PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared November 7 of every year a special working holiday throughout the country to celebrate the establishment of Islam and the first mosque in the Philippines.
The President signed on July 9 Republic Act No. 12228, which designated November 7 as Sheikh Karim’ul Makhdum Day to commemorate the occasion and recognize the vital contributions of Muslim Filipinos in the development of the country’s culture and civilization.
Shariff Karim’ul Makhdum, an Arab missionary, played a crucial role in propagating Islam in the country and the establishment of the first mosque in Tawi-Tawi.
“It is the policy of the State to instill inclusivity to all regardless of religious beliefs, in line with the constitutional right to freely exercise and enjoy their religion. Moreover, it is the State’s policy to provide due recognition to the indispensable contributions of Muslim Filipinos in the development of Philippine culture and civilization,” the law stated.
RA 12228 is a consolidation of Senate Bill. No 1616, which was passed on September 16, 2024, and House Bill No. 10902 which was passed on February 3, 2025.
The President, on July 9, also signed into law RA 12225 which declared a parcel of land in Nueva Valencia in Guimaras as a natural park and protected area named as the “Taklong and Tandog Group of Islands Natural Park”; RA 12226 that declared an area in San Andres in Quezon as the Alibijaban Protected Landscape And Seascape; and RA 12227 which declared a land in the towns of Polangui and Oas and the cities of Ligao and Tabaco, all in Albay, as a protected landscape named as “Mt. Masaraga Protected Landscape.”
All laws were uploaded in the Official Gazette on July 15 and 16.
