Marcos declares May 12 a holiday

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has officially declared May 12, Election Day, a special non-working holiday nationwide.

In signing Proclamation 878, Marcos said it was “to enable the people to properly exercise their right to vote.”

“Now, therefore, I, Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby declare Monday, 12 May 2025, a special (non-working) holiday throughout the country for the National and Local Elections,” the proclamation reads.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signs Proclamation 878 declaring May 12, 2025 a holiday for the elections.

According to the Commission on Elections, there are over 68.6 million registered voters for the midterm polls, including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao parliamentary elections.