The Senate building

Highlighting the potential impact that the bill could make, 4Ps Party-list Rep. JC Abalos urged the Senate to swiftly pass a measure declaring election day in the Philippines as a regular non-working holiday.

Abalos, in a statement Friday, Jan. 24, said that a non-working holiday would ensure fairness and promote the active involvement of all sectors--including daily wage earners--in the all-important democratic process.

“Iba-iba ang sitwasyon ng pagboto ng bawat Pilipino. Yung iba nasa mismong mga barangay lang nila ang presinto. Pero marami pa rin sa ating mga kababayan ang bumabyahe sa probinsya para makaboto. At sila ang apektado sa kasalukuyang kalakaran na hindi pa regular holiday ang eleksyon,” said the minority bloc member.

(Filipinos encounter different situations when they vote. Some can find their precincts within their own barangays. But a lot of our countrymen still need to travel to the provinces just to vote. And they are the ones most affected by the current set-up of the election not being a regular holiday.)

The House of Representatives, where Abalos belongs to, has already approved a meaaure to this effect in House Bill (HB) No. 8187 on August 2, 2023, but the Senate version remains pending.

“Consider the potential impact if we eliminate the constraints of work or other economic obligations on election day,” Abalos noted.

“This would make the day easy and manageable for voters and remind every Filipino of their integral role in shaping our nation’s future. And I have hopes that our colleagues from the Senate will also see the importance and timeliness of the measure," he noted.

Voter turnout in countries with regular non-working holidays for elections ranges between 75 percent and 95 percent.

The Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation chairperson, Senator Imee Marcos, has expressed support for the House measure. 

In the Philippines, national elections are considered a special non-working holiday through a Presidential Proclamation issued shortly before each election. Daily wage workers who do not report for work on election day fall under the “no work, no pay” policy. 

Abalos stressed the significance of the bill for Philippine democracy. 

“Noong nakaraang eleksyon, 83 percent ang voter turnout. Isa ito sa pinakamataas na porsyento ng mga Pilipinong bumoto. Isipin na lang natin kung gaano kalaki ang epekto nito kung gagawing regular non-working holiday ang araw ng halalan--lalo’t nalalapit na rin ang ating eleksyon,” he said.

(The voter turnout during the previous elections was 83 percent. This is one of the highest ever. Now imagine what the impact would be if we make election day into a regular non-working holiday--especially with our elections just around the corner.)

The next mid-term elections will be held on May 12, 2025. 

Abalos expressed his gratitude to his House colleagues for prioritizing the bill. 

“This is the first bill I filed in Congress, and I have been lobbying for this since 2022. I am grateful to House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Rep. Maximo Dalog Jr., and the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms for recognizing the bill’s significance,” he said.

The Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation chairperson, Senator Imee Marcos, has expressed support for the House measure.