Relocation · Philippines · 2026

Philippines Public Holidays 2026: The Calendar

Eighteen dates that decide when offices close, when the roads empty and when nothing administrative can be filed — and three clusters that reshape whole weeks around them.

Updated on August 18, 2026 8 min read
Philippine flag and calendar illustrating the 2026 public holiday year
Two categories, one calendar: what the law fixes, and what the President proclaims each year.

Two things make the Philippines public holidays 2026 calendar worth reading properly rather than glancing at. First, the country has two distinct categories of non-working day, and they do not pay the same. Second, three periods of the year cluster into something much larger than the dates themselves — weeks in which government offices are shut, transport is saturated and nothing legal, administrative or contractual moves. Plan a relocation into one of those windows and you lose a fortnight you did not budget for.

On this page

  1. 01Two categories, and why it matters→
  2. 02The three clusters that shape the year→
  3. 03The 2026 calendar, month by month→
  4. 04What actually closes→
  5. 05Planning a move around the calendar→
  6. 06Common questions→

01Two categories, and why it matters

A Philippine non-working day is either a regular holiday or a special non-working day, and the distinction is not cosmetic. Regular holidays are set by law and recur every year; special non-working days are declared annually by presidential proclamation, and can be added, moved or withdrawn during the year. The two categories also carry different pay rules for anyone employing staff locally — a point that matters if you run a household with domestic help or a small office.

Practically, the second category is the one to watch. It is where long weekends are engineered, where extra days appear at short notice, and where the movable religious holidays sit. Whatever any calendar tells you — this one included — the authority for a given year is the presidential proclamation published in the Official Gazette. Check it before you commit to a date that costs money.

⚠ The dates that cannot be printed a year ahead

Four observances move with calendars other than the Gregorian one: Chinese New Year, and the two Islamic holidays, Eid'l Fitr and Eid'l Adha, whose dates follow the lunar calendar and are confirmed only days in advance. The EDSA People Power anniversary is also declared, or not, year by year. Any calendar that prints firm dates for these a year ahead is guessing.

02The three clusters that shape the year

Individual days matter less than the three periods where they gather. These are the windows that reorganise the country.

Cluster When, in 2026 What it does to the week
Holy Week 2–5 April The big one Offices, banks and immigration closed from Thursday; transport saturated outbound; the country effectively stops on Good Friday
Christmas and year end Late December to early January The longest festive season in the region. Offices run at reduced capacity for weeks, not days
The late-August pair 21 and 31 August Two holidays ten days apart, both landing near weekends: heavy domestic travel, thin staffing

Holy Week deserves separate treatment because it is the one that surprises newcomers most: it is not a long weekend, it is a national pause with its own etiquette, its own transport crisis and its own administrative blackout. What closes, what to expect and how to behave are set out in our guide to Holy Week for expatriate families.

Filipino family gathering during a public holiday celebration
Most of these dates are family dates before they are days off. That is what empties the cities.

03The 2026 calendar, month by month

Regular holidays are marked R; special non-working days and widely observed dates are marked S. Weekdays are for 2026.

Date Day Holiday Type
1 JanuaryThursdayNew Year's DayR
2 AprilThursdayMaundy ThursdayR
3 AprilFridayGood FridayR
4 AprilSaturdayBlack SaturdayS
5 AprilSundayEaster SundayObservance
9 AprilThursdayDay of Valor — Araw ng KagitinganR
1 MayFridayLabour DayR
12 JuneFridayIndependence DayR
21 AugustFridayNinoy Aquino DayS
31 AugustMondayNational Heroes DayR
1 NovemberSundayAll Saints' DayS
2 NovemberMondayAll Souls' DayObservance
30 NovemberMondayBonifacio DayR
8 DecemberTuesdayImmaculate ConceptionS
24 DecemberThursdayChristmas EveS
25 DecemberFridayChristmas DayR
30 DecemberWednesdayRizal DayR
31 DecemberThursdayNew Year's EveS

Two corrections against calendars circulating elsewhere, including an earlier version of this page. Rizal Day is 30 December, not the 20th — a ten-day error that has cost people a wrongly booked leave day. And National Heroes Day falls on Monday 31 August, because it is set as the last Monday of August, not on a Friday. Add to the table the movable dates from section 01, which cannot responsibly be printed this far ahead.

