'Tis the season...of creation!

EVEN before September came rolling in, Filipinos have been joking about how close we are to the happiest time of the year when carols would dominate radios and colorful lanterns would light up our homes. On social media, "memes" of the iconic singer Jose Mari Chan abound, and he is often peeking from the screen, ready to sing our favorite Christmas tunes. Indeed the Philippines holds the longest celebration of Christmas each year with its commencement marked by the first day of the "ber" months.

But before we celebrate the coming of our Savior on that first Christmas night in a humble manger in Bethlehem, this month we are called to first sing praises for God's work at the beginning of time itself, when God formed the cosmos and brought into being all wondrous forms of life. In September each year, about 2.2 billion believers from around the world join together in prayer and action for the Season of Creation.

From September 1 to October 11 this year, we do the same, even amidst extremely unique circumstances.

Indeed, it would not be surprising if, during this time, anyone were to be overcome by grief and despair and if, for that person, celebration of any sort would be the last thing on his or her mind. We are in the middle of an economic and public health crisis, and what can possibly be described as the period of greatest loss and sorrow in the modern day.

The Covid-19 pandemic, however, reminds us how urgent it is that we reassess our relationship with Creation and how humanity has fared in the stewardship of it. Over the past months, many discoveries have been made linking the exploitation of natural resources and disruption of ecosystems to the emergence of new diseases, including this coronavirus. The consequences as we see them today are dire -- vulnerability of the marginalized to disease and death, loss of livelihoods, heightened poverty, hunger, repression, and many other forms of injustice abound.

As economies strive to recover from the recession that this pandemic brought, however, there is no shortage of what can be done for the environment. Solutions arise left and right which could not only address economic woes, but also pave the path for a more resilient, sustainable, and ecologically just future. The development of green jobs, advancement of renewable energy technologies, and

have to available almost the entire day for the entire week.

Despite all these challenges, our teachers should be recognized for never giving up and always striving hard to ensure that all his or her students are doing well.

Let us not forget how big is the impact of our teachers on how we develop as a person, and this we owe to all those who molded us when we were still in school.

Teachers, indeed are called the second parents of their students, and by this, they definitely are able to live up to this expectation.

For this, we should all be grateful to all our teachers.

September 5 marks the start of the annual celebration of the National Teachers' Month or NTM.

The NTM, which will run until October 5, is pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 242 entitled Declaring the Period of September 5 to October 5 Every Year as National Teachers’Month, as well as Republic Act No. 10743 entitled An Act Declaring the Fifth Day of October of Every Year as the National Teachers’Day and its Implementing Rules and Regulations and the designation of the World Teachers’Day every 5th of October by the United Nations Education and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO).

Happy Teachers' Month to all our dedicated and hardworking teachers!