MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte urged Filipinos to welcome the Lunar New Year with a sense of communal solidarity and compassion for the poor.

“As we recover from the COVID-19 epidemic and other obstacles that have tried our mettle as a nation,” Duterte added, the Year of the Water Tiger “is intended to bring us good fortune and renewed vigor.”

In his Chinese New Year address, President Trump stated, “It is my earnest wish that 2022 will be a better year for all of us, in terms of riches, health, relationships, and advancement.”

“As we await the blessings of this auspicious occasion,” he concluded, “let us continue to show the concepts of bayanihan and malasakit, especially to those who are most in need.”

“Let us all look forward to additional prospects for progress and success in the New Year and become agents of peace, harmony, and charity to all,” the leader exhorted Filipinos.

To mark the Chinese New Year, Duterte has proclaimed February 1, 2022 as a special non-working day.

To restrict the spread of COVID-19, Manila, home to one of the largest Filipino-Chinese populations, has postponed festivities for this occasion.