- MANILA: A labor official says that increasing number of holidays in the Philippines would make the country less competitive than its Southeast Asian neighbors and may turn away much-needed foreign investment.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said Thursday she opposes legislative proposals to add up to 10 national holidays to the 18 non-working holidays already observed in the country.
She says local non-working holidays and work stoppages caused by natural calamities already hamper productivity and increase costs.
The foreign Chambers of Commerce complained in 2010 that the many paid holidays plus the country’s high labor costs have “adversely affected” the Philippines’ business competitiveness.
