President Rodrigo Roa Duterte joined the nation Tuesday in celebrating the Chinese New Year, asking Filipinos to continue demonstrating the ideals of volunteerism and compassion, especially to the less privileged, as the country reels from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and other challenges.

“It is my fervent prayer that 2022 will be better year for all of us, in terms of wealth, health, relationships and progress,” President Duterte said in his message.

“As we look forward to the blessings of this auspicious occasion, let us continue to demonstrate the ideals of bayanihan and malasakit, especially to those who are most in need.”

“Let us look forward to more opportunities for growth and prosperity in the New Year and become instruments of peace, harmony and generosity to all.”

The year of the Water Tiger, the President said, is hoped to bring good fortune and renewed strength as Filipinos recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges that have tested the nation’s resolve.

But through the courage, faith and determination of Filipinos, they have become more resilient and capable of building back better, he noted.

Some experts have expressed optimism that the Philippines could gradually exit from the COVID-19 pandemic this 2022, but warned the Filipino public to be cautious given the virus’s unpredictability.

For the nation to soon get out of the pandemic, they suggested intensifying vaccinations in the provinces, especially in areas with low immunization coverage.

Aggressive inoculation was proven to be effective against COVID-19 as evidenced by the mild cases observed in Metro Manila especially with the emergence of the more transmissible Omicron variant.

On Monday, the Department of Health (DOH) recorded 14,546 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total active cases to 190,818, and an additional 26,500 recoveries.

The country now has 3,560,202 total cases of COVID-19 with 3,315,381 total recoveries and overall death toll of 54,003. PND