Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. expressed confidence that with continued caution and vigilance, Filipinos will surely overcome the Covid-19 pandemic and create a better future together.
Locsin said this as the country commemorated its 124th Independence Day on June 12.
"We have survived this far, and with continued caution and vigilance, we are getting out of this all together to create a yet better future," he said in a taped message.
"This Philippine Independence Day, Filipinos all over the world are called to rise to the challenge of a new tomorrow," he added.
Locsin noted how Filipinos strived to survive the pandemic over the past two years.
"The past two years have seen us weathering the worst of the pandemic. There was the challenge of staying productive and hopeful of running not to fall back, sustaining relationships, and preserving economies amidst health and travel restrictions that became commonplace," he said.
"While the pandemic is still very much with us, we have managed to get out of the lashing arms of the storm but not into its eye for more to come," he added.
However, he figured that if there was anything the pandemic taught, it is to "never underestimate humankind's capacity to evolve and adapt."
"We have seen this in ourselves, our families, and our communities," Locsin said.
According to the veteran journalist, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) did not let the pandemic stop it from cultivating foreign partnerships, securing much-needed vaccines, upholding the country's sovereign rights, getting overseas Filipinos out of distress, and sharply increasing already considerable consular services.
He likewise praised Filipinos abroad for courageously weathering the pandemic.
"We rose to the occasion. Even as our compatriots abroad tenaciously served on the front lines while supporting their families in the Philippines," Locsin said.
"Overseas Filipinos will always be a source of pride and inspiration. They are the subjects of royal honors, gratitude, and the admiration of foreign nations," he added.
Locsin said the DFA is privileged by the opportunity to serve, and its efforts bore fruit just in time for the May 2022 elections, an event he called an extension of the Filipino people's independence.
"Our endeavors and struggles have borne fruit just in time for our country to exercise democracy through free and fair elections with no restrictions other than those common-sense self-imposes," he said.
"The sovereign will of the Filipino people -- through free, fair, and unrestricted elections, an extension of our national independence -- found its fullest expression and produced a clear and incontestable winner," he added.