MANILA – President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Tuesday urged the Filipino people to keep on showing compassion and unity as the country welcomes the 2022 Lunar New Year.
Duterte expressed hope in his Chinese New Year message that the year of the Water Tiger will bring the entire country “good fortune and renewed strength as we recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and other challenges that have tested our mettle as a nation”.
“Through our courage, faith, and determination, we have become more resilient and capable to build back better,” he said.
“It is my fervent prayer that 2022 will be a better year for all of us, in terms of wealth, health, relationships and progress,” he added.
Duterte also encouraged all Filipinos to seek more opportunities for growth and prosperity this year and to “become instruments of peace, harmony, and generosity to all”.
“As we look forward to the blessings of this auspicious occasion, let us continue to demonstrate the ideals of bayanihan and malasakit (unity and compassion), especially to those who are most in need,” he said.
February 1 marks the start of Chinese New Year in 2022, a holiday also widely observed in the Philippines, which is home to a huge Filipino-Chinese community.
Proclamation 1236 declares this day as a special non-working day.
