2012 OFFICIAL PHILIPPINE HOLIDAYS

Malacañang announced today, Thursday December 1, 2011, a total of 16 official holidays for 2012. That's a total of 6 long weekends for 2012.

There will be a Five (5) days long weekend which will be from April 5 (Maundy Thursday) to April 9 (Araw ng Kagitingan)

President Benigno Aquino III has declared  and signed Proclamation 95, which designated 10 regular holidays next year, five special non-working days and one special holiday.

The proclamation was in accordance with Republic Act 9492, known as the “Holiday Economics,” which was made into law in 2007.

Following are next year’s holidays:

Philippine Holidays 2012
	January 1	Sunday	New Year’s Day
	January 23	Monday	Chinese New Year
	February 25	Saturday	EDSA Revolution Anniversary
	April 5	Thursday	Maundy Thursday
	April 6	Friday	Good Friday
	April 9	Monday	Araw ng Kagitingan
	May 1	Tuesday	Labor Day
	June 12	Tuesday	Independence Day
	August 21	Tuesday	Ninoy Aquino Day
	August 27	Monday	National Heroes Day
	November 1	Thursday	All Saints Day
	November 2	Friday	Additional Special (non-working)      day
	November 30	Friday	Bonifacio Day
	December 25	Tuesday	Christmas Day
	December 30	Sunday	Rizal Day
	December 31	Monday	Last Day of the Year

Legend

• Red: Regular Holiday
• Blue: Special (Non-Working) Day
• Violet: Special Holiday (For Schools)

Chinese New Year, which will fall on January 23, 2012, may be declared as a special non-working day without detriment to public interest, the proclamation said.

The Chinese New Year is “ one of the most revered and festive events celebrated not only in China but also in the Philippines by both Chinese Filipinos and ordinary Filipinos as well and the joint celebration is a manifestation of our solidarity with our Chinese Filipino brethren who have been part of our lives in many respects as a country and as a people,” it added.

November 2, 2012 will be declared as a special non-working day “to give full opportunity to our people to properly observe All Saints’ Day with all its religious fervor which invariably requires them to travel to and from different regions in the country.”

Traditionally, only November 1 (All Saints’ Day) is declared a holiday.

Meanwhile, the proclamations declaring national holidays for the observance of Eid’l Fitr and Eid’l Adha will be issued after it is determined in accordance with the Islamic calendar, the proclamation read.

The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos will issue the dates when will the Islamic holidays fall, it added.

The Department of Labor and Employment will promulgate the implementing guidelines for the proclamation, it said.

MALACAÑAN PALACE

MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROCLAMATION NO. 295

DECLARING THE REGULAR HOLIDAYS, SPECIAL (NON-WORKING) DAYS, AND SPECIAL HOLIDAY (FOR ALL SCHOOLS) FOR THE YEAR 2012

WHEREAS, Republic Act (RA) No. 9492, dated July 24, 2007, amended Section 26, Chapter 7, Book I of Executive Order (EO) No. 292, also known as the Administrative Code of 1987, by declaring certain days (specific or movable) as special or regular holidays;

WHEREAS, RA No. 9492 provides that holidays, except those which are religious in nature, are moved to the nearest Monday unless otherwise modified by law, order or proclamation;

WHEREAS, RA No. 9849 provides that the Eidul Adha shall be celebrated as a national holiday;

WHEREAS, the EDSA People Power Revolution, which restored and ushered political, social and economic reforms in the country, serves as an inspiration to Filipinos everywhere as a nation and as a people;

WHEREAS, on January 23, 2012, the Chinese nationals all over the world will celebrate Spring Festival, popularly known as the Chinese New Year, which is one of the most revered and festive events celebrated not only in China but also in the Philippines by both Chinese Filipinos and ordinary Filipinos as well; and the joint celebration is a manifestation of our solidarity with our Chinese Filipino brethren who have been part of our lives in many respects as a country and as a people; 23 January 2012 may be declared as a special (non-working) day without detriment to public interest;

WHEREAS, Friday, 2 November 2012, falling between Thursday, 1 November 2012 (All Saints Day) and Saturday, has been traditionally declared a special (non-working) day throughout the country;

WHEREAS, to give full opportunity to our people to properly observe All Saints Day with all its religious fervor which invariably requires them to travel to and from different regions in the country, Friday, 2 November 2012, may be declared as a special (non-working) day without detriment to public interest;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BENIGNO S. AQUINO III, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as President of the Philippines, do hereby declare:

SECTION 1. The following regular holidays and special days for the year 2012 shall be observed in the country:

A. Regular Holidays
New Year’s Day Maundy Thursday Good Friday Araw ng Kagitingan		January 1 (Sunday) April 5 April 6 April 9 (Monday)
Labor Day Independence Day National Heroes Day Bonifacio Day Christmas Day Rizal Day		May 1 (Tuesday) June 12 (Tuesday) August 27 (Last Monday of August) November 30 (Friday) December 25 (Tuesday) December 30 (Sunday)
B. Special (Non-Working) Days
Chinese New Year Ninoy Aquino Day All Saints Day Additional special (non-working) day Last Day of the Year		January 23 (Monday) August 21 (Tuesday) November 1 (Thursday) November 2 (Friday) December 31 (Monday
C. Special Holiday (for all schools)
EDSA Revolution Anniversary		February 25 (Saturday)

SECTION 2. The proclamations declaring national holidays for the observance of Eid’l Fitr and Eidul Adha shall hereafter be issued after the approximate dates of the Islamic holidays have been determined in accordance with the Islamic calendar (Hijra) or the lunar calendar, or upon Islamic astronomical calculations, whichever is possible or convenient. To this end, the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) shall inform the Office of the President on which day the holiday shall fall.

