PHILIPPINE President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has ordered the suspension of work in government offices from 12 noon onwards on Wednesday, March 27 so state workers can observe the Catholic Holy Week.
Under Memorandum Circular No. 45 signed by Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin and published on Monday, agencies that handle health services, disaster response and other vital services will not be covered by the memo.
The shorter workday would let government employees travel to and from the different regions in the country before Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, according to a copy of the memo.
About 78.8% of the population or 85.65 million Filipinos are Roman Catholics, according to the local statistics agency. — John Victor D. Ordoñez