Mayor Matt Erwin of General Luna, Quezon has granted a paid leave of absence to single employees of the local government on February 11, 2021.
“Pinapayagan ko kayo mag LEAVE sa February 12. Ilaan nyo ang buong araw sa paghahanap ng inyong forever upang makaabot kayo sa February 14. With pay ang leave nyo, kase naka support ako sa pinagdadaanan nyo. Ok? Lab u!” the mayor said in a Facebook post.
(I allow you to take a leave on February 12. Allot your whole day to find your forever in time for February 14. Your leave is with pay because I support what you are going through.)
“PS. Dahil holiday nga pala ang February 12 at Chinese New Year, maaari kayong mag file ng leave sa February 11. Mahaba-haba ang oras nyo para maghanap,” Florido added.
(PS. Since February 12 and Chinese New Year are holidays, you can file for leave on February 11. You have a long time to search.)
Florido said in an interview with GMA News that he just wants to ensure that everyone would be happy during this year’s celebration of Valentine’s Day amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The mayor of General Luna, Quezon added he rewarded their diligent single employees with the paid leave.
Also read: Quezon province COVID-19 facility opens
Mayor in Quezon grants single employees leave ‘to find true love’
In 2016, a survey conducted by Mastercard showed that Filipinos were the fourth most romantic lovers in the Asia-Pacific. However, they are less willing to splurge on Valentine’s gifts.
“The biggest discrepancies in spending are in New Zealand, Japan and India, where men plan to spend more than double on gifts than the women. The only markets where women plan to spend more than men are Sri Lanka and South Korea,” MasterCard said.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported last month that fewer individuals in the Philippines are getting married.
The number of registered marriages in 2019 reached 431,972, lower than the total registered marriages of 449,169 in 2018, the report said.
In 2019, CALABARZON recorded the highest number of registered marriages which accounted for 13.9 percent of the total. It was followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) (12.4%) and Central Luzon (11.8%). These regions were consistently held the same positions since 2016.