Undas 2026: November holidays and holiday pay in the Philippines
Undas 2026 gives the Philippines special non-working days on November 1 and 2, plus ASEAN days in Metro Manila. See the dates and DOLE holiday pay rules.
Why it matters
Millions of Filipinos travel and visit family graves over Undas, and the day type decides whether a worker who stays home or reports for duty is paid, and how much.
Filipinos get two days off for Undas this year, not three. November 1, 2026 (Sunday) and November 2 (Monday) are special non-working days across the Philippines, while Saturday, October 31 is an ordinary day. Metro Manila then gets three more days off, November 16 to 18, for the ASEAN Summit.
Quick answer: Undas 2026 runs on Sunday, November 1 (All Saints’ Day) and Monday, November 2 (All Souls’ Day), both special non-working days nationwide under Proclamation No. 1006. October 31 is not a holiday this year. Under Labor Department rules, staff who work either day get 130% of their daily wage, 150% if it is also their rest day, and nothing extra if they stay home, unless company policy says otherwise.
Undas is the Filipino name for the first two days of November, when millions of families travel home to clean, decorate and keep vigil at the graves of relatives. It is one of the busiest travel periods of the year, and every October the same two questions come up: which days are off, and what does a worker earn if the boss asks them to come in?
The answers for 2026 come from two kinds of documents. Presidential proclamations set the days. Labor advisories from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) set the pay.
Which November 2026 days are holidays in the Philippines?
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Proclamation No. 1006 on September 3, 2025, fixing the full list of 2026 holidays more than a year in advance. A second order, Proclamation No. 1447, added three days for Metro Manila only.
| Date | Occasion | Type | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, Oct 31 | All Saints’ Day Eve | Ordinary working day | Nationwide |
| Sun, Nov 1 | All Saints’ Day | Special non-working day | Nationwide |
| Mon, Nov 2 | All Souls’ Day | Additional special non-working day | Nationwide |
| Mon to Wed, Nov 16 to 18 | 49th ASEAN Summit | Special non-working days | Metro Manila (NCR) only |
| Mon, Nov 30 | Bonifacio Day | Regular holiday | Nationwide |
Source: Proclamation No. 1006 via PTV News; Proclamation No. 1447 via Philstar Life and The Summit Express, September 2026.
The proclamation explains the extra All Souls’ Day break plainly: it gives families more time for the traditional activities of both days. Because November 1 lands on a Sunday, most office workers with a Monday-to-Friday week will get a single weekday off, plus the weekend.
Why October 31 is not a holiday this year
Many online holiday lists still show October 31 as a day off. They are copying last year.
In 2025, Proclamation No. 727 declared Friday, October 31, 2025 an additional special non-working day nationwide, creating a long weekend that ran into All Saints’ Day. That order, signed on October 30, 2024, covered 2025 only, according to notices from the University of the Philippines Visayas and news reports at the time.
Proclamation No. 1006, the 2026 list, does not include October 31, and the Daily Summit found no later order adding it as of October 26. October 31 is a Saturday this year, so many employees will be off anyway as part of their normal schedule.
The Palace can still add a day or a half-day by separate order, as it did for government offices and schools in 2024. Check the Presidential Communications Office or the Official Gazette before assuming either way.
Holiday pay rules for Undas, according to DOLE
Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino issued Labor Advisory No. 18, Series of 2026, on October 12, covering November 1, 2 and 30. Labor Advisory No. 16, signed on September 28, applies the same special-day formula to the Metro Manila ASEAN days.
The figures below are the rates as DOLE states them, reported by the Daily Tribune and Human Resources Online. They are not advice for any individual case.
| Situation | Special non-working day (Nov 1, 2, and Nov 16 to 18 in NCR) | Regular holiday (Nov 30) |
|---|---|---|
| Did not work | No pay, unless a company policy, practice or collective bargaining agreement grants it | 100% of daily wage, subject to eligibility rules |
| Worked first 8 hours | 130% of daily wage | 200% of daily wage |
| Worked, also a rest day | 150% of daily wage | 260% of daily wage |
| Overtime (per hour) | Extra 30% on the hourly rate for that day | Extra 30% on the hourly rate for that day |
Source: DOLE Labor Advisories No. 16 and No. 18, Series of 2026, as reported by Daily Tribune and Human Resources Online, October 2026.
