Question & AnswerQ&A (PROCLAMATION NO. 108)
Proclamation No. 108 is a proclamation issued by then President Elpidio Quirino declaring Friday, December 31, 1948, as a special bank holiday in the Philippines.
The legal basis for Proclamation No. 108 is section 30 of the Revised Administrative Code of the Philippines, which grants the President the authority to declare holidays.
December 31, 1948, was declared a special bank holiday to enable banks to continue without interruption the heavy work related to closing their accounts at the end of the year.
The Manila Clearing House Association petitioned for the declaration of the special bank holiday on December 31, 1948.
The proclamation justifies the special bank holiday by stating that the adjacent dates, December 30, 1948, and January 1, 1949, were already public holidays, so declaring December 31 as a bank holiday would be advantageous to banks without causing public disadvantage.
Section 30 of the Revised Administrative Code grants the President authority to declare special holidays including bank holidays.
The proclamation specifically declares December 31, 1948, as a special bank holiday, which primarily affects banks and banking operations, though it notes that there is no disadvantage to the public in general.
The special bank holiday allows banks to pause regular operations on December 31, 1948, to manage the heavy work of closing accounts for the year without interruption.
Todoro Evangelista was the Executive Secretary who signed the proclamation by the President.