Walang pasok May 2026, the short version: Malacañang has signed three special non-working day declarations for May 2026. Biliran Province is non-working on May 11, Gattaran in Cagayan on May 20, and Calaca City in Batangas on May 23. The declarations are local, not national, but they still ripple through payroll, deliveries, and the BPO and SME schedules that quietly run on local-government calendars.
Walang Pasok May 2026 at a glance
- Proclamation No. 1240: Biliran Province, Monday, May 11, 2026, in observance of the province's foundation anniversary.
- Proclamation No. 1242: Municipality of Gattaran, Cagayan, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, for the town's founding anniversary.
- Proclamation No. 1241: Calaca City, Batangas, Saturday, May 23, 2026, to mark the birth anniversary of General Eleuterio Marasigan.
All three proclamations were signed by Acting Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, by authority of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., and have been published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
"It is but fitting and proper that the people be given full opportunity to participate in the occasion and enjoy the celebration."
Source: Office of the President, on the Calaca and Gattaran proclamations
Why these dates matter
Local non-working days look small on a national calendar, but they aren't trivial for the founders we work with at Impact Hub Manila. Three reasons:
- Government counters close locally. If your venture has a permit, BIR, DTI, or LGU filing scheduled in any of the three areas, the office is shut for the day. Lead times shift, and same-day couriers will not reach the LGU windows.
- Payroll and "holiday pay" rules still apply. A special non-working day is not the same as a regular holiday, and the computation differs for staff who report to work. DOLE Labor Advisory rules on holiday pay in the Philippines govern the premium (typically a 30% premium on the daily rate for the first eight hours worked, under the "no work, no pay" default).
- Field operations get disrupted. Climate-tech ventures running sensors in Biliran, agri-fintech teams onboarding farmers in Cagayan, or social-impact retail in Batangas should expect village-level engagement (and cellular foot traffic) to spike, not drop. See our coverage of field deployments in Biliran and Cagayan in the 2026 disaster-tech cohort.
The three May 2026 non-working day declarations, one by one
Biliran Holiday: May 11, 2026 (Proclamation 1240)
Biliran was carved out of Leyte in 1992 and remains one of the smallest provinces in the country by population. May 11 marks its foundation anniversary. Expect provincial-government offices, public schools, and many local cooperatives to be closed for the day.
Cagayan Holiday: Gattaran, May 20, 2026 (Proclamation 1242)
Gattaran is a first-class municipality in Cagayan with a strong agri base. The founding-anniversary holiday is local (surrounding municipalities still observe a normal work day), so logistics teams should treat the Gattaran town center as a single-day exception, not a regional one.
Batangas Holiday: Calaca City, May 23, 2026 (Proclamation 1241)
Calaca commemorates the birth anniversary of General Eleuterio Marasigan, a Philippine Revolution leader born in the city. The date falls on a Saturday in 2026, which softens the operational impact for most office-based ventures but still affects banks, LGU permits, and weekend public-school programs.
What founders, HR, and remote-team leads should actually do
- Check your team roster by city, not just by province. The Calaca and Gattaran declarations apply at LGU level. A Batangueño who lives in Lipa is not covered; one who lives in Calaca is.
- Recompute payroll with the correct premium. Special non-working days carry the "no work, no pay" default unless your company policy says otherwise, and a 30% premium on the daily rate for the first eight hours of work performed (e.g. a ₱1,000 daily rate becomes ₱1,300 for the first eight hours). Confirm with your accountant.
- Plan filings around the calendar. If you needed an LGU signature in any of the three areas this month, push the appointment by one business day and tell your courier. If your team is still on paper IDs, set up digital records first with our step-by-step guide to the BIR digital TIN ID via eGovPH so the next filing window does not also slip.
- Coordinate with field partners. Climate and agri ventures running pilots in Cagayan or Biliran should expect community partners to be at the festivities. Budget the day for engagement, not data collection.
The bigger picture: a busy month for the Marcos administration
May 2026 has already been a politically dense month, from the second impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte to a steady stream of local-holiday proclamations. The three new walang pasok declarations are part of a broader pattern: Malacañang has issued more than a dozen local non-working day proclamations so far in 2026, reflecting both genuine cultural milestones and the administrative habit of honoring LGU requests during foundation-anniversary season.
For Filipino impact founders, the practical lesson is the same one we keep coming back to in our news pages: governance noise is the operating environment. Build for it.
What's next
We will keep tracking local and national non-working days that materially affect founders, supply chains, and frontline operations, including the holiday pay Philippines rules attached to each, as new proclamations land. If your venture has a permit, deployment, or community event scheduled in any of these LGUs, reach out via our contact page. Our team can help you reschedule around the calendar.