The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) on Tuesday opposed a lawmaker’s proposal to declare a a special non-working holiday in honor of Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao’s outstanding victory over Mexican boxing legend Erik “El Terrible” Morales.
Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. has proposed to declare Friday, January 27, a non-working holiday to celebrate Pacquiao’s homecoming after defeating Morales in Las Vegas, Nevada.
ECOP president Rene Soriano said declaring a non-working holiday in honor of Pacquiao would deal a big blow to businesses in the country.
“Hindi naman po sa pagmamaliit sa ginawa ni Manny Pacquiao, eh dapat lang pong parangalan po siya pero sa tingin ko naman ay hindi naman po dapat i-declare na holiday ‘yung pagdating po niya. Kasi sa ngayong panahon eh kailangan po natin ng productivity (While we are not belittling Pacquiao’s achievement since he deserves to be honored, I don’t think we should declare a holiday when he arrives. In these times, we need productivity),” he said.
Soriano said the loss on productivity when the government declares a non-working holiday is more than what the economy loses because of the traffic jam in Metro Manila.
He added that employers have to pay higher rates to employees who work on a holiday. He added that the country already has too many holidays, with a total of 15 in a year.
He said ticker-tape parades and other events in honor of Pacquiao could be scheduled on Sunday, January 29.
