Rody: Pinoy resilience will overcome challenges

President Duterte yesterday called for solidarity as he expressed hope that Filipinos would be able to overcome all challenges in the coming year.

In his New Year message, Duterte called on Filipinos to draw strength from what they achieved in the past year.

“It is my hope that we foster solidarity as we move forward in our pursuit of providing a more comfortable and productive life for all,” the President said.

Duterte said Filipinos are living at a time when their resolve is being tested by many trials and difficulties.

“Corruption, criminality, illegal drugs and terrorism have impeded our progress in the past year. However, I remain hopeful that our resilience will enable us to overcome and rise above these challenges as one nation,” he said.

“Let us embrace this coming year’s uncertainty with a glimmer of hope and remain determined in achieving our vision of a better and a more prosperous future.”

Duterte has described 2017 as a “Year of Sorrow” because of natural and man-made disasters that left hundreds of people dead.

“We will end 2017 with a bang of so many deaths of the Filipinos, ranging from carelessness to accidents, and the typhoons. There seems to be a sorrow prevailing in the country today and it was not already a good Christmas day for all of us, thinking that there are persons suffering,” the President said during a meeting of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in Tubod, Lanao del Norte last Dec. 27.

The President had expressed hopes that God would be kind enough to give Filipinos “a new beginning” in 2018.

Among the disasters that hit the country in 2017 were the Marawi crisis, Tropical Storms Urduja and Vinta, and the Davao mall fire.

The President is spending the New Year in Davao City and is expected to spend the first day of the year with his family, particularly his grandchildren.