Statement of Facts: Late in 2001, Arroyo implemented her new policy which would later be called as "Holiday Economics".

Under this policy, the government will adjust holidays to form longer weekends (Example: If June 12 Philippine Independence Day is a Wednesday, the holiday will be moved to a Friday or a Monday to connect with the weekend) and promote local tourism. The policy went into full force since 2002 although critics claimed that it unnecessarily breaks certain traditions (Example: Labor Day must only be celebrated on May 1). Arroyo stressed the following as the main purposes of the Holiday Economics policy: 1. To enable Filipinos to spend more time with their family. 2. To strengthen the Philippine economy by promoting domestic travel and tourism
Republic Act No. (R.A.) 9492 was passed in 2007, reflecting the practice of moving certain holidays to Monday. The practice, dubbed as holiday economics, was meant to benefit the economy, as people are expected to travel and spend more in vacations during the long weekends. R.A. 9492 was enacted to rationalize the celebration of national holidays in the Philippines. The new law makes the holidays movable to Mondays, except Christmas Day and New Years Day. In the event the holiday falls on a Wednesday, the holiday will be observed on the Monday of the week. If the holiday falls on a Sunday, the holiday will be observed on the Monday that follows. Still, for movable holidays, the President is required to issue a Proclamation, at least six months prior to the holiday concerned, that the specific date that shall be declared as a nonworking day. We could surmise that the requirement of a Proclamation, at least six months prior to the holiday concerned, is partly intended for employers to prepare for the added cost in case they require work on those holidays (or prepare for contingencies in case they wont require work for that date). The 6-month period was not strictly complied in the previous years, which resulted to second-guessing on everyones part.

When President Aquino elected as President in 2010, it appears that he refuse to follow the Holiday Economic Policy by issuing several Proclamations which moved the observation of national holidays as stated in R.A. 9462. This includes Proclamation No. 13 which move the observation of Ninoy Aquino Day to August 21, 2011 Saturday instead of the nearest Monday provided in R.A. 9492. On April 26, 2011 Proclamation 154 was signed by President Aquino, this declared June 20 a special non-working holiday for the celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Philippine National Hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal instead of June 19, 2011. Moreover, the president did not issue any proclamation to observe the celebration of the Philippine Independence Day (June 12, 2011) on the nearest Monday as clearly stated in R.A. 9492.

Relying on the faith of the law and the proclamations, these presidential issuances creates ambiguity for law-abiding Filipinos on when to observe the countrys holiday. ISSUE: Wether or not the President is right in not observing R.A. 9492 and instead issued a Proclamation to move the observation of National Holidays as stated in R.A. 9492. LEGAL OPINION/COMMENTARY