By Jim Lloyd Dongiapon
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Malacañang has declared Saturday, July 9, a regular holiday in the entire country in observance of Eid’l Adha or Feast of Sacrifice, one of the two important holidays in Islam.
Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez, by the authority of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., signed on Tuesday, July 5, Proclamation Number 2.
The proclamation was in accordance to the recommendation of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) to declare the coming Saturday, which is the tenth day of the Zhul Hijja or the twelfth and final month of the 1443 Hijrah Islamic Lunar Calendar, as a regular holiday pursuant to Republic Act (RA) No. 9849.
The proclamation added that the celebration of the holiday shall be subject to the public health measures of the national government.
Last month, the Bangsamoro Darul-Ifta ‘ declared July 9 as the beginning of the feast based on the sighting of a crescent moon in Saudi Arabia.
Eid’l Adha concludes the Hajj or the pilgrimage to Mecca. It also commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim to obey the orders of Allah SWT (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) to sacrifice his son, Ismail.
Issuance of proclamations for Eid’l Adha and Eid’l Fitr pursuant to RA 9849 are based on the approximate days these holidays fall on the Islamic Lunar Calendar or upon Islamic astronomical calculations.