PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte called on all Christian Filipinos around the world to welcome Christmas with "stronger faith and hope".
Reports in Manila Times said he encouraged all citizens to never give up fighting the coronavirus pandemic and the devastation left behind by Typhoon "Odette".
"May we all be united in love, compassion and happiness to our families and friends, and even those whom we need to reach out to," Duterte said in his message to the public.
He likewise called on the people to "help each other to heal and rebuild", most especially those left with nothing due to the crises.
"This will lead us to open our hearts and our homes, especially for those who are most in need so that they, too, may have joy and hope while we work together towards better days ahead," expressed the President.
Duterte has promised to forego any celebrations during the holidays so he could better focus on steering relief and rehabilitation efforts in typhoon-hit areas in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Meanwhile, the Covid-19 positivity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) rose slightly in recent days, and the independent OCTA Research group attributed the rise to more people getting together during the Christmas season.
OCTA Senior Fellow Dr. Guido David reported in a tweet that the reproduction number in Metro Manila increased to 0.77 during the week of December 16 to 22, a bit higher than the 0.62 during the previous week.
It was also slightly higher than the 0.48 reported during the week of December 14 to 20,
"My interpretation at this time is that we are seeing a holiday uptick due to the increased number of social gatherings, and this is not a cause of panic," David said.
He added that it could also be because fewer testing for Covid-19 was being made during the holiday season.
The full situation will not be apparent until the first week of January 2022, David said.
David continued to urge the public to continue following health standards.