Malacañang released the official holiday calendar for 2027 on 11 September 2026, giving workers and families an early window to plan trips home to the province. Proclamation No. 1427, signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on 8 September 2026, fixes the regular holidays and special (non-working) days for the Philippines in 2027 - and the picture it paints is thinner on weekday breaks than 2026 was.

Six dated holidays in 2027 fall on a Saturday, against just two weekend casualties in 2026 under Proclamation No. 1006. In 2027, Proclamation No. 1427 declares no substitute weekday for any of those Saturday dates, so the total count of weekday days off drops from 2026's 18 to roughly 14 (including the two Islamic holidays at their estimated dates). The long weekends that remain are real, though, and knowing the category of each day decides both your leave strategy and what shows up on your payslip.

For daily-paid workers in shops, hospitals, restaurants and transport - sectors that keep running through the holidays - the category of each date matters more than the date itself. A regular holiday earns you pay even when you stay home; a special non-working day does not, unless your company policy or a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) says otherwise.

The full list of public holidays in the Philippines in 2027

Every date below comes directly from Proclamation No. 1427, except the two Islamic holidays, which are shown at estimated dates pending their formal proclamation. The category listed beside each date determines the pay rules that apply - regular holiday, special non-working day, additional special non-working day, or special working day. These are not interchangeable terms.

• 1 January (Friday): New Year's Day - regular holiday
• 6 February (Saturday): Chinese New Year - additional special non-working day
• 10 March (Wednesday): Eid'l Fitr - regular holiday, estimated date
• 25 March (Thursday): Maundy Thursday - regular holiday
• 26 March (Friday): Good Friday - regular holiday
• 27 March (Saturday): Black Saturday - additional special non-working day
• 9 April (Friday): Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valour) - regular holiday
• 1 May (Saturday): Labor Day - regular holiday
• 17 May (Monday): Eid'l Adha - regular holiday, estimated date
• 12 June (Saturday): Independence Day - regular holiday
• 21 August (Saturday): Ninoy Aquino Day - special non-working day
• 30 August (Monday): National Heroes Day - regular holiday
• 1 November (Monday): All Saints' Day - special non-working day
• 2 November (Tuesday): All Souls' Day - additional special non-working day, added nationwide so families have more time for the traditional observance and to support domestic tourism
• 30 November (Tuesday): Bonifacio Day - regular holiday
• 8 December (Wednesday): Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary - special non-working day, fixed annually under Republic Act No. 10966 (28 December 2017)
• 24 December (Friday): Christmas Eve - additional special non-working day
• 25 December (Saturday): Christmas Day - regular holiday
• 30 December (Thursday): Rizal Day - regular holiday
• 31 December (Friday): Last Day of the Year - special non-working day

One additional date affects your payslip: 25 February (Thursday), the 41st anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, is designated a special working day - treated as an ordinary working day for pay purposes, with no premium unless you clock overtime.

The six Saturday dates are the defining feature of the 2027 calendar. By comparison, in 2026 under Proclamation No. 1006, only Black Saturday (4 April) and All Saints' Day (1 November, a Sunday) fell on a weekend. No 2027 holiday has been moved to a Monday substitute, and Republic Act No. 9492 (2007) - the holiday economics law that allows that kind of shift - applies only where the proclamation itself provides for it. Proclamation No. 1427 does not, so do not plan around a makeup day that is not coming.

Working on a holiday in 2027: what DOLE's pay rules say

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) set the 2027 wage rules in Labor Advisory No. 17, Series of 2026, issued on 30 September 2026. The foundation is Article 94 of the Labor Code of the Philippines (Presidential Decree No. 442, 1974, as amended), which states that an employer may require an employee to work on any holiday, but the employee shall be paid a compensation equivalent to twice the regular rate.

• Regular holiday, worked: 200% of your daily wage for the first eight hours; overtime beyond eight hours earns an additional 30% of the hourly rate on that day.
• Regular holiday, not worked: 100% of your daily wage, provided you reported for work or were on paid leave on the day immediately before the holiday. If that preceding day is a non-working day or your scheduled rest day at the establishment, the look-back rule extends one day further.
• Regular holiday that falls on your rest day: working earns an additional 30% on top of the 200%; under DOLE Memorandum Circular No. 01 (8 March 2004), it remains paid at 100% even if you do not work.
• Special non-working day, worked: 130% of your basic wage for the first eight hours (basic wage x 130%); 150% if it also falls on your rest day.
• Special non-working day, not worked: the no-work, no-pay principle applies unless a favorable company policy, practice or CBA grants payment.
• Special working day (25 February): your basic wage for the first eight hours; overtime earns an additional 25% of the hourly rate; no-work, no-pay applies if you skip it unless policy or CBA says otherwise.

This is where the calendar pinches. Labor Day, Independence Day and Christmas Day are regular holidays landing on a Saturday - so if you are rostered on those days, you earn double pay for the shift. Christmas Eve (24 December) and the Last Day of the Year (31 December) are special non-working days: a daily-paid cashier, nurse, cook or driver who is not rostered earns nothing for them unless the company or a CBA provides otherwise. In clustered weeks such as Holy Week and Christmas, the day-before rule deserves careful attention, because one unexcused absence on the day before a regular holiday can cost you 100% of that holiday's pay.

