Aquino declares November 16 a non-working holiday

Malacañang on Wednesday declared November 16 a national and non-working holiday in celebration of the Eid'l Adha, or the Islam feast of sacrifice. President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III declared the holiday through Proclamation No. 60. The proclamation was based on Republic Act 9849, which provides that Eid’l Adha shall be celebrated as a national holiday, though at a movable date. RA 9849 says Eid'l Adha is the tenth day in the month of Hajj or Islamic Pilgrimage to Mecca where Muslims "pay homage to Abraham's supreme act of sacrifice and signifies mankind's obedience to God. " Proclamation No. 60 said the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) has confirmed that the feast of Eid’l Adha, "one of the two greatest feasts of Islam," falls on November 16. The proclamation was signed November 9. — Jam Sisante/LBG, GMANews.TV