Palace: June 13 not holiday; June 20 nonworking day

June 13, the Monday after Independence Day, will be a regular class and working day, although the next Monday will be a nonworking day. In a Twitter message, the government portal maintained Independence Day this year will be marked on June 12, even if it is a Sunday. "Independence Day will be celebrated on June 12; it's the Monday of June 20 that's been declared a nonworking day," it said. The Palace cited Proclamation No. 154, which made June 20 a special non-working day to mark the 150th birth anniversary of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal. Rizal's birth anniversary is on June 19. Proclamation 154 made June 20 a special nonworking day "to give all Filipinos the opportunity to commemorate Rizal’s patriotic deeds and sacrifices for the country, rekindle their admiration and respect for him, and to celebrate this milestone with appropriate ceremonies." It added the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) had requested that "Monday, June 20, 2011, be declared as special non-working holiday instead of June 19, 2011, which falls on a Sunday." — LBG, GMA News