Marcos: Filipinos remain blessed despite challenges

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said on Saturday that Filipinos remain blessed despite the difficulties that the country has faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Malacañang, Marcos said that he was happy to be part of the activity.

“I am very happy to have been able to do this tree lightning and it really is a different feeling dahil matagal na rin nating inantay ito. Kahit noong nakaraang Pasko ay medyo pigil pa, so tatlong taon na tayong hindi nakapag-Pasko na Pasko na kagaya ng Pasko ng Pilipino dahil iba talaga ang pagdiriwang ng Pasko ‘pag nasa Pilipinas ka,” he said.

(I am very happy to have been able to do this tree lighting ceremony, and it really is a different feeling since we have been waiting so long for this occasion. Last year's celebration was rather subdued, so it has been three years since we Filipinos have not celebrated Christmas as we desired. If you are in the Philippines, Christmas is really celebrated very differently.)

Moreover, Marcos said that Christmas was for the children.

“I always believed that Christmas [was] really for the children, and so we have done everything that we can to make sure that every child, every Filipino child, has a Christmas," he said.

“And that is something that I think is a good goal for us in this Christmas. Since we have been blessed, all of us, despite all of the challenges we have faced, here we are. We have all been blessed,” he added.

The ceremony was also attended by First Lady Marie Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos, Vice President Sara Duterte, former First Lady Imelda Marcos, and other members of the Marcos family. — VBL, GMA Integrated News