The Philippines celebrate 18 national holidays each year. Of these 18 national holidays, 4 of these holidays are considered “special non-working” days.

The Office of the President regulates national holidays and uses Executive Orders to make changes to any public holiday dates. There have been several Executive Orders issued in recent years as the presidency changes. The government has the authority to move some national holidays to a later date if it extends the weekends.

Special one-time non-working holidays are often declared by the government for special events such as voting. These one-time holidays are considered special non-working days and not paid holidays.

Some of the holidays celebrated each year are based on religious beliefs. These dates may change because the celebration days are calculated using the lunar cycle. Employers are required to acknowledge these holidays each year regardless of when they occur.

Some of the islands in the Philippines are considered Muslim faith islands. These areas have a population where practitioners of this faith exceed 95 percent. In these areas, some of the Christian holidays are replaced with different Muslim holidays. The official holidays and dates for these celebrations are announced each year by the government.