Philippine Holidays for 2012

The official list of Philippine holidays have been released:

Regular Holidays

• January 1 - New Year's Day


• April 5 - Maundy Thursday


• April 6 - Good Friday


• April 9 - Araw ng Kagitingan


• May 1 - Labor Day


• June 12 - Independence Day


• August 27 - National Heroes Day


• November 30 - Bonifacio Day


• December 25 - Christmas Day


• December 30 - Rizal Day

Special Holidays

• January 23 - Chinese New Year


• August 21 - Ninoy Aquino Day


• November 1 - All Saints Day


• November 2 - Additional Special Non-working Day


• December 31 - Last Day of the Year


• TBA - Eid'l Adha (according to Muslim Calendar)

School Only Holidays

• February 25 - EDSA Revolution Anniversary

Not mentioned in the proclamation are the following holidays, which are traditionally declared by the government as additional holidays during the course of the year. These are the additional proclamations that may be expected in the coming year:

• Black Saturday - April 7


• Eid'l Fit'r - as declared by OMA

Employees who work on a regular holiday are entitled to 200% daily wage pay, and those who work on Special holidays are entitled to 130% daily wage pay. For minimum wage workers, this would be equivalent to Php808.00 for Regular Holidays and PHp525.20 for Special Holidays.

However, daily-paid workers who are not required to work on these days are not entitled to any wages for this day.

source: PROC-0295 - 2012 Philippine Holidays for the Year 2012

Official Proclamation for the Php22.00 Minimum Wage Increase for NCR

The official proclamation for the 2010 minimum wage increase has been published last June 18, 2010. The wage order will take effect on July 1, 2010.

The minimum wage increase does not include family drivers, household help, persons in the personal service of another and employees of Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs). There are other exemptions listed in the wage order exempting certain types of establishments from the mandated wage increase.

Specifically noted in the wage order were the exemption of employees who received increases granted to employees within 3-5 months of the effectivity of the wage order. This exemption depends on certain qualifying factors listed in the wage order.

Despite all these exemptions and complaints about the inadequacy of the wage increase to sustain the current living needs of filipino citizens, this new wage increase gives private sector employees approximately Php500-600 additional income per month. Coupled with overtime pay and other premiums, Sec. Andres of the RTWPB-National Capital Region (NCR) estimates that employees would be receiving Php533.00 per day.

June 30 is a special non-working holiday

In honor of the turn-over of the presidency to the new president-elect, June 30 has been declared as a special non-working holiday.

For employees in the private sector, this would mean that they get a free day off. If required to work, employees get an additional 30% to their salary for that day.

Calls to Malacanang, however, state that this is still only in the proposal stages, and have yet to be signed by the President.

Minimum Wage Increase for 2010

The talk of the town this morning is the much-awaited minimum wage increase mandate by the government.

News has now come out that the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board has decided on a Php22.00 increase on the minimum wage for Metro Manila, citing that they have considered both the need of the citizens and the capacity of employers to pay wages. This is a far cry from the proposed Php75.00 increase by various labor organizations, but after 2 years of no minimum wage increases, any wage increase would be a welcome sight.

Negotiations for the minimum wages in other regions, as well as other groups, are still in the works. The minimum wage increase will not take effect until 15 days after they release the proclamation, which in turn will only be released once all negotiations for all regions have been finished. This means all minimum wage earners will have to hold on to their horses for a bit more before shouting for joy at the increase in their salary.

For Metro Manila minimum wage earners, here's a short summary of the monthly equivalent of the upcoming wage hike:

1. For those whose rest day is on Sundays only (approx. 26days/month) - Php 10,571.00


2. For those whose rest day is both on Saturdays and Sundays (approx. 22 days/ month) - Php 8,888.00


3. For those who are paid even during their rest days and holidays (approx. 30-31 days/month) - Php 12,288.33

Minimum wage earners can highly maximize this increase particularly because they are not charged witholding income tax. As such, the most that is removed from their salaries on a monthly basis amounts to a maximum of Php500.00. Those who are earning above the minimum wage, however, are not entitled to receive a salary increase from their employers just because of this mandate. It is highly recommended, though, that these employers take alternate measures to ensure that their employees are still receiving the correct salary that is commensurate to their cost of living.

More on Professionalizing Philippine Psychologists

When I first got wind that a law to professionalize clinical psychologists will be approved, I was very happy for our country. I remember that back when I was looking at other countries, part of the online forms I was filling out asked me if I was a licensed psychology practitioner. Since we did not necessarily have licenses for psychology, I didn't know what to put in the form.

When I received the full text of R.A. 10029, I was slightly confused. When I brought it up with an old colleague, his first reaction was, "Doesn't the government think we already have too much studying to do?". His first concern was also, "How does it affect my job?".

I believe that those are two very valid points. I have been considering taking my masterals for the past few years. The money to pay for my masterals, and the time, are two things I always have conflict with. Even until now, I still balk at the amount that I would have to pay just to further my studies, thinking it would be better saved for my future kids. What more for all those coming from less-privileged families?

However, if we do want to regulate those practicing psychology, licensing is one way to really track those who are capable of providing psychological services. In retrospect, advocates of psychology fought long and hard to get it considered as a science, and eventually a medical science. It is only right that we be able to provide a good basis to know who to approach when we need psychological services.

A bigger concern for me was how it would affect human resources practitioners. Will we have to take the board exam as well? Some provisions of the republic act include qualifications for exemptions for industrial professionals. However, the qualifications are not something that you can easily obtain. Furthermore, now that human resources have branched out into many specialties, the description of those who are required to take the board exam can be read as a gray area.

Luckily, I received a copy of an FAQ from the Psychological Association of the Philippines that clarifies some statements. While I believe we still need to wait for the implementing rules and guidelines to be released, this FAQ  can give some HR practitioners peace of mind and help them decide if they need to take their careers further. For those who are interested in reading it, Here is a copy of the Answers to FAQs about Psych Bill by the Psychological Association of the Philippines.

New Law Professionalizes Psychologists

This news has already been circulating for sometime now, and, finally, the law has been passed. News reports came out around March 24 stating that the law will be in effect 15 days after it is published.

Based on discussions of HR professionals in their private channels, a regulatory board will still be created to help administer this new law. The regulatory board will also be in charge of creating the implementing rules and regulations which will guide all practitioners in how to acquire their license.

This is a good step forward towards making the effort of millions of psychology practitioners legitimate, and hopefully for international recognition of our psychology graduates as well.

For those who are interested in seeing the full wording of this law, you may read it at The Law-Phil Project.

The Real Deal About July 27

Earlier, conflicting reports came up about the newest holiday declaration for July 27 in commemoration of the Iglesia Ni Kristo anniversary. INQ7.net has clarified this issue, stating that July 27 is a working holiday.

So sorry to burst your bubble, kiddos. We still have the 2 August holidays to look forward to, though.