Welcome New Year with hope, optimism

President Marcos has urged Filipinos to welcome the New Year with renewed hope and optimism as they carry the spirit of bayanihan or communal unity in achieving a new Philippines.

- By HELEN FLORES

Marcos said the New Year is an opportunity to "learn from the lessons of the past and apply the wisdom gained to better oneself."

"As we move forward into 2025, we look ahead with renewed hope and optimism, knowing that our experiences will guide us into building a future filled with promise and purpose," the President said in a message released on New Year's Eve.

"Let us draw inspiration from the innumerable acts of courage, compassion and bayanihan that we have witnessed in the face of adversity. Only then can we fortify the bonds that connect us, truly rebuild what has been lost and realize a Bagong Pilipinas where dreams flourish and every Filipino thrives," he said.

"It is our desire for our citizens to embrace this outlook and adopt an introspective and growth-focused mindset that balances the realities of yesterday and the promising future that we envision for our nation." Marcos said.

He said the past year had been filled with “incredible challenges” as calamities disrupted lives and communities.

“Reflecting on the resilience we have shown in overcoming them, it is crucial for our progress to esteem such moments as hallmarks of the extraordinary strength we gain through solidarity and perseverance,” he said.

Six powerful typhoons slammed into the Philippines in the latter part of 2024, leaving over a hundred people dead and billions of pesos worth of damage to agriculture and infrastructure.

A survey recently released by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed about 90 percent of Filipinos were entering the new year with hope rather than fear.

While the number remained high, it was six points below the 96 percent obtained in a similar survey in 2023, the SWS said in its Dec. 12-18 poll.

Expectations ahead of 2025 are the lowest since the end of 2009, when 89 percent said they were entering the new year with hope, the SWS said.