Philippines public holidays 2026

The Philippines sets its national holidays each year by presidential proclamation. For 2026 that is Proclamation No. 1006, signed on 3 September 2025. The Islamic holidays are declared separately once their dates are fixed: Eid’l Fitr by Proclamation No. 1189 and Eid’l Adha by Proclamation No. 1264.

If you hire someone in the Philippines directly, these dates affect two things: when your staff member will be off, and what you owe them if they work.

Regular holidays in the Philippines, 2026

Regular holidays are the full public holidays. Employees are paid for them whether or not they work.

Date	Day	Holiday
1 January	Thursday	New Year’s Day
20 March	Friday	Eid’l Fitr (Proclamation No. 1189)
2 April	Thursday	Maundy Thursday
3 April	Friday	Good Friday
9 April	Thursday	Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valour)
1 May	Friday	Labor Day
27 May	Wednesday	Eid’l Adha (Proclamation No. 1264)
12 June	Friday	Independence Day
31 August	Monday	National Heroes Day
30 November	Monday	Bonifacio Day
25 December	Friday	Christmas Day
30 December	Wednesday	Rizal Day

Special non-working days 2026

Special non-working days are days off, but the default pay rule is “no work, no pay”.

Date	Day	Holiday
17 February	Tuesday	Chinese New Year
4 April	Saturday	Black Saturday
21 August	Friday	Ninoy Aquino Day
1 November	Sunday	All Saints’ Day
2 November	Monday	All Souls’ Day
8 December	Tuesday	Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
24 December	Thursday	Christmas Eve
31 December	Thursday	Last Day of the Year

25 February (Wednesday), the EDSA People Power Revolution anniversary, is a special working day. It is not a holiday and is worked as normal.

The proclamation lists Chinese New Year, Black Saturday, All Souls’ Day and Christmas Eve as “additional” special non-working days. They carry the same status as the others.

During the year the Office of the President also declares local special non-working days for individual provinces, cities and municipalities. These are not on the national list, so ask your staff member what applies in their area.

Holiday pay rules (DOLE)

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) issues a labor advisory before each holiday. The rates are the same each time. The table uses the figures in Labor Advisory No. 13, s. 2026, which covered 21 August (special) and 31 August (regular).

Situation	Regular holiday	Special non-working day
Did not work	100% of daily wage*	No work, no pay (unless policy, practice or agreement says otherwise)
Worked, first 8 hours	200% of daily wage	130% of daily wage
Worked, and it is also the employee’s rest day	200% × 130%	150% of daily wage
Overtime	Plus 30% of the hourly rate for the day	Plus 30% of the hourly rate for the day

*The employee must have worked, or been on paid leave, on the workday immediately before the holiday.

These are minimums for employees covered by the Philippine Labor Code. Your contract, company policy or practice can give more, but not less. If you engage someone as an independent contractor, holiday pay follows the contract you agreed. Make sure that contract says what happens on holidays. This is general information, not legal advice. Our direct hire vs EOR vs contractor page covers the employment question in more detail.

Planning around Philippine holidays 2026 from Australia

The Philippines runs on Philippine Standard Time (UTC+8) and does not use daylight saving. That puts Manila two hours behind Sydney and Melbourne under AEST, and three hours behind once daylight saving starts in October. Most offshore staff working Australian business hours start early in their own morning, so a holiday removes a full working day of overlap.

A few points for 2026:

• Holy Week lines up with Easter. Maundy Thursday (2 April), Good Friday (3 April) and Black Saturday (4 April) run alongside Australia’s Easter long weekend. Expect your staff member to be off on the Thursday, when most of Australia is still working.
• April is busy. Araw ng Kagitingan (9 April) falls a week after Holy Week, so April has three weekday holidays.
• The Christmas run is long. 24, 25, 30 and 31 December are all holidays or special days, with All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day (1–2 November), Bonifacio Day (30 November) and 8 December before them. For deadline-heavy work such as end-of-quarter reporting by an offshore bookkeeper, agree cover well ahead.
• Dates that only exist in the Philippines. 20 March, 9 April, 27 May, 12 June, 21 and 31 August and 30 November are normal working days in Australia. Put them in your shared calendar at the start of the year.
• Decide your policy in writing. Before the first holiday, settle whether your staff member works Philippine holidays, Australian holidays or both, and what they are paid if they do. Many Australian employers give Philippine holidays off and pay the premium when they genuinely need cover.

If you are paying an employee directly, holiday premiums sit alongside the other statutory items such as 13th month pay and the regional minimum wage in the Philippines. Budget for them when you set the salary. If you are still deciding how to engage someone, our guide to how to hire Filipino staff from Australia covers the steps, and a managed offshore staffing agency handles holiday pay for you in return for a monthly fee.