{"id":240767,"date":"2019-12-24T13:42:25","date_gmt":"2019-12-24T18:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=240767"},"modified":"2019-12-24T13:49:45","modified_gmt":"2019-12-24T18:49:45","slug":"prrds-christmas-message-be-kind-helpful-to-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/12\/24\/prrds-christmas-message-be-kind-helpful-to-others\/","title":{"rendered":"PRRD’s Christmas message: Be kind, helpful to others"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte at the Malaca\u00f1an Palace on November 28, 2019. TOTO LOZANO\/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 A day before the entire nation celebrates Christmas, President Rodrigo R. Duterte encourages Filipinos to be an inspiration to others by showing kindness to everyone, especially the needy and disadvantaged members of the society.<\/div>\n
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Duterte made the call as he joined the Christian faithful in observing the \u201cjoyous occasion\u201d of Christmas.<\/div>\n
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The Chief Executive said Jesus\u2019 birth, which is commemorated every December 25, should serve as a reminder of the \u201ctrue meaning of love, grace, and selflessness to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we remember the true meaning of this solemn festivity, may we emulate Christ’s empathy and kindness by opening our heart and extending our hands to everyone, especially to those who are less fortunate, and sharing with them the bounty and blessings we have received in the past year,\u201d Duterte said in his message on Tuesday. \u201cThis season is a perfect time, not only to partake in our traditions, but also to reflect on the importance of family as the center of our celebration.”<\/p>\n

Duterte, through Proclamation 555 signed in August last year, declared December 24 and 25 this year as special non-working and regular holidays, respectively, to allow Filipinos to spend more time with their families during the Christmas season.<\/p>\n

The President hoped that all Filipinos would enjoy a \u201chappy and blessed Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also asked them to demonstrate even small acts of kindness, which he believed might contribute to a \u201cbrighter tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI call on every Filipino across the globe to be an inspiration to others through our small acts of benevolence. As we delight ourselves in the warmth of our loved ones, let us strengthen our bonds and deepen our relationships with one another,\u201d Duterte said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTogether, let us rejoice in Christ’s compassion and celebrate our shared humanity as we steer our nation towards a brighter tomorrow,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The President is expected to spend Christmas with his family in his official residence in Davao City without fanfare, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said on December 17.<\/p>\n

As part of his annual Christmas tradition, the President visits young cancer patients at the Southern Philippine Medical Center in Davao City every year.<\/p>\n

Duterte played Santa ahead of Christmas when he gave early Christmas presents and even a fatherly hug and kisses on the forehead to cancer-stricken Jacob Wong, 5, who visited the President\u2019s home on December 13.<\/p>\n

Earlier Tuesday, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar expressed hope that Filipinos would welcome Christmas with \u201charmony, unity, optimism amidst challenges, and hope for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

About 48 percent of 1,200 Filipinos were confident that this coming Christmas would be \u201cmore prosperous\u201d than last year, according to the December 3 to 8 poll conducted by Pulse Asia.<\/p>\n

The survey found that only 11 percent believed that this year\u2019s Christmas would be \u201cpoorer\u201d than last year, while 41 percent were convinced that it would be just \u201cthe same as last year.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2014 A day before the entire nation celebrates Christmas, President Rodrigo R. Duterte encourages Filipinos to be an inspiration to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":238714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-240767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-ruth-abbey-gita-carlos","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240767"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240770,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240767\/revisions\/240770"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}