SECTION 3. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) shall promulgate the implementing guidelines for this Proclamation.

SECTION 4. This Proclamation shall take effect immediately.

SECTION 5. This Proclamation shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of thePhilippines to be affixed.

Done in the City ofManila, this 24th day of November in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Eleven.

(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III

By the President:

(Sgd.) PAQUITO N. OCHOA, JR.

Executive Secretary

- GOV.PH

Contractual Worker to get benefits, 13th month pay etc.

New Rule on Contractual Employment
Samuel P. Medenilla | Tempo, December 1, 2011

MANILA, Philippines – Amid the proliferation of companies outsourcing their services to contractors, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) issued a new department order (DO), which will professionalize contractual workers.

Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said during a media forum Tuesday at DoLE’s head office in Manila at least 200,000 contractual workers from 2,624 contractors, subcontractors, and cooperatives will benefit from the new provision of Department Order No. 18-A, Series of 2011.

This will address the clamor of the labor sector to clarify government policy on contractual employment so that they could be assured this will not be used to circumvent the compliance of employers to labor standards - Sec. Rosalinda Baldoz said.

Under the DO No. 18-A, contractors, subcontractors and cooperatives are required to provide their workers with benefits similar to their regular counterparts. “The new D.O. will promote employment and encourage full compliance with minimum wages and general labor standards, including safe and healthful conditions of work, security of tenure, and self-organization and collective bargaining agreement,“ Baldoz said. It will also entitle them to social security benefits, which includes membership to SSS, Philhealth, and Pag-ibig.

The new order will also impose stricter requirements for contractors, subcontractors, and cooperatives to ensure only qualified companies will be able to operate. These include a P3 million paid capital to operate, possession of necessary tools and work prem ises to deliver their service, an employer-employee relationship with their workers, a PR25,000 registration fees, and the inclusion of a mandatory 10 percent administrative fee in their service contracts.

It will also require contractors, sub-contractors, and cooperatives to honor the full extent of the service contract with a company, which will prevent them from cutting the services of their workers in short periods per year. “These new provisions aim to weed out fly-by-night contractors and subcontractors. It will also end short term employment schemes like endo (end of contract) or 5-5-5 (five-month, fivemonth duration),“ Baldoz said.

She said the D.O. will become effective on Dec. 5, which is 15 days after it has been published in a national newspaper last Nov. 19. Companies, which will not be able to comply with these requirements, will have its licenses cancelled.

Barbie Dolls, Robots, etc Sale.by Richwell Corporation up to 80% off

Details

• The Kids Kraze Warehouse Sale is from the following dates: December 2-4, 9-11 and 16-20, 2011.
• Up to 80% OFF on branded toys, apparel and shoes.
• Sale Hours: Saturdays & Sundays (9:00am to 6:00pm) and Weekdays & Fridays (1:00pm to 6:00pm)
• Items on display runs out fast but it gets replenished from time to time.
• Sale is on Cash basis only.
• There's a parking space but it is limited only.
• For inquiries, please call 743-1658.

Location

• 34 Scout Torillo corner Scout Limbaga, Quezon City (View Map)
• For Commuters: From cubao you can ride jeep bound to Quiapo and then get off to Jimenez and from there ride a jeepney going to Philcoa / Fairview and get off to Scout limbaga and then take a walk (left side) or Bus bound to Fairview then get off to GMA Kamuning, from there ride a jeepney going to Arayat and get off to scout limbaga and then take a walk (left side).

Richwell Trading Corp.

http://www.richwell.net

About The Sale

Richwell continues to acquire new brands for exclusive distribution in the country. This includes American brands such as Hotwheels, Shelcore, Cosco Juvenile, MegaBloks, etc., as well as Hong Kong brands such as Video Technology (Vtech) Products. In 1999, it was awarded distributorship of Fisher Price. Recognizing the growing popularity of television and cartoon characters, Richwell has been very active in the licensing business. It is the master licensor for Barbie in the Philippines and has built Barbie to be the one of the most recognized and popular brands in the market.

Richwell Trading also holds the license for Disney and Winnie The Pooh plush toys, and Sesame St. toys and plush. Through another sister company, Euro Play Distributor Company Inc., it holds the license for Teletubbies plush toys. It develops and distributes the brands Barbie, Disney, Sesame St., Buster Brown, and Looney Tunes. Its distribution channels continue to increase as it acquires new brands to complement its existing tires, toys shoe, infant and toiletries lines. Their channel includes department stores, supermarkets, direct selling and major corporate accounts nationwide.