President Duterte assured the public that the country will rise again from the setback caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent natural calamities that rocked the country this year.
Duterte's short message was featured in the State-run PTV-4's 2020 Christmas station ID titled "Tuloy ang Pasko." His remarks were used to end the video aimed to uplift the spirit of the public this Holiday season.
In his short message, Duterte assured the public that the country will get back on its feet but asked them to always be prepared.
"Mga kababayan, maging laging handa. Babangon tayo para sa bayan (To my countrymen, always be prepared. We will rise up for the country)," he said.
The Philippines had its fair share of setbacks this year. The country first had to deal with the threat of a disastrous volcanic eruption at the beginning of the year.
Filipinos also had to deal with catastrophic calamities as 2020 neared its end.
One of the major blows the country experienced this year was the COVID-19 pandemic which entered the Philippines and kept the economy at a standstill for months.
Despite the threat of the pandemic still being present, the government decided to slowly reopen businesses to enable people to go back to work and help revive the economy.
It likewise allowed to ease physical distancing restrictions to allow the people to continue with their Christmas traditions like the "Simbang Gabi" or dawn masses that take place on the nights leading to Christmas.
However, the government urged the public to continue observing minimum health standards like keeping Christmas get-togethers up to 30 percent of the venue's capacity in areas under the general community quarantine (GCQ) to prevent the spread of the disease.