Check before you book

How many holidays fall inside your dates?

The Philippines has more public holidays than most people expect. We close for all of them and we do not run make-up lessons — so this is something to know before you choose your dates, not after you land.

18 fall on teaching days in 2026
We follow the government announcements
No make-up lessons

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Our policy

Plainly, before anything else

How holidays are handled is something you should know before enrolling, not after arriving.

We know this is not welcome news. But writing it here is better than letting you hear it from someone else after you have paid.

If your dates are flexible, read the full list below and avoid the months where holidays cluster. If they are not, tell us your dates during the consultation and we will count them for you.

The school closes for all national holidays and special non-working days
The same applies to Cebu City and Cebu Province local holidays
Lost days are not made up, and the departure date does not move
SOP has no additional holidays of its own — we follow the government announcements

2026

The complete list

Based on Presidential Proclamation No. 1006, signed 3 September 2025, plus Cebu’s two local holidays. Those falling at a weekend do not affect lessons and are marked accordingly.

Date	Holiday	Type	Effect
1 January (Thu)	New Year's Day	Regular holiday	Closed
17 February (Tue)	Chinese New Year	Special non-working	Closed
24 February (Tue)	Cebu City Charter Day	Cebu City local	Closed
25 February (Wed)	EDSA People Power Anniversary	Special working day	Classes as usual
2 April (Thu)	Maundy Thursday	Regular holiday	Closed
3 April (Fri)	Good Friday	Regular holiday	Closed
4 April (Sat)	Black Saturday	Special non-working	Falls at a weekend
9 April (Thu)	Araw ng Kagitingan	Regular holiday	Closed
1 May (Fri)	Labour Day	Regular holiday	Closed
12 June (Fri)	Independence Day	Regular holiday	Closed
6 August (Thu)	Cebu Province Charter Day	Cebu Province local	Closed
21 August (Fri)	Ninoy Aquino Day	Special non-working	Closed
31 August (Mon)	National Heroes Day	Regular holiday	Closed
1 November (Sun)	All Saints' Day	Special non-working	Falls at a weekend
2 November (Mon)	All Souls' Day	Special non-working	Closed
30 November (Mon)	Bonifacio Day	Regular holiday	Closed
8 December (Tue)	Immaculate Conception	Special non-working	Closed
24 December (Thu)	Christmas Eve	Special non-working	Closed
25 December (Fri)	Christmas Day	Regular holiday	Closed
30 December (Wed)	Rizal Day	Regular holiday	Closed
31 December (Thu)	Last Day of the Year	Special non-working	Closed
To be announced	Eid'l Fitr	Regular holiday	Awaiting proclamation
To be announced	Eid'l Adha	Regular holiday	Awaiting proclamation

Excluding the two that fall at a weekend, 18 holidays land on teaching days in 2026, with two Islamic holidays still to be announced. Verified 7 August 2026.

Beyond the list

Philippine holidays are not a fixed list

The list above was settled a year in advance. Three things are not on it — and all three can affect your trip.

Philippine national holidays are declared by presidential proclamation, usually a year ahead. The 2026 list is Proclamation No. 1006, signed on 3 September 2025: 12 regular holidays and 8 special non-working days.

First, the Islamic holidays wait for the moon. Eid'l Fitr and Eid'l Adha are set by the Islamic calendar and proclaimed separately once the dates are determined. This is not administrative delay — the official proclamation says so explicitly. Two holidays a year are therefore only fixed partway through it.

Second, Cebu has holidays of its own. Alongside the national ones, Cebu City and Cebu Province each have their own: Cebu City Charter Day on 24 February (Republic Act 7287) and Cebu Province Charter Day on 6 August. These are declared locally and never appear on the national list. The national government also declares additional special non-working days for particular localities during the year.

Third, typhoons and disasters are decided that morning. In the event of a typhoon, volcanic ashfall or flooding, the Mayor of Cebu City — who chairs the local disaster risk reduction council — may suspend classes on the advice of the weather bureau. Under Executive Order 66, a full-day suspension is announced no later than 4:30 in the morning of that day, and a suspension of afternoon classes by 11:00. In practice you find out the night before or that morning.

On 10 July 2026, ashfall from Kanlaon volcano combined with Typhoon Inday and several Cebu local governments suspended classes that day. This happens once or twice a year, cannot be planned for, and is on no list at all.

Choosing dates

How to avoid the worst of it

You cannot avoid holidays. You can choose around them.

December is the worst month

Five holidays fall on teaching days in December (8th, 24th, 25th, 30th and 31st). A four-week programme spanning Christmas and New Year can lose close to a full week.

September and October are clear

Neither month has a national holiday in 2026, making them the most complete teaching periods of the year. The trade-off is the tail of the rainy season, when typhoons are more likely.

April depends on Holy Week

Holy Week is the most significant holiday period in the Philippines; in 2026 it falls on 2–4 April. The country largely stops, and flights and accommodation are at their most expensive.

If you are unsure, just ask

Tell us the dates you are considering and we will count exactly how many holidays fall inside them and how many teaching days you actually get. Nobody will push you to book.

Sources

Where this list comes from

National holidays: Philippine Presidential Proclamation No. 1006, signed 3 September 2025. Cebu City Charter Day: Republic Act No. 7287. Class suspension timing: Executive Order No. 66.

Philippine holidays are re-proclaimed each year and dates can shift (a holiday may be moved to a Monday). The 2027 proclamation is usually issued in the second half of 2026, and we will update this page then. If the verification date below is more than six months old, please check with us directly.