Sangguniang Bayan to declare special non-working holidays in their localities

Tuesday, 24 May 2011 09:35

Declaration of special holidays in their respective localities will soon be the job of the local Sanggunian Bayan.

House Bill 3796, authored by BUHAY Party-list Reps. Mariano Michael Velarde Jr. and William Irwin Tieng, seeks to delegate to the Sanggunian the job of enacting laws declaring holidays in their localities.

Velarde said Congress can instead concentrate on measures of national concern.

"This bill is intended to unclog the legislative mill of bills where the subject matters can be appropriately delegated to the local Sanggunians to legislate," Velarde said.

Velarde said under the bill to be known as the "Local Holidays Act of 2010," local Sanggunians will declare special holidays in their respective localities to commemorate significant historical events and to honor local heroes.

Velarde said the territorial and political subdivisions shall enjoy genuine, true and meaningful autonomy to enable them to attain their fullest development as self-reliant communities and effective partners in the attainment of national goals and objectives.

By ordinance, working and non-working special holidays to commemorate historical events is subject to guidelines provided under this Act and upon prior consultation with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Tieng said.

Under the bill, Tieng said there must be a certification by the NHCP as to the historical significance of the events or occasions and there must be prior information from the DOLE as to the number of workers and establishments to be affected by the declaration of the local holidays, including the effects in terms of possible losses in wages for daily wage earners.

The bill provides further that the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, by a three-fourths vote of all its members, shall have the authority to declare special holidays covering the entire province or its component cities or municipalities.

Velarde cited "Aggaw Na Ilagan" in Ilagan, Isabela, declaring May 4th of every year as a special non-working holiday in commemoration of its founding anniversary.