Question & AnswerQ&A (Act No. 2377)
The municipal council has the authority to fix and change the date of the local fiesta by a resolution passed by a two-thirds vote of all its members, considering important memorable events related to the municipality, province, Philippine Archipelago, or the Philippines' history.
A resolution changing the date of the local fiesta must be passed by a two-thirds majority of all the members of the municipal council.
A local fiesta shall not be held more than once each year and must be held precisely on the designated date unless postponed due to public calamities.
The date of the local fiesta cannot be changed before five years after it has been fixed, except in the case of weighty reasons such as typhoons, inundations, earthquakes, epidemics, or other public calamities, in which case the fiesta can be held on another date within the same year by council resolution.
The council must give preference to dates associated with important historical events memorable and worthy of being commemorated by the local community or the Philippines.
Cockfighting is regulated such that cockpits may be closed generally, but licensed cockpits are permitted to operate on legal holidays and for a maximum of three days during the local fiesta celebration; card games or games of chance are prohibited on cockpit premises.
Acts Numbered Nineteen hundred and nine and Two thousand and fifty-four of the Philippine Legislature were repealed by Act No. 2377.
Act No. 2377 took effect upon its passage on February 28, 1914.
It pertains to the authority of municipal councils to fix or change the date of local fiestas under certain conditions and to regulate cockfighting and related activities during the fiesta.
Weighty reasons include typhoons, inundations, earthquakes, epidemics, or other public calamities that prevent holding the fiesta on the fixed date.