Holiweek in the New Year

Is this the first time this has happened? Maybe it has, but it happens rarely. The last week of the year is a week-long holiday. So, what do we call it? Do we call it a holiweek? Technically, the holidays are December 30 because it’s Rizal Day, December 31 because it’s New Year’s Eve and January 1 because it’s New Year’s Day. If we had stuck to technicalities, we would have been left with the Monday and Friday as regular working days. Thanks to Memorandum Circular No. 111,December 29 and January 2 (the bookends of the week) were declared as holidays, making the whole week a holiweek. According to the Circular, this is ““In order to provide government employees full opportunity to celebrate New Year's Day activities and to allow them to travel to and from different regions in the country…”. Wow! This is so amazing. Why haven’t they thought of this a long time ago? Did the government just realize this just now? Is it just now that government leaders are realizing that government employees need full opportunity to celebrate New Year's Day activities, and they need to travel to and from different regions in the country?

I remember, after New Year’s Day, right on New Year’s night, I had to take the bus from Manila back to Naga to make it to the first day of work in the year. Just right after the celebrations, it was back to work. I barely made it on time. As soon as I got down from the bus at the Central Bus Station on the second morning of the year, I took a tricycle ride straight to work. Yes, you read that right. I was still groggy from that almost 12-hour bus ride from Manila to Naga. I did not go home to rest or freshen up. I went straight to work, because our government who declares holidays, is very considerate and very sensitive. So, was I able to do some efficient and productive work on that first day of work in the year? Maybe, I did. But, I was too tired. I was too sleepy. Maybe, I did something useful that day. But I timed in and out, just like my employers would want. Maybe, I cleaned up that day, fixed some files. But what I’m sure of is that all day, I was waiting for the clock to strike 5, so I could finally go home and get some real rest.

Finally, the Philippine government has realized that employees are not just weekday workers, but real persons who have families and friends with whom they celebrate holidays like New Year’s Day. Finally, the Philippine government has realized that not all employees don’t celebrate holidays in their place of residence, that they visit family in other places to celebrate. They may go to Manila, Baguio or Tagaytay. Those in Manila may go home to Bicol. They may go from one region to other regions, visiting family or going to another place for vacation, and going home takes time, and it takes more time because of the consequential heavy vehicular traffic on the highways. That’s just the way it is. As time goes by, it could go heavier, and travel may take longer. So, how could you expect the employee who celebrated the holidays with his/her family to rush to work right after the holiday itself? But, that’s what’s employees have been doing for years now, not just on Christmas and New Year, but also on other holidays.

Since we already have achieved the sense to be sensitive and consider the situations of employees who celebrate the holidays with their families, maybe we can also apply this on other holidays. Maybe, we can provide employees full opportunity to celebrate Holy Week activities and to allow them to travel to and from different regions in the country. Maybe, we can provide employees full opportunity to celebrate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day activities and to allow them to travel to and from different regions in the country. Maybe, LGUs can provide employees full opportunity to celebrate city/town fiesta activities and to allow them to travel to and from different regions in the country. Maybe, Bicol LGUs can provide employees full opportunity to celebrate Penafrancia activities and to allow them to travel to and from different regions in the country. Maybe, the government can provide Muslim employees full opportunity to celebrate Eid al-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha activities and to allow them to travel to and from different regions in the country

Happy New Year.

Isaiah 43:18: ““Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.”