Complete Guide to Filipino Holidays in 2026

If you’re managing a team of Filipino remote workers, the Philippine holiday calendar is one of the most practical things to understand early in the year.

It affects availability, leave requests, project timelines, and team morale.

Philippine holidays in 2026 include regular holidays and special non-working days, with April (Holy Week) and late December (Christmas season) requiring the most lead time for employers.

Below is the full 2026 calendar followed by practical planning guidance.

2026 Philippine Holiday Calendar at a Glance

Note: Special non-working days and some observance dates are set by annual presidential proclamation. Verify the full official list against Proclamation No. 1006 once released.

Regular Holidays 2026

*Holy Week dates are calculated. Confirm against official proclamation.

Special Non-Working Days 2026

*Confirm against official proclamation.

Special Working Day 2026

2026 Types of Holidays in the Philippines

The Philippines categorizes public holidays into three types. Each has different pay implications for employers.

Regular Holidays are the most significant. Whether your remote worker works or not, they are entitled to their regular daily pay. If they do work on a regular holiday, the standard rate is 200% of their daily rate.

Special Non-Working Days follow a no-work, no-pay rule. If your worker takes the day off, they are not automatically entitled to pay for it. If they work, they earn an additional 30% on top of their regular daily rate.

Special Working Days are treated as regular workdays but carry cultural significance. February 25 (EDSA Anniversary) falls here in 2026. No additional pay is required.

Key 2026 Long Weekends Employers Should Plan Around

Some of the most impactful dates for business continuity aren’t single holidays, they’re the long weekends that form around them.

Filipino workers often combine leave days to extend these into multi-day breaks.

Holy Week (April 2 to 6, 2026)

Maundy Thursday through Easter Sunday creates a 4-day holiday window. Many workers take the full week. Plan for minimal or no availability April 2–5, with a slow return on April 6.

Labor Day + Independence Day (May 1 and June 12)

Both fall on Friday and Friday respectively in 2026, creating natural 3-day weekends. Project deadlines falling the week prior are safer than those on the holiday itself.

National Heroes Day (Last Monday of August)

Exact date to be confirmed by proclamation. Creates a 3-day weekend that often coincides with informal travel and provincial visits.

Bonifacio Day (November 30) Another 3-day weekend that kicks off the final stretch of Christmas season. Expect leave requests to spike around this date as workers prepare for December.

Christmas Eve + Christmas Day + Rizal Day (December 24, 25, 30) These three dates, plus New Year’s Eve on December 31 mean the final two weeks of December are largely non-operational for most Filipino workers. Plan your Q4 project cutoffs accordingly.

Major 2026 Holiday Periods and Long Weekends

Holy Week 2026

Holy Week is the most observed religious period in the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos are Catholic, and this week carries genuine spiritual significance — not just a calendar holiday.

Maundy Thursday (April 2) and Good Friday (April 3) are regular holidays. Black Saturday (April 4) is a special non-working day. Easter Sunday (April 5) is not a public holiday but is widely observed.

In practice, plan for reduced or no operations from April 2 through April 5. Many workers take Monday and Tuesday off as well to travel to their home provinces. If you have deadlines that week, move them to the week prior.

Christmas Season (September 2026 – January 2027)

The Philippines is widely known for having the world’s longest Christmas season. The “ber months” — September through December — bring a gradual but real shift in team energy and availability.

Here’s what actually changes for employers:

• September onwards: Christmas decorations go up. Mood lifts. Social obligations start building.
• December 16–24: Simbang Gabi (nine consecutive dawn masses). Workers attending these may start later or be fatigued.
• December 24: Noche Buena — Christmas Eve family feast. Treat this as a non-working day in practice even if it’s technically a special non-working day.
• December 25: Christmas Day. Full regular holiday.
• December 31: Media Noche — New Year’s Eve. Expect limited availability.

The practical planning window: finalize any major deliverables before December 20. The last two weeks of December are difficult to rely on for full productivity across most Filipino remote teams.

