How much is holiday pay in the Philippines? The 2026 rules

Holiday pay in the Philippines for 2026: every regular holiday and special day, DOLE's pay rules for working or not, worked examples, and the 2027 dates.

8 min read. Updated 2026-10-07. By Catalyst Outsourcing.

Didn't work on a regular holiday? DOLE says you still get 100% of your daily wage, as long as you worked or were on paid leave the day before. Worked it? DOLE's rate is 200% for the first eight hours. Special non-working days are "no work, no pay", and 130% if you work. Here are the 2026 dates from the President's proclamations and the pay rules from DOLE's Labor Advisory No. 12, Series of 2025, read on 7 October 2026.

This guide explains the law for employees in the Philippines. It's general information and isn't legal advice. If you have a dispute with your employer, you can call DOLE Hotline 1349.

The 2026 regular holidays and special days

Proclamation No. 1006, s. 2025 sets the year's holidays. The two Eid holidays came later, each in its own proclamation.

Regular holidays:

1 January (Thursday): New Year's Day
20 March (Friday): Eid'l Fitr, under Proclamation No. 1189, s. 2026
2 April: Maundy Thursday
3 April: Good Friday
9 April (Thursday): Araw ng Kagitingan
1 May (Friday): Labor Day
27 May (Wednesday): Eid'l Adha, under Proclamation No. 1264, s. 2026
12 June (Friday): Independence Day
31 August (Monday): National Heroes Day
30 November (Monday): Bonifacio Day
25 December (Friday): Christmas Day
30 December (Wednesday): Rizal Day

Special non-working days:

17 February (Tuesday): Chinese New Year
4 April: Black Saturday
21 August (Friday): Ninoy Aquino Day
1 November (Sunday): All Saints' Day
2 November (Monday): All Souls' Day
8 December (Tuesday): Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
24 December (Thursday): Christmas Eve
31 December (Thursday): Last Day of the Year

25 February (Wednesday), the EDSA People Power Revolution Anniversary, was a special working day. DOLE says it "shall be considered as an ordinary working day for the purpose of payment of wages".

In Metro Manila only, 16 to 18 November are special non-working days for the 49th ASEAN Summit and related summits, under Proclamation No. 1447, s. 2026. DOLE's Labor Advisory No. 16, Series of 2026 sets the pay for those days and says the rules "shall also apply to employees in alternative, flexible, and telecommuting work arrangements".

Holiday pay if you don't work

On a regular holiday, DOLE's advisory says "the employer shall pay 100% of the employee's wage for that day, provided that the employee reports to work or is on leave of absence with pay on the day immediately preceding the regular holiday".

On a special non-working day, "the "no work, no pay" principle shall apply unless there is a favorable company policy, practice, or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) granting payment on a special day".

If you're paid by the month, DOLE's handbook says monthly-paid employees are "paid every day of the month, including unworked rest days, special days, and regular holidays".

Holiday pay if you work

On a regular holiday, the advisory's rates are:

First eight hours: 200% of your daily wage
Each hour past eight: hourly rate x 200% x 130%
On your rest day: daily wage x 200% x 130%, which is 260%
Past eight hours on a holiday that's also your rest day: hourly rate x 200% x 130% x 130%

On a special non-working day:

First eight hours: 130% of your daily wage
Each hour past eight: hourly rate x 130% x 130%
On your rest day: 150%
Past eight hours on that rest day: hourly rate x 150% x 130%

Example: your daily wage is PHP 800. Work a regular holiday and you get PHP 800 x 2 = PHP 1,600. If it falls on your rest day, PHP 800 x 2 x 1.3 = PHP 2,080. Work a special non-working day and you get PHP 800 x 1.3 = PHP 1,040, or PHP 800 x 1.5 = PHP 1,200 on your rest day.

Example: at PHP 800 a day, your hourly rate is PHP 800 / 8 = PHP 100, and each overtime hour on a regular holiday pays PHP 100 x 2 x 1.3 = PHP 260.

When you're absent the day before a holiday

DOLE's handbook and the advisory set these rules:

On paid leave the workday before? The handbook says you're entitled to holiday pay.
On leave without pay the day before, and you don't work the holiday? You "may not be paid" holiday pay.
If the day before is a non-working day or your rest day, you get holiday pay if you worked or were on paid leave the day before that.
Two regular holidays in a row, like Maundy Thursday and Good Friday: if you're absent the day before the first one, you may not be paid for both, unless you work the first, in which case the handbook says you get holiday pay for the second.

Who is entitled to holiday pay?

DOLE's handbook says holiday pay applies to all employees except:

Government employees
Employees of retail and service establishments regularly employing less than ten workers
Kasambahay, and persons in the personal service of another
Managerial employees, and officers or members of the managerial staff, as the handbook defines them
Field personnel and other employees whose time and performance the employer doesn't supervise, including those paid on a task or contract basis, purely on commission, or a fixed amount regardless of the time the work takes

On our reading, holiday pay is an employee rule, since the handbook says it "applies to all employees except" the groups above. If you freelance or work as an independent contractor, check what your contract says about holidays.

Holidays in 2027

DOLE has already set the 2027 pay rules in Labor Advisory No. 17, Series of 2026, under Proclamation No. 1427, s. 2026, with the same percentages as 2026. The regular holidays are 1 January, 25 and 26 March, 9 April, 1 May, 12 June, 30 August, 30 November, and 25 and 30 December, with Eid'l Fitr and Eid'l Adha still to be proclaimed. The special non-working days are 6 February, 27 March, 21 August, 1 and 2 November, and 8, 24 and 31 December, and 25 February is a special working day.

What to do if your holiday pay looks wrong

Check the day type on your payslip: regular holiday, special day or rest day.
Redo the math with the rates above.
Ask HR or payroll in writing to explain any gap, and keep a copy.
If it isn't fixed, DOLE's handbook says to call the DOLE Hotline or the DOLE regional office for your workplace.

Holiday work often runs past eight hours or into the night, so see overtime pay and night differential. Look up the daily wage for your region on our minimum wage tool, and if you'd rather take a day off, you may have five days of service incentive leave. Looking for a new role? Browse remote jobs. It's free to apply.

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