Rody vows gifts: Food, jobs, safety

MANILA, Philippines – President Duterte vowed to create jobs, grow the economy and make the country safer in his first ever Christmas message as chief executive.

Duterte urged the nation to reflect on the significance of the birth of Christ, as he proffered an olive branch to all threat groups.

“The true essence of Christmas is, thus, built on the message of both peace and generosity. Peace remains as one of my main thrusts in governance. We, in the government, are walking the extra mile to offer the olive branch of peace to all,” Duterte said in a statement released on Christmas Eve.

“Generosity, on the other hand, is sharing what we have with the poor, the downtrodden, and the marginalized. As your President, I will bring food on the table; create more job opportunities; and make our people feel safer and more comfortable,” he added.

The Duterte administration has resumed peace talks with communists, three years after the negotiations bogged down because of disagreements over the demand to release rebel leaders with criminal cases.

The President has also vowed to work for a lasting political settlement that will be acceptable to all Moro groups to put an end to the decades-old conflict in Mindanao.

Duterte’s economic team is also planning to pull nine million Filipinos out of poverty by boosting agriculture and manufacturing and by investing in infrastructure.

He is hopeful that Christmas will serve as an inspiration in bringing lasting peace and in attaining inclusive economic growth. He also called on Filipinos to “join hands to build a peaceful and progressive Philippines.”

“Our celebration of Christmas is the world’s longest – a testament that we, Filipinos, are a peace-loving nation. Christmas is also a season of giving and sharing. This wonderful feeling is seen in the faces of our hopeful children, and reflects in the hearts of our loving and cheerful family members and friends,” the President said.

“I join the Filipino nation in celebrating this year’s most festive season. As we gather with our family and loved ones, let us reflect the significance of the birth of Christ. The Nativity story of more than 2,000 years ago is observed by the Christian faith as a season of peace,” he added.

Duterte said he wishes peace, order and progress for the Philippines this yuletide season.

The Philippines is a predominantly Christian country with more than 85 percent of the population adhering to the faith.

Santa to cancer kids

In Davao City, President Duterte played Santa Claus to cancer-stricken children at the “House of Hope,” a dormitory-like two-story building within the Southern Philippine Medical Center (SMPC) here on Christmas Eve.

The President has been doing these rounds for the longest time, never missing the chance to spend the holidays with sick children at the transient home.

The President brought holiday cheer to the children through food and toys, as he always did in the past years as mayor of Davao City.

The President hugged and talked with each of the young patients.

Dr. Leopoldo Vega, SPMC executive director, said the children always look forward to Duterte’s visit, even when he was still mayor and more so now that he is the country’s President.

“There is nothing new to it. He has always been doing that. Playing Santa to the children with cancer. That is the soft side of the President, as he also visits the ward section, where patients happen to be confined at Christmastime,” Vega said.

The President is a “permanent fixture” at the SPMC, visiting patients in the other wards of the hospital.

The House of Hope has served about 2,700 patients and 4,000 caregivers, since it began in 2007. The patients, mostly from outside Davao City, stay in the dorm-like facility and are provided each with two caregivers, who make sure the facility is kept clean.

When he was still Davao mayor, Duterte also converted a house in Villa Margarita Village here into another halfway house for cancer-stricken children in 2011.

The House of Hope also has similar facilities in Barangay Bangkal and in Tagum City in Davao del Norte.

Vega said the President looked elated to see SPMC’s new Cancer Institute building, which was inaugurated two weeks ago.

Vega said the President also promised to help establish an orthopedic institute and an eye center in the SPMC.

“We are working on making the SPMC come up with specialized services as we already have a Mindanao Heart Center and soon we will have other areas of specialization,” Vega said.

SPMC is Mindanao’s largest public hospital. – With Edith Regalado