MANILA, Philippines—President Rodrigo Duterte and Malacañang Palace have delivered a message of hope and love as Filipinos celebrate Easter this April 12 during the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

“The triumph of the risen Christ presents us all with hopeful assurance that, even as we face adversities, there is always hope of better and new beginnings,” Duterte said his message.

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“In this time of renewal, we are reminded of the grace that comes from selfless love that is able to transcend diverse cultures, faiths, backgrounds, and even circumstances.”

The President’s statement also called to imbibe the “message of forgiveness” of the Resurrection. “I trust that its message of forgiveness will inspire us to live our days with gratitude and humility, with further acts of kindness and charity to our families, friends and to those who are most in need.”

In a separate message, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo also said Jesus Christ’s resurrection “symbolizes the truism that after going through pain and suffering there will be healing, that after a storm a new dawn beckons, and that after this pandemic of a disease there is a new tomorrow that awaits us and the world.”

Panelo encouraged Filipinos to thank God “for sparing the rest of humanity who will, like the Phoenix, be reborn from ashes and build a new order of love and peace among mankind, coming from what it seems to be a spiritual cleansing that we are all undergoing.”

He also emphasized that it is timely too to heed Jesus’s call to “love one another.”

“‘Love one another’ was what the Redeemer had taught the Christian world, and this is the most fitting time that we embrace and practice this teaching, that even the non-Christians and the agnostics can relate. For it is only in loving one another can we protect each other from this scourge of a disease.”

With the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine, the Filipino faithful have had to observe the Lenten season and Holy Week inside their homes as churches stay shuttered in line with social distancing measures.

The Philippines has 4,428 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of April 11.

/MUF

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