150314_National_Breakfast_Day_01 — Customers lined up as early as 6 a.m. to join the National Breakfast Day celebration.

MANILA, Philippines—McDonald’s treated thousands of Filipinos to free McMuffin sandwiches on March 9 during the celebration of the biggest breakfast event in the country—the National Breakfast Day (NBD).

150314_National_Breakfast_Day_02 — Alden Richards was present at the McDonald’s Roosevelt cor. Baler branch.

Close to 400 McDonald’s stores participated in the activity which started at 6 a.m. Each store gave away 1,000 free McMuffin sandwiches.

But apart from the free breakfast, McDonald’s also delighted customers by inviting celebrities to join the event. Among the personalities present in different McDonald’s stores during NBD were Solenn Heussaff, Lovi Poe, Rocco Nacino, Alden Richards, Drew Arellano, Matteo Guidicelli, Enrique Gil, Alex Gonzaga, Xian Lim, and Bianca Gonzalez.

Early risers

Most stores were able to serve all 1,000 free McMuffin sandwiches as early as 7 a.m.

This year, McDonald’s made NBD even more special by honoring the country’s early risers. These include PUV drivers, barangay tanods, traffic enforcers, security guards and public health workers. Each participating store gave away 100 more free Sausage McMuffin sandwiches to these early risers as a way of saying “thank you” for their hard work.

Asked why McDonald’s has been keen on encouraging people to appreciate mornings even more, McDonald’s PR and communications manager Adi Timbol said, “McDonald believes that how you start your day really dictates how the rest of your day goes. So if you start your day on a positive note and a great breakfast, you will really have a better day ahead.”

Energetic, happy

150314_National_Breakfast_Day_03 — McDonald’s President and Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Yang serves customers during the National Breakfast Day celebration.

Meanwhile, McDonald’s president and chief executive officer Kenneth Yang, a self-confessed morning person himself, said celebrating NBD with everyone makes him “very energetic and happy.” In fact, in the morning of March 9 alone, he visited six stores that participated in the NBD celebration.

150314_National_Breakfast_Day_04 — A customer poses for a shot with McDonald’s Chief Happiness Officer, Mr. Ronald McDonald himself.

“On our third year of NBD, the entire McDonald’s family is happy that even more Filipinos were able to join the celebration. We hope that both our customers and our early risers enjoyed the goodness of a McDonald’s breakfast,” Yang said.

NBD was simultaneously held in Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.