Sen. Cynthia Villar Speaks on Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero’s Statement on Holidays
CYNTHIA VILLAR – The lawmaker said that the senators agreed to limiting the non-working holidays in the Philippines.
Undeniably, the holidays in the Philippines are among the most-awaited days of countless employees of the government and workers in the private sector. Although the holidays mean differently among the workers, these benefit the large population of employees.
In some cases most especially in the case of government workers, a regular holiday which is a non-working day means an opportunity to rest or spend time with family and friends without worrying about a deduction on the salary.
In other cases most especially in the case of individuals who have to report to work on a non-working holiday, it means an extra pay. The additional pay can be of great help in augmenting the household needs amid the high inflation rate in the country now.
However, recently, Senate President Chiz Escudero said that the lawmakers in the upper chamber have agreed to limit the approval of bills on local holidays. He stressed that it is in line with the pursuit to make the Filipino workers “more competitive”.
Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, Sen. Cynthia Villar spoke to clarify the statement of Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero. According to the lawmaker, the senators agreed to limiting only the non-working holidays.
Sen. Villar expressed that the senators are okay with the working holiday but not so much non-working holiday. The lawmaker further said that the employees can attend the program in line with the holiday celebration and just report to work after.
According to Sen. Cynthia Villar, everyone is affected, both the government and the private enterprises, during a non-working holiday. She stressed that the government and the private companies only pay for the workers’ salaries without any productivity.
“‘Yun ang problema noon. So malaki ang cost talaga both sa government and private sector,” she said.
Based on the report, Sen. Villar stressed that a working holiday has no effect on the private enterprises and the government.
“Mag-celebrate na lang tayo in a way na mas maganda pero tuloy pa rin ang trabaho,” the Senator said.