Lauding the Chinese communities for their contributions to the country’s economy and culture, President Rodrigo Duterte called on Filipinos to join him in “profound appreciation” of the heritage between Chinese and Filipinos as a means to “further fortify the goodwill” shared in welcoming the Year of the Fire Rooster.
In his Chinese New Year message on Friday, Duterte said that the government shares the “joys and hopes of our Chinese friends and Chinese-Filipinos who have found a root and reason for staying in the country,” adding that the Chinese community had enriched the Filipino culture and history on their own.
“May all of us develop a more profound appreciation of our heritage as two distinct yet intertwined people, and further fortify the goodwill that we have shared over the years,” Duterte said as the Philippines and China has improved its bilateral relations under his administration.
He pointed out that the Chinese cuisine and philosophy has become familiar to the Filipinos and that the trade and investments of the Chinese community have contributed to the Philippine economy.
“They [Chinese community] have taken part in the economy by commerce and investments; their cuisine has been dearly familiar in many Filipino homes; their philosophy and attitude in life are a wellspring of practical lesson that all of us – regardless of nationality – can learn from,” he said.
He also noted how the Chinese New Year could mean the start of moving towards a desired end and concluded his message by sending his best wishes on the promising season of the said celebration.
The Chinese New Year – ushering the Year of the Rooster – was a special non-working holiday in the Philippines according to Proclamation No. 50 series of 2016 signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.
