PHL Embassy in Thailand closed Nov. 7

The Philippine Embassy in Thailand will be closed on November 7, which Malacañang declared a holiday in observance of Eid'l Adha (Feast of Sacrifice). "The Embassy will be closed on Monday, 7 November 2011, in observance of the Eid'l Adhar (Feast of Sacrifice) pursuant to Proclamation No. 276 dated 20 October 2011," it said in an announcement on its website. President Benigno Aquino III had issued Proclamation 276 last Oct. 20, noting Republic Act No. 9849 provides that Eid'l Adha be celebrated as a regular holiday. Eid'l Adha is one of the two greatest feasts of Islam, he added. "(T)he date of the festival based on the declaration made by Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body is on 6 November 2011," Aquino said in his proclamation. He also noted the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) recommended that the observance of Eid'l Adha be on November 7, and the Eid'l Adha prayer on November 6. — RSJ, GMA News