Coverage under these rules is not universal. Under Article 94 of the Labor Code, retail and service establishments regularly employing fewer than ten workers are exempt from paying regular-holiday rates. Under Article 82, government employees, managerial employees, field personnel, domestic helpers and workers paid by results fall outside the title of the Labor Code that covers holiday pay entirely. If your situation is unclear, the DOLE regional office covering your area of work can advise.

Before agreeing to a holiday roster, work out what the premium adds to your gross salary rather than comparing it with your usual take-home. Knowing what others in a comparable role earn is a useful starting point for that calculation.

Islamic holidays and local special days

Proclamation No. 1427 deliberately leaves the 2027 dates of Eid'l Fitr and Eid'l Adha blank, directing that separate proclamations follow once the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) recommends the dates based on the Islamic (Hijra) calendar or astronomical calculations. Both observances are protected as regular holidays by law: Eid'l Fitr under Republic Act No. 9177 (13 November 2002), and Eid'l Adha under Republic Act No. 9849 (11 December 2009).

The 10 March and 17 May estimates shown in the holiday list above come from third-party calendars and are marked tentative. In 2026, the Eid'l Fitr proclamation (Proclamation No. 1189) was signed on 12 March - only eight days before the 20 March holiday - giving employers and workers very little lead time. Keep any plans around those dates flexible and book travel on refundable terms where possible.

Local special days come by separate proclamation throughout the year and are not in Proclamation No. 1427. As a recent example, Proclamation No. 1447 declared 16 to 18 November 2026 as special non-working days in the National Capital Region (NCR) for the 49th ASEAN Summit. Any equivalent 2027 declarations would arrive on a similar rolling basis. Treat the list in Proclamation No. 1427 as the national baseline; your region or city may add to it.

For Muslim employees, the Code of Muslim Personal Laws (Presidential Decree No. 1083, 1977) specifies the official Muslim holidays and the provinces and cities where they are officially observed, including Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and the cities of Cotabato, Marawi and Zamboanga, among others. Beyond those areas, presidential proclamation extends the observance to the rest of the country.

Long weekends in 2027: bridge plans with exact leave days

Under Article 95 of the Labor Code, an employee with at least one year of service is entitled to five days of service incentive leave with pay each year. These are the leave days you can use to extend the breaks below. Workers in establishments regularly employing fewer than ten people, or those already enjoying five or more paid vacation days, may not be covered by this entitlement - check your contract or ask your HR team.

Daily-paid staff should read each entry carefully: a special non-working day listed as part of a break block is likely unpaid if you are not rostered, unless company policy or a CBA covers it.

1. Holy Week: a free 4-day weekend from Thursday 25 to Sunday 28 March, for zero leave days. Add Monday 22, Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 March (3 leave days) for a 9-day break, Saturday 20 to Sunday 28 March.
2. Araw ng Kagitingan: a free 3-day weekend, Friday 9 to Sunday 11 April. Use Monday 5 to Thursday 8 April (4 leave days) to extend to 9 days off, Saturday 3 to Sunday 11 April.
3. Eid'l Adha (estimated 17 May, Monday): if confirmed, a free 3-day weekend from Saturday 15 to Monday 17 May. Adding Tuesday 18 to Friday 21 May (4 leave days) gives 9 days off through Sunday 23 May. Book on refundable fares given the late-confirmation pattern for Islamic holidays.
4. National Heroes Day: a free 3-day weekend, Saturday 28 to Monday 30 August. File Tuesday 31 August to Friday 3 September (4 leave days) for 9 days off through Sunday 5 September.
5. All Saints' and All Souls': a free 4-day weekend, Saturday 30 October to Tuesday 2 November. Add Wednesday 3 to Friday 5 November (3 leave days) for 9 days off through Sunday 7 November. Note that All Souls' Day (2 November) is an additional special non-working day, so daily-paid workers not on roster receive no pay for that day unless their employer's policy says otherwise.
6. Bonifacio Day: file Monday 29 November (1 leave day) for a 4-day break, Saturday 27 to Tuesday 30 November.
7. Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary: file Thursday 9 and Friday 10 December (2 leave days) for a 5-day break, Wednesday 8 to Sunday 12 December.
8. Christmas to New Year: Christmas Eve opens a free 3-day weekend from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 December, while Rizal Day and the Last Day of the Year give a free 4-day stretch from Thursday 30 December to Sunday 2 January 2028. Bridge the gap with Monday 27, Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 December (3 leave days) for 10 consecutive days off. Christmas Eve and 31 December are both special non-working days under Proclamation No. 1427, so their no-work, no-pay status applies to daily-paid workers not on roster.

Before you file your leave

File early for Holy Week and the Christmas-to-New Year run. Those are the most contested leave windows in almost every office and shift-based workplace, and approvals typically flow on a first-come basis. If you are in the BPO, retail, healthcare or food-service sectors - industries where operations continue regardless of the calendar - confirm with your team lead which dates your roster covers and what category applies to each.

The quieter stretches around the holidays are also a practical time to revisit your employment documents: check that your payslip reflects the correct premium rates, and confirm whether your workplace has a CBA or company policy that improves on the statutory no-work, no-pay default for special non-working days. That gap between statutory minimum and company practice is worth understanding before a holiday roster lands in your inbox.

2027 asks for more calendar discipline than 2026, but the remaining long weekends are genuine rest opportunities. Know the category of every day you are scheduled to work, verify what it pays starting from your gross salary, and get your leave applications in before the slots fill up.