PNoy declares Black Saturday a special non-working holiday

President Benigno Simeon Aquino III has declared Black Saturday a special non-working day to give the Filipinos an uninterrupted opportunity to observe the Holy Week.   In Proclamation 360, signed on March 29, 2012, Aquino said Black Saturday  — which falls between Good Friday and Easter Sunday — has traditionally been declared a special non-working holiday in the country.

Aquino noted that the observance of Holy Week is one of the Filipino people’s most cherished traditions.   “Our people must be given the full and uninterrupted opportunity to ponder on the significance of the Holy Week and to properly observe its traditions with religious fervor, without prejudice to public interest,” he said.   According to the earlier rulings of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), if Black Saturday is worked, the employee is entitled to 130 percent of his or her daily rate for the first eight hours. The employee is also entitled to an additional 30 percent of his or her hourly rate for work performed in excess of eight hours.   If the day is unworked, the worker is not entitled to any payment, unless a company policy, practice, or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) grants payment for special days.   If the day is worked and it falls on the employee's rest day, he or she is entitled for the first eight hours to 150 percent of his or her regular daily rate. For work performed in excess of eight hours, he or she is also entitled to 30 percent of his or her hourly rate for the said day. Holy Thursday, Good Friday  According to the DOLE, the pay rules for Holy Thursday and Good Friday are:

• If the day is worked, the employee is entitled to 200 percent of his or her daily wage on the first eight hours;

• For work in excess of the eight hours, workers are entitled to an additional 30 percent of their  hourly rate on the said day; 

• If the day is unworked, workers are entitled to 100 percent of the regular daily rate, provided that they were present, or were on leave with pay, on the workday immediately preceding the holiday. 

• If the day is the employee’s rest day and the day is worked, he or she is entitled to 260 percent of his or her daily rate on the first eight hours.

• He or she is als o entitled to an additional 30 percent of his or her regular rate for work in excess of eight hours on the said day.

• If unworked, the employee is entitled only to 100 percent of his regular rate, provided he or she was present, or was on leave with pay, on the workday immediately preceding the holiday. — with Carmela Lapeña, VVP, GMA News