The rest-day row matters more than usual this year. November 1 is a Sunday, the scheduled rest day for a large share of the workforce. An employee whose rest day is Sunday and who reports for work on November 1 falls under the 150% rate, not 130%.
DOLE’s advisory on the ASEAN days says the same rules cover employees on flexible, alternative and telecommuting arrangements.
Who the ASEAN Summit days apply to
Proclamation No. 1447 was signed on September 17, 2026 by Acting Executive Secretary Ralph Recto on the President’s authority. It names two reasons: easing traffic and letting the Philippines, as host and 2026 chair of ASEAN, secure the safety of visiting delegations. The main venue is the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
The order covers the National Capital Region, meaning Manila, Quezon City and the other cities and municipality of Metro Manila. Outside the capital, November 16 to 18 are ordinary working days. A worker employed by a Metro Manila company but posted in Cavite or Bulacan should check which location the employer applies.
With the weekend, Metro Manila residents get a five-day break from Saturday, November 14 to Wednesday, November 18.
What changes at cemeteries for Undas 2026
Local governments and police set the rules for each cemetery, so they vary by city. For Metro Manila’s two biggest public cemeteries, GMA News reported these arrangements on October 17:
- Vehicles: barred from inside the cemeteries from October 29 to November 2.
- Banned inside: alcohol, smoking, gambling, sharp objects and loudspeakers.
- Tomb cleaning and repainting: allowed only until October 26 at Manila South Cemetery and October 27 at Manila North Cemetery.
- Police: the Interior Department and the Philippine National Police said they would double last year’s deployment of 50,000 officers.
The National Capital Region Police Office has also told station commanders to post officers at cemetery gates, nearby roads and transport terminals, and reminded visitors not to bring bladed weapons or other dangerous items.
The main gate of Manila North Cemetery, one of the busiest sites during Undas. Photo: Judgefloro / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Travel for the long weekend
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) had approved special permits for 1,131 provincial buses by mid-October, GMA News reported, and acting chairman Greg Pua Jr. told DZMM radio the total across buses, minibuses and vans was around 1,200 to 1,300. The permits run until November 5 or 6, and LTFRB staff may be posted at major terminals from October 30 to November 2.
Pua said operators must stick to the approved fare matrix, with fines of P5,000 to P15,000 (roughly $85 to $260) for overcharging, according to the Daily Tribune.
The Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX), the main gateway south of Manila, expects about two million passengers, terminal officials told reporters, between October 25 and November 4.
How Philippine holidays are set by law
The difference between a “regular holiday” and a “special non-working day” is a legal one, and it decides whether someone who stays home still gets paid.
Regular holidays carry pay even when no work is done. Article 94 of the Labor Code says every worker “shall be paid his regular daily wage during regular holidays,” and that anyone required to work gets twice the regular rate. The same article exempts retail and service businesses that regularly employ fewer than 10 workers.
Special non-working days have no such guarantee in the Labor Code. The 130% and 150% premiums come from DOLE’s rules, and the default for staying home is “no work, no pay.”
The list of holidays itself sits in Section 26 of the Administrative Code of 1987, as rewritten by Republic Act No. 9492, approved on July 25, 2007. That law, nicknamed the “holiday economics” law, names three nationwide special days: Ninoy Aquino Day, All Saints’ Day and the last day of the year. All Souls’ Day is not among them. November 2 is off only because the President adds it by proclamation, year by year, as Marcos did for 2026.
RA 9492 also lets the President move some holidays to the nearest Monday to create long weekends. Holidays falling on a Wednesday move to the Monday of that week, and Sunday holidays move to the following Monday. The law requires the President to proclaim any moved date at least six months ahead. All Saints’ Day is one of the dates the law keeps fixed, which is why it stays on a Sunday this year instead of shifting.
The original 1974 text of Article 94 shows how much the calendar has changed. Its list of paid holidays still includes July 4, a date later laws dropped.
What to check before November 1
- Read your rest-day schedule. If Sunday is your rest day and you are asked to work November 1, DOLE’s rate is 150%, not 130%.
- Check your contract or union agreement. A company policy or collective bargaining agreement can pay for special days not worked; the “no work, no pay” rule is only the default.
- Watch the Official Gazette for late changes. A separate proclamation is the only thing that could make October 31 a day off.
- Check your city’s cemetery advisory. Hours, vehicle bans and banned items differ between local governments.
- Metro Manila staff: mark November 16 to 18. The same special-day pay rules apply, and the days count only inside the National Capital Region.
