15 Mindanao areas to observe Isra Wal Mi'Raj on April 3

There will be no work in several provinces and cities in Mindanao on April 3 in observance of the Muslim holiday Isra Wal Mi'Raj, according to the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF).

Isra Wal Mi'Raj or the commemoration of the nocturnal journey and ascension of the Prophet Muhammad falls on the twenty-seventh day of the seventh lunar month of Rajab in the Muslim calendar Hijra.

It was recognized as a legal Muslim holiday, pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 1083 otherwise known as the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines.

The NCMF said that Isra Wal Mi'Raj shall be officially observed in the following provinces and cities:

• Basilan,
• Lanao del Norte,
• Lanao del Sur,
• Maguindanao,
• North Cotabato,
• Sultan Kudarat,
• Sulu,
• Tawi-Tawi,
• Zamboanga del Norte,
• Zamboanga del Sur,
• Cotabato,
• Iligan,
• Marawi,
• Pagadian,
• Zamboanga

Muslim government officials and employees outside the aforementioned provinces and cities shall likewise be excused from reporting to office and be allowed to observe the holiday, according to the NCMF.

It added that the President, through a proclamation, may "require private offices, agencies or establishments to excuse their Muslim employees from reporting for work during a Muslim holiday without reduction in their usual compensation." —Dona Magsino/KBK, GMA News