Duterte declares Aug. 12 regular holiday for Eid’l Adha
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Thu, 08 Aug 2019 05:36:25 +0000
President Duterte has declared Aug. 12, Monday, a regular holiday in the country in observance of Eid’l Adha or the Feast of Sacrifice.
Proclamation No. 789 signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos recommended that Aug. 12 be declared a national holiday for Eid’l Adha.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the Office of the President hoped that the declaration will enable Muslim Filipinos to properly observe and enjoy the Feast of Sacrifice with their loved ones.
Eid’l Adha is one of the greatest feasts of Islam and Republic Act No. 9849 provides that it would be observed as a regular holiday in the country.
Last year, Duterte declared Aug. 21 a holiday in observance of the Feast of Sacrifice, coinciding with the celebration of Ninoy Aquino Day, another holiday.
The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos is the body which makes the recommendation declaring Eid’l Adha in the country based on Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body.
Eid’l Adha is the second of two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide each year and is considered to be holier than Eid’l Fitr which marks the end of Ramadan.
The feast honors the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God’s command. It also marks the culmination of the Muslim’s annual pilgrimage to Mecca or the Hajj.
The Philippines has been observing Eid’l Adha as a national holiday for nine years. In 2002, RA 9177 declared Eid’l Adha as a regular holiday only in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. (Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos)