Editorial : Holiday politics
Bunye had historical precedent to support his view. The Monday after National Heroes Day had never been declared as a special holiday. Not even after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her advisers came up with "holiday economics," a quaint theory that says that an extended workless weekend made possible by moving the observance of certain official holidays to the closest weekend is a boost to domestic tourism and therefore the economy.
On Saturday, however, Bunye took back his announcement. He then joined Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita in saying that Monday would be a special holiday after all. Ermita said the President would issue a proclamation declaring Monday to be a holiday.
The proclamation was released Sunday, though it was dated Aug. 27, Saturday, and what it declared was some kind of semi-holiday. According to Proclamation No. 901, which was signed by Ermita "By authority of the President," Aug. 28 was being declared as "a special (non-working) holiday in the public sector (except the Bureau of Customs) as well as all schools, both public and private, at all levels, in commemoration of National Heroes Day." One short (awkward and ungrammatical) paragraph sought to explain the issuance of the proclamation by saying "it is fitting that this day (National Heroes Day) be given its [sic] importance especially by the public sector as well as all schools." No attempt was made to explain why only students and public servants were being given the opportunity to honor our national heroes, both known and unknown.
If anyone among those who had been given one additional day to do so spared one moment to honor the memory of our heroes, no one seems to have heard about it. In fact, the official commemoration was held on Sunday -- as scheduled -- at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani in Fort Bonifacio, with Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Generoso Senga leading the rites attended by about 100 people, most of them World War II veterans.
Thus, if making Monday a limited holiday was supposed to make the commemoration of National Heroes Day more meaningful, it didn't achieve the purpose. Neither could there have been even the tiniest increase in domestic tourism, given the short notice Malacañang gave to potential holidaymakers. Besides how many government employees or students can afford to go on holiday tours or vacations in these hard economic times?
The fact is that after going gung-ho for holiday economics during its first two years, the administration seems to have grown cold to the idea. Since it moved the 2003 Independence Day from Thursday to Friday, it has transferred the commemoration of only one other holiday (Aug. 21, 2004) to give workers and students a three-day weekend.
But if it was not for holiday economics, what for was the extra day off given to students and government workers yesterday? How about politics? On Tuesday last week, more than a month after 42 congressmen signed the impeachment complaint against the President, five more affixed their signatures to it. Three days later, two more congressmen joined the move to impeach the President. Although one party-list representative withdrew his signature at about the same time, the group working for her impeachment had a net gain of six votes.
Was Malacañang perhaps worried that the impeachment move may be gaining some momentum? And did it declare a holiday to check that momentum or to have an extra day to rally its forces as the House justice committee moves closer to voting on the complaint? That possibility may seem remote to some people, but to those who have been observing closely how Malacañang is responding to the impeachment threat, it is not far-fetched. The President and her allies seem too willing and able to do anything and everything to save her presidency, even at the risk of demonstrating how inept, clumsy and panicky they can be.
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