Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero is causing a social media panic with his recent suggestion that maybe—just maybe—the Philippines has too many holidays.
“Nagkasundo ang Senado na limitahan ang mga holiday," Chiz said a press briefing on August 7. He argued that this excess of holidays is more of a hindrance than a help, particularly when it comes to keeping the country competitive on the global stage.
Right now, between national holidays, local celebrations, and religious observances, Filipinos have more than a month’s worth of holidays in a year. Chiz is concerned that this is putting the country's businesses—and by extension, its workers—at a disadvantage.
"Mahigit isang buwan na ang holiday sa buong bansa, which makes Philippine companies and workers less competitive,”he said. “Our competitors from other countries aren’t requiring these companies to pay double dahil nagkataon lamang na holiday.”
Chiz Escudero Wants to Combine Holidays in the Philippines
Chiz pointed out that other countries like the U.S. have managed to streamline celebrations into a single day, but he acknowledges that his proposal could be controversial—and the heated reactions on social media so far are proof of that.
"Lahat ng magagaling nilang presidente, pinagsama nila sa isang araw nalang na holiday. Tayo hindi eh. May Araw ng Kagitingan, National Heroes’ Day, bawat bayani kung kailan pinatay sila, may holiday,” Escudero said. “Isa ‘yan sa pinapagaral ko sakanila sa komite. Ang problema lang, away ‘yan eh.”
For now, we can relax as Chiz’s proposal to consolidate holidays is still in the early stages.
“Di naman kailangan gawin ngayon, simulan lang ang proseso,” he said.
*This story originally appeared on Spot.ph. Minor edits have been made by the Preview.ph editors.
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