US embassy in Manila closed on Feb. 16, 2015

MANILA, Philippines – The United States Embassy in Manila on Friday announced that its offices will be closed on February 16, 2015, Monday, in commemoration of Presidents’ Day.

The Embassy and its affiliated offices will resume operations on February 17.

Presidents’ Day is an American holiday which honors the past leaders of the US. It is observed every third Monday of February.

“Until the mid-1970s, the February 22 birthday of George Washington, hero of the Revolutionary War and first president of the United States, was a national holiday. In addition, the February 12 birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the president during the Civil War (1861-1865), was a holiday in most states,” the US Embassy said in a statement.

It was in the 1970s that the US Congress institutionalized Presidents’ Day. Kristine Angeli Sabillo