04What actually closes

The useful question is not which days are holidays but what stops working on them. Broadly:

  • ✓Government offices, immigration and banks close on regular holidays, and usually on special non-working days too. Nothing can be filed, stamped or notarised.
  • ✓Schools follow the calendar and add their own breaks around it — term dates and admission windows shift with these clusters, which is why enrolment planning starts from the calendar rather than from your arrival date.
  • ✓Malls and supermarkets mostly stay open, with reduced hours. Good Friday is the exception, when many close entirely.
  • ✓Transport does not close, it saturates: flights, ferries and buses book out weeks ahead of the clusters, and city traffic inverts — empty streets, jammed exits.
  • ✓Private companies vary. Many extend the official days into a longer break, particularly at year end.

For families, the school consequence is the one with the longest tail: a missed admission window can delay a move by a term. Our school placement service in the Philippines works backwards from those windows rather than from the arrival date, which is the right order.

05Planning a move around the calendar

Four rules cover almost every case, and they are cheap to follow if you know the dates early.

01

Never schedule administration into a cluster

Visa filings, notarisations, bank openings and permit applications should be finished at least a week before Holy Week or the year-end break, not squeezed into them.

02

Avoid arriving during one

An arrival that needs settling-in support — keys, utilities, registrations, a school visit — lands badly when the offices that provide all four are shut.

03

Book movers and flights around the peaks

The busy season for movers is year end and the summer months. Building lift reservations are harder to obtain in the same periods.

04

Restart mid-week, not on the Monday

Government offices reopen with a backlog. Filing on the first working day after a cluster means queueing behind everyone who waited.

None of this is exotic; it is simply a calendar that few arrivals read before booking. If you would rather have the sequencing handled — arrival dates, administration, school windows and the move itself planned around these clusters — that is routine work for our relocation team in the Philippines, which has been building calendars around this one since 2011.

06Common questions

What is the difference between a regular holiday and a special non-working day in the philippines?

Regular holidays are fixed by law and recur every year. Special non-working days are declared annually by presidential proclamation and can be added, moved or withdrawn during the year. The two also carry different pay rules for locally employed staff, which matters if you employ anyone directly.

When is Rizal Day?

30 December, which falls on a Wednesday in 2026. Several calendars circulating online print 20 December, which is wrong by ten days — enough to have people book leave on the wrong date.

Why do some holidays not have dates yet?

Because they follow calendars other than the Gregorian one. Chinese New Year moves with the lunar year, and the two Islamic holidays, Eid'l Fitr and Eid'l Adha, are confirmed only days in advance. The EDSA anniversary is also declared year by year rather than fixed.

Which period should I avoid for a relocation in the philippines?

Holy Week, in April, above all. Government offices, immigration and banks close from Maundy Thursday, transport is saturated and the country effectively stops on Good Friday. The year-end period is the second to avoid, because offices run at reduced capacity for weeks rather than days.

Do shops and restaurants close in the philippines?

Mostly they stay open with reduced hours. Good Friday is the exception, when many malls and restaurants close entirely and residential neighbourhoods go quiet. Convenience stores generally remain open throughout, with lighter staffing.

Where is the authoritative list published?

In the presidential proclamation for the year, published in the Official Gazette. Any calendar, including this one, is a reading of that proclamation — so verify against it before committing to a date that costs money, and watch for additional days declared during the year.

Timing a move to the Philippines?