Islamic Holidays 2026

Two major Islamic holidays apply to Muslim team members, primarily those from Mindanao:

• Eid al-Fitr — estimated [INSERT DATE once lunar calendar is confirmed]
• Eid al-Adha — estimated [INSERT DATE once lunar calendar is confirmed]

Exact dates depend on the lunar calendar and are confirmed closer to the time. If you have Muslim team members, ask them directly as the dates approach and plan accordingly.

Chinese New Year 2026

Date: February 17

Filipino-Chinese communities observe this widely. Expect some team members to take the day for family celebrations.

It’s a special non-working day, so no automatic pay entitlement applies — but treat it with the same cultural respect as other significant dates.

All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day (November 1–2, 2026)

Known locally as “Undas,” this is a period of cemetery visits and family reunions. November 1 is a special non-working day. November 2 is not an official holiday but many workers travel home to their provinces.

Plan for a slow start to the first week of November and communicate project timelines early.

Leave Policy Options for 2026

There’s no single right answer here. The approach you choose should reflect your business model, your team size, and how much flexibility you’re willing to manage.

Follow US Holidays Only

This is the simplest to administer. You track one calendar, set clear expectations, and your Filipino team is expected to work Philippine holidays unless they use personal leave.

The downside is cultural friction. Your team will take the days anyway in many cases officially or not.

Ignoring major Philippine holidays doesn’t make them disappear; it just makes the leave requests harder to manage and creates resentment.

Follow Philippine Holidays

This approach respects your team’s cultural and religious calendar. It’s the most common arrangement for employers hiring full-time Filipino remote workers.

You don’t have to follow every special non-working day many employers cover the 10 regular holidays and let workers use PTO or take unpaid leave for the rest.

Flexible PTO System

Give your team a set number of paid days off per year and let them allocate those days however they choose.

This respects both cultural and personal preferences without requiring you to manage two holiday calendars.

Requires clear communication protocols: advance notice, coverage plans, and a system for tracking days used.

Should You Follow US Holidays, Philippine Holidays, or Both?

For most employers, a hybrid approach works best. Cover the major Philippine regular holidays. Use flexible PTO to handle the rest.

The goal is continuity for your business and respect for your team. T

hese aren’t in conflict if you plan early. For more on building the right management structure, see our guide on managing Filipino remote workers after hiring.

Best Practices for Managing Filipino Holidays in 2026

Plan the calendar in January. Mark every regular holiday and the key special non-working days at the start of the year. Share it with your team so expectations are set early.

Build buffer time around Holy Week and late December. These two periods are the most likely to affect deliverables. Move deadlines to the week before rather than hoping for availability during.

Communicate your policy in writing. A simple one-page holiday policy shared at onboarding prevents most disputes. State which holidays are paid, which are unpaid, and what the advance notice requirement is for leave requests.

Ask, don’t assume, for religious observances. Not every Filipino worker observes every holiday the same way. Some are highly religious; others are not. Muslim workers have different observances entirely. A quick conversation goes further than a blanket policy.

Account for time zone advantages. Filipino remote workers in PHT (UTC+8) are typically 12–13 hours ahead of US time zones. This can work in your favor tasks assigned at end of US business day are ready by the time you return the next morning. Around holidays, that buffer shrinks.

Frequently Asked Question

What are the 13 regular holidays in the Philippines?

As of the current holiday law, the Philippines has 12 regular holidays, not 13. They are: New Year’s Day (January 1), Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Day of Valor/Araw ng Kagitingan (April 9), Labor Day (May 1), Independence Day (June 12), National Heroes Day (last Monday of August), Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Bonifacio Day (November 30), Christmas Day (December 25), and Rizal Day (December 30). The exact count can vary by year depending on presidential proclamations. Always verify the official proclamation for the current year.

Is February 25, 2026 a holiday?

February 25, 2026 is the EDSA People Power Revolution Anniversary. It is classified as a Special Working Day, which means it is treated as a regular workday. No additional pay is required and workers are not automatically entitled to the day off. It carries cultural significance but does not come with the same leave implications as regular holidays or special non-working days.

What are the 10 major holidays in the Philippines?

The most widely observed Philippine holidays are: New Year’s Day, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Labor Day, Independence Day, National Heroes Day, Eid al-Fitr, Bonifacio Day, Christmas Day, and Rizal Day. These are the dates most employers plan around when building holiday policies for their Filipino remote teams.