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Update (24 December): Well, look at that, Malacanang today issued Proclamation 1695, declaring January 2, 2009 an additional special non-working holiday. You may still want to see the results (below) of our poll, which shows that an overwhelming majority favors January 2 to be declared as a holiday.
We all love holidays, not much doubt about that. But it's also true that too much of anything is not healthy. When it comes to vacations, there are a number of declared non-working days during the latter part of December. This is good for our Christmas celebrations. This, however, may not be as good for Pinoy Entrepreneurs. As we've seen in the comment section for the declared holidays in 2008 and 2009, even in our post on the long Christmas vacation, many of our readers are requesting that January 2, 2009 be declared as a holiday. Not that we're in a unique position to have an effect on the decision of Malacanang on this matter, although we understand that Malacanang is consulting certain sectors on this matter. Whether President Arroyo issues a proclamation declaring January 2 as a holiday is out of our hands.
But who knows? Life is stranger than fiction, as the cliche goes. In any case, it wouldn't hurt if we ask our readers to vote whether January 2, 2009 should be declared as a holiday. There's a reason why people are asking that January 2 be declared a holiday -- it falls on a Friday, sandwiched between a weekend and the long vacation from December 25 until January 1. Why not have a longer vacation?
On the other hand, Pinoy Entrepreneurs who operate during the holidays are forced to give holiday pay to their workers. There are nuances to this rule but let's just say that a worker receives twice his salary if made to work on the declared holiday. If you're an entrepreneur under that predicament, what would you feel if you're obligated to pay more for work on January 2? Add the current economic crisis to the equation. Not so happy I guess.
So, there's the clash. Let's hear what you think. You could still express your views through the comment section below. Here's the results of the poll (which ran from December 19-24): Out of the 87 votes, 76 votes (87.4%) are in favor of declaring January 2 a holiday, 9 votes (10.3%) say otherwise, while 2 said they don't care. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everyone!
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