June 5, 2019 declared as Holiday by President Duterte in Observance of Eid’l Fitr

In observance of the Feast of Ramadan or Eid’l Fitr, President Duterte has declared June 5, 2019 (Wednesday), as a non-working holiday in the country. The President made this order while on official travel to Japan. Salvador Medialdea, the President’s Executive Secretary, has confirmed this declaration on May 29, 2019 (Wednesday). This comes after the recommendation of the NCMF (National Commission on Muslim Filipinos) to declare the said date as a holiday. Secretary Medialdea further said that a copy of the said proclamation will be officially released within this day (May 29, 2019).

June 5, 2019, will mark the end of the holy month of the Muslim community. This is the end of their fasting and will mark the celebration of their Eid’l Fitr or more commonly know to everyone as the Feast of Ramadan. Muslims sacrifice a month of fasting during their holy month wherein they can’t eat or drink the whole day. They are allowed to eat and drink starting at 6 in the evening and will start fasting again at 4:00 am the following day. They also have to keep on praying during these days.

The Feast of Ramadan was first declared a holiday by the former Philippine President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in November 2002. Republic Act No. 9177 declared as the first day of Shawwal which is the tenth month in the Islamic calendar and a national holiday for the observance of Eid’l Fitr. According to RA 9177, the date of the holidays of Islam is determined in accordance with their Hijra or Islamic calendar or the lunar calendar. It also depends on astronomical calculations and according to some Muslims; it depends on the sighting of the moon. This is the reason why there’s no exact date for this celebration.