The Senate local government committee on Wednesday, June 2, approved the House bill that seeks to declare June 10 of every year a special non-working holiday in Tarlac province in honor of former politician, ambassador and business tycoon Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr.
Senator Francis Tolentino, chairman of the upper chamber's local government panel, agreed that Cojuangco should be recognized for his contributions.
"Even in sports, Congressman Danding Cojuangco was really the prime mover of the development of our sports...So it is just fitting that we recognize the advocacy of the late ambassador," he said.
House Bill No. 7651, approved by the House of Representatives on September last year, seeks to declare June 10 of every year as "Danding Cojuangco Day", a special non-working holiday, in commemoration of his birth anniversary.
But the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) maintained its reservation about declaring non-working holidays, saying it will have "negative implications", specifically to daily-wage workers who will not be entitled to their pay on such days.
The DOLE added that it would also result in "additional cost" on the part of employers who would have to pay an additional 30 percent should they ask their employees to report for work.
"If we weigh this...the contribution to the Philippine economy of the late ambassador Danding Cojuangco is beyond measure, than the computations that you can derive from the Labor Code of the Philippines and existing laws. Immeasurable, cannot be valued," Tolentino, however, maintained.
"This is special measure that could serve as a good inspiration for other employers to follow the footstep of the late ambassador that one should go steps beyond to help his employees," he added.
Cojuangco, former San Miguel Corporation chairman and chief executive officer, died due to heart failure and pneumonia in June 16, 2020. He was 85.
He also served as Tarlac governor and 1st district representative.
Cojuangco later founded the Nationalist People's Coalition, and ran in the 1992 presidential race.