Tell us when you would like to arrive and what has to be done in the first month. We will tell you which weeks are workable, which ones will cost you a fortnight, and what to file before the offices close. Talk to our Philippines team →

Marc Le Lay

Reviewed & validated by

Marc Le Lay

Country Manager — Asia Relocation Philippines

Marc Le Lay leads Asia Relocation's Philippines office and has been sequencing arrivals around this calendar since 2011. His rule is unchanged: finish the paperwork a week before Holy Week, and never let a family land in the middle of it.

See full profile →

ASIA RELOCATION PHILIPPINES

Complete Guide to Philippines Holidays

Each year, Asia Relocation philippines updates this guide to include the latest Thailand public holidays.
You can explore previous editions below.

Philippines Holiday 2

The Philippines Holidays 2025 are:

January

  • January 1 (Wednesday): New Year’s Day (Regular Holiday)
    – Celebrates the start of the new calendar year.

  • January 29 (Wednesday): Chinese New Year (Special Non-Working Holiday)
    – Marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year, celebrated by the Chinese-Filipino community.

February

  • February 25 (Tuesday): EDSA People Power Revolution Anniversary (Observance)
    – Commemorates the peaceful 1986 revolution that restored democracy in the Philippines.

March

  • March 1 (Saturday): Ramadan Start (Tentative, depends on lunar calendar) (Observance)
    – Marks the beginning of the Islamic holy month of fasting.

  • March 20 (Thursday): March Equinox (Season)
    – Signifies the start of spring and equal day and night globally.

April

  • April 9 (Wednesday): Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) (Regular Holiday)
    – Honors Filipino and American soldiers who fought during World War II.

  • April 17 (Thursday): Maundy Thursday (Regular Holiday)
    – Part of Holy Week, commemorating the Last Supper of Jesus Christ.

  • April 18 (Friday): Good Friday (Regular Holiday)
    – Observes the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.

  • April 19 (Saturday): Black Saturday (Special Non-Working Holiday)
    – A day of mourning and reflection in Christian tradition.

  • April 20 (Sunday): Easter Sunday (Observance)
    – Celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ in Christianity.

May

  • May 1 (Thursday): Labor Day (Regular Holiday)
    – Celebrates the contributions of Filipino workers and laborers.

June

  • June 7 (Saturday): Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) (Tentative, depends on lunar calendar) (Regular Holiday)
    – An important Islamic holiday commemorating Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to God.

  • June 12 (Thursday): Independence Day (Regular Holiday)
    – Marks the Philippines’ declaration of independence from Spain in 1898.

July

  • No official holidays for July 2025.

August

  • August 21 (Thursday): Ninoy Aquino Day (Special Non-Working Holiday)
    – Honors the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., whose assassination in 1983 sparked democratic reforms.

  • August 25 (Monday): National Heroes Day (Regular Holiday)
    – Pays tribute to all Filipino heroes who fought for freedom and democracy.

September

  • September 3 (Wednesday): Yamashita Surrender Day (Special Working Day)
    – Commemorates the surrender of Japanese General Yamashita in World War II.

  • September 8 (Monday): Feast of the Nativity of Mary (Special Working Day)
    – Celebrates the birth of the Virgin Mary in Christian tradition.

October

  • October 31 (Friday): Special Non-Working Day
    – Designated for additional rest or family activities leading up to All Saints’ Day.

November

  • November 1 (Saturday): All Saints’ Day (Special Non-Working Holiday)
    – Honors all saints and departed loved ones.

  • November 2 (Sunday): All Souls’ Day (Observance)
    – A day to remember and pray for the souls of the deceased.

  • November 30 (Sunday): Bonifacio Day (Regular Holiday)
    – Commemorates the birth of revolutionary leader Andres Bonifacio.

December

  • December 8 (Monday): Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Special Non-Working Holiday)
    – Celebrates the Virgin Mary’s conception free from original sin.

  • December 24 (Wednesday): Christmas Eve (Special Non-Working Holiday)
    – A day of preparation and celebration for Christmas.

