May 12 a holiday for midterm polls – Palace

ELECTION PREPARATION. Teachers serving as electoral board inspectors conduct a mock voting session during final testing of automated counting machines at Baliok Elementary School in Davao City on Tuesday (May 6, 2025). The dry run ensures smooth operations for the May 12 midterm elections, with support staff verifying machine accuracy through simulated ballots. (PNA photo by Robinson Niñal Jr.)

By Darryl John Esguerra, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – Malacañang declared Monday, May 12, as a special non-working holiday throughout the country for the 2025 national and local elections.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, on the authority of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., signed Proclamation 878 on Tuesday declaring a nationwide holiday to “enable the people to properly exercise their right to vote.”

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) recently urged Marcos to declare May 12 as a holiday to allow registered voters to cast their ballots.

Filipino voters will elect senators, House members, party-list representatives, and local officials such as governors, vice governors, mayors, vice mayors, and members of their local council.