MANILA, Philippines – In separate New Year’s messages, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte called on Filipinos to embrace growth and practice resilience in 2025 as new challenges come.
Extending his greetings to Filipinos across the country and the world, Marcos said he hoped for citizens to embrace the mindset of using the new year as an opportunity to learn from lessons of the past, and apply wisdom gained to better oneself.
“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 promises of tomorrow,” he said.
As an example, Marcos pointed to the string of calamities in the last few months of 2024, and the resilience it brought out in Filipino 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.
In 2025, Marcos said that Filipinos look ahead with renewed hope and optimism knowing that past experiences will bring guidance to a future with promise and purpose. In a survey held in December, pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS) found that 90% or almost all adult Filipinos will be entering 2025 “with hope rather than fear,” a 6-percentage-point drop from the previous year.
“Let us draw inspiration from the innumerable acts of courage, compassion, ang 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.
In a separate video statement, Duterte greeted Filipinos for the New Year with a similar message on resilience and hope.
“Ang taong 2024 ay sumubok sa ating katatagan, at humulma sa atin bilang isang sambayanang naninindigan para sa katarungan at kaunlaran,” said Duterte. (The year 2024 has tested our resilience, and shaped us as a people who stand for justice and progress.)
“Ngayong 2025, sama-sama nating harapin ang iba’t ibang hamon na magpapatibay sa atin bilang isang bansang patuloy na nananalig sa Diyos, at nagtutulungan para sa ika-uunlad at ikabubuti ng ating pamilya,” added the Vice President who wore a shirt in the lucky color for 2025.
(This 2025, let us together face the various challenges that will strengthen us as a nation that continues to trust in God, and work together for the progress and well-being of our families.)
Duterte thanked the Filipino people for their unwavering love for country, manifested by their hard work and sacrifices towards a better future.
“Magpabilin ako nga nahiusa kaninyo sa inyong mga pangandoy alang sa kauswagan ug kalinaw. Atung atubangon ang bag-ong tuig uban ang paglaom nga ang tanan natong mga kalisod ug mga paningkamot sa ngadto-ngadto, makahatag og positibong kausaban,” she said.
(I remain one with your wishes for prosperity and peace. We will face the new year with the hope that all our with the hope that all our hard work and effort will eventually bring positive change.)
2024 was a challenging year for Duterte herself as she ended the year with political attacks and three impeachment cases.
The top two officials of the country, who had ran together in 2022 on a platform of unity, went through a bitter breakup in 2024. The new year marks the midterm point of the Marcos administration, with elections in May seen to demonstrate the political strength and public influence of each camp. – Rappler.com