  • December 25 (Thursday): Christmas Day (Regular Holiday)
    – Celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.

  • December 30 (Tuesday): Rizal Day (Regular Holiday)
    – Honors national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, executed in 1896 for advocating reforms during Spanish rule.

  • December 31 (Wednesday): New Year’s Eve (Special Non-Working Holiday)
    – Marks the last day of the year, celebrated with family gatherings and festivities.

Philippines Holiday 1
Holiday Philippines

Are you visiting or moving to Philippines? Start by knowing the dates of public holidays in the Philippines in 2022 to help plan your trip to the country.

Every country in the world has different gazetted holidays, and the Philippines is no different. There are many gazetted Regular and Special Non-Working Holidays in the Philippines throughout the year.

Find below the Regular and Special Non-Working Day holidays in the Philippines for the year 2022 in chronological order.

 

The Philippines Holidays 2022 are:

January 1, 2022SaturdayNew Year’s DayRegular Holiday
February 1, 2022TuesdayChinese New YearSpecial Non-Working Day
February 25, 2022FridayEDSA Revolution AnniversarySpecial Non-Working Day
April 9, 2022SaturdayAraw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor)Regular Holiday
April 14, 2022ThursdayMaundy ThursdayRegular Holiday
April 15, 2022FridayGood FridayRegular Holiday
April 16, 2022SaturdayBlack SaturdaySpecial Non-Working Day
May 1, 2022SundayLabor DayRegular Holiday
June 12, 2022SundayIndependence DayRegular Holiday
August 21, 2022SundayNinoy Aquino DaySpecial Non-Working Day
August 29, 2022MondayNational Heroes’ DaySpecial Non-Working Day
November 1, 2022TuesdayAll Saints’ DaySpecial Non-Working Day
November 30, 2022WednesdayBonifacio DayRegular Holiday
December 8, 2022ThursdayImmaculate ConceptionSpecial Non-Working Day
December 25, 2022SundayChristmas DayRegular Holiday
December 30, 2022FridayRizal DayRegular Holiday
2019 Philippines Holidays

Are you visiting or moving to Philippines? Start by knowing the dates of public holidays in the Philippines in 2019 to help plan your trip to the country.

Every country in the world has different gazetted holidays, and the Philippines is no different. There are many gazetted Regular and Special Non-Working Holidays in the Philippines throughout the year.

The Philippines Holidays 2019 are:

January 1, 2019TuesdayNew Year’s DayRegular Holiday
January 2, 2019WednesdayAfter New Year’s DayRegular Holiday
February 5, 2019TuesdayChinese New YearSpecial Non-Working Day
February 25, 2019MondayEDSA Revolution AnniversarySpecial Non-Working Day
April 9, 2019TuesdayAraw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor)Regular Holiday
April 18, 2019ThursdayMaundy ThursdayRegular Holiday
April 19, 2019FridayGood FridayRegular Holiday
April 20, 2019SaturdayBlack SaturdaySpecial Non-Working Day
May 1, 2019WednesdayLabor DayRegular Holiday
June 12, 2019WednesdayIndependence DayRegular Holiday
August 12, 2019MondayEidul AdhaRegular Holiday
August 21, 2019WednesdayNinoy Aquino DaySpecial Non-Working Day
August 26, 2019Last MondayNational Heroes’ DaySpecial Non-Working Day
November 1, 2019FridayAll Saints’ DaySpecial Non-Working Day
November 2, 2019Saturday Additional Special Non-Working Day
November 30, 2019SaturdayBonifacio DayRegular Holiday
December 8, 2019SundayFesat of th Immaculate Conception of MarySpecial Non-Working Day
December 24, 2019Tuesday Additional Special Non-Working Day
December 25, 2019WednesdayChristmas DayRegular Holiday
December 30, 2019MondayRizal DayRegular Holiday
December 31, 2019TuesdayLast Day Of the YearSpecial Non-Working Day
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