No Holiday Pay for EDSA 40: DOLE Confirms February 25 Is Just a 'Special Working Day' — No Work, No Pay Applies

If you're hoping for holiday pay this Wednesday for the EDSA People Power anniversary, DOLE has some bad news: there's no extra pay for workers reporting on February 25. The Department of Labor and Employment issued Labor Advisory 1-2026 clarifying that the 40th anniversary of the EDSA Revolution is classified as a "Special Working Day" — not a holiday.

What does that mean for your paycheck? Simple: if you work on February 25, you get your regular 100 percent daily wage for the first eight hours — nothing extra. If you work overtime, you'll get the standard 25 percent premium on your hourly rate. Basically, it's treated exactly like any ordinary working day.

And if you don't show up to work? The "no work, no pay" principle applies — unless your company has a more generous policy, practice, or collective bargaining agreement that covers special working days. So check with your HR department before deciding to join the EDSA celebrations instead of clocking in.

The classification stems from Proclamation 1006-2025, which declared February 25 as a Special Working Day nationwide for the commemoration. This has caused some confusion among workers — many assumed the historic anniversary would be treated as a non-working holiday with premium pay. Several schools and universities did suspend classes voluntarily, but DOLE made clear that wage rules treat it as ordinary.

Meanwhile, there's a push in Congress to make February 25 a permanent regular holiday going forward. President Marcos has said he'll "study" the proposals. But for this year at least, it's business as usual pay-wise. The irony of commemorating a people's revolution with no extra pay for the people isn't lost on anyone.

Source: SunStar Philippines