The new year brings about new life, opportunities and a new calendar. With it, comes holidays that most people look forward to even before the year starts.
For Filipinos, the holidays are a great way to spend more time with family and to rest. Because of this, it’s only right that we plan our schedules ahead of the year. The best way to plan your schedules would be to look at the list of Philippine holidays in 2021.
In this post, we’ll list down all the regular and special holidays as well as other important info. Stick around till the end so you won’t miss anything!
What are the Regular Holidays in the Philippines?
In the Philippines, there are two types of holidays: Regular and Special holidays. The regular holidays are those days that usually have a fixed date. Like the special holidays, these days occur every year. During these days, workers and students are on break. However, the workers will still receive their pay even while on break.
To answer the question as to how many regular holidays there are in the Philippines, here’s the list:
• New Year’s Day – January 1, 2021 (Friday)
• Maundy Thursday – April 1, 2021 (Thursday)
• Good Friday – April 2, 2021 (Friday)
• Day of Valor – April 9, 2021 (Friday)
• Labor Day – May 1, 2021 (Saturday)
• Eid al-Fitr – May 13, 2021 (Thursday)
• Independence Day – June 12, 2021 (Saturday)
• Eid al-Adha – July 20, 2021 (Tuesday)
• National Heroes’ Day – August 30, 2021 (Monday)
• Bonifacio Day – November 30, 2021 (Tuesday)
• Christmas Day – December 25, 2021 (Saturday)
• Rizal Day – December 30, 2021 (Thursday)
What are the Special Public Holidays in the Philippines?
The same with regular holidays, special holidays occur every year in the Philippines as well. The only difference is that special holidays are more flexible as their dates can move and they can be enacted by the government.
Workers generally don’t receive any pay during these days unless there’s a company policy that allows it. Lastly, the special holidays are categorized into two: Special working holidays and Special non-working holidays. Essentially, the only difference between the two is that during special working holidays, offices and schools are still open.
Here’s the list of special non-working holidays and working holidays in the Philippines:
Special Non-working Holidays:
• Chinese New Year – February 12, 2021 (Friday)
• EDSA People Power Revolution Anniversary – February 25, 2021 (Thursday)
• Black Saturday – April 3, 2021 (Saturday)
• Ninoy Aquino Day – August 21, 2021 (Saturday)
• All Saints’ Day – November 1, 2021 (Monday)
• Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary – December 8, 2021 (Wednesday)
Special Working Holidays:
• All Souls’ Day – November 2, 2021 (Tuesday)
• Christmas Eve – December 24, 2021 (Friday)
• New Year’s Eve – December 31, 2021 (Friday)
Working Days and Public Holidays in the Philippines in 2021
In the Philippines, there are 240 working days and 21 total public holidays in 2021. This includes the 12 regular and 9 special holidays. Here’s the complete list in table form:
| Month | Number of Working Days | Number of Work Hours | Number of Days Off |
| January | 20 | 160 | 11 |
| February | 18 | 144 | 10 |
| March | 23 | 184 | 8 |
| April | 18 | 144 | 12 |
| May | 19 | 152 | 12 |
| June | 21 | 168 | 9 |
| July | 21 | 168 | 10 |
| August | 20 | 160 | 11 |
| September | 22 | 176 | 8 |
| October | 21 | 168 | 10 |
| November | 19 | 152 | 11 |
| December | 18 | 144 | 13 |
The Philippine Holidays as Dictated by the Labor Code of the Philippines
Every year, the President issues a Proclamation that enacts the list of the national holidays for the year. This is done under the provisions of Republic Act 9492. However, these Proclamations are enacted particularly for special holidays as you’ve learned earlier that these dates are movable each year.
Most importantly, workers may still work during the holidays if their company allows them to. Thus, those who will work during regular holidays, they’ll receive compensations of at least 200% of the total of their daily rate. For the hours they rendered in excess of 8 hours, they’ll be paid plus 30% of their hourly rate.
For workers who work on special non-working holidays, they’re entitled to be paid 130% of the total of their daily wage. If they work more than 8 hours, they’ll receive an additional 30% of their hourly rate. However, if the special holiday falls on the worker’s rest day, the pay would be 150%.
Lastly, it would be good to note that workers would still be paid even if they don’t work during regular holidays. But for special holidays, there’s no pay if the worker didn’t work.