, which ones have moveable dates, and which ones will be observed on the nearest Monday, these rules have not been rigorously observed in practice. For example, the law states that Labor Day was to be celebrated on the Monday nearest May 1, but Presidential Proclamation has kept the celebration on May 1. In practice, holidays have been set each year by Presidential Proclamation under the law’s provision that the specified holiday dates shall be observed as specified “unless otherwise modified by law, order or proclamation”.
Regular Holidays	New Year’s Day, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Eidul Fitr, Araw ng Kagitingan (Bataan and Corregidor Day), Labor Day, Independence Day, National Heroes Day, Bonifacio Day, Christmas Day, Rizal Day
Nationwide Special Holidays	Ninoy Aquino Day, All Saints Day, Last Day of the Year
Additional Non-Working Holidays	Additional Special (Non-Working) Days can be declared by Presidential Proclamation in advance or on short notice. Recent Examples: When Christmas Day (always on December 25) falls on a Friday, December 24 may be declared a special non-working day to provide a 4-day weekend Barangay and Sanggunian Kabataan elections EDSA People Power Revolution Day Funerals of important people (Ka Erdy Manalo, Corazon Aquino) Presidential Inauguration

Ask remithome: Philippine Holidays and Remittance Deliveries

Question: I know that there are a lot of holidays in the Philippines, especially around Christmas, New Year’s, and Holy Week. How does this affect deliveries of my remittances?

Answer: Most of the impact of Philippine holidays on remittances is related to banks being closed. For example, bank deposits can only be made when banks are open in the Philippines, so deposits are not made on weekends or national holidays. Similarly, cash pick-up at bank branches is only available when banks are open.

Door-to-door delivery is generally NOT affected by Philippine holidays, since bank couriers deliver money on weekends and most holidays. This means that during periods with a lot of Philippine holidays, such as Holy Week or the period around Christmas and New Year's, door-to-door delivery may actually be faster than cash pick-up and bank deposit.

Here is how you can prepare for Philippine holidays:

Check the Member Login Page regularly. Upcoming U.S. and Philippine holidays will be listed along with a brief description of which remittance activities will be affected.
Set up Door-to-Door Delivery profiles for your recipients, even if you normally send money for Bank Deposit or Cash Pick-Up. This way you can choose to have money delivered door-to-door during holiday periods when it may be faster than other delivery methods.
Click here to see how to set up recipient profiles for different delivery methods.
Find out the best delivery methods for your recipients by calling remithome Customer Service to at 1-800-919-0787, Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM, Pacific Time (California), or by emailing us at customerservice@remithome.com.