MANILA: As 2023 comes to an end, Filipinos are welcoming the new year full of hope, a national survey has shown.
In face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults between Dec. 8-11, pollster Social Weather Stations found that 96 percent of Filipinos are entering 2024 with hope rather than fear.
Optimism was high across the country following a recession induced by the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-2021. The Philippine national economy grew by 5.9 percent in the third quarter of this year, outperforming other major emerging economies in the region during the period.
Filipinos are “by nature happy people, hopeful and resilient,” said Resty Aguilar, a retired government official.
But the economic recovery has also driven optimism in the Southeast Asian country, he said.
“I think Filipinos are hopeful because we just came out of the pandemic and … economic activity has already improved compared with the past year,” Aguilar told Arab News.
“No matter how difficult the situation is, we will always stand up and move forward again. Filipinos are also happy people. Despite a very sad situation, even during the pandemic, Filipinos still find a way to be happy and make others laugh.”
The population was “in the dark” during the COVID-19 pandemic, but now people are starting to have “real fun again,” journalist John Eric Mendoza told Arab News.
“I think that’s the general sentiment overall; there’s a sense of optimism among the people.”
The past year was a good one for the 25-year-old, and he is optimistic about what the next 12 months will bring.
“My life is in order, so I would love for this to continue, also for our economic recovery … I’m very optimistic because all of the signs point out that it will be a better year next year.”
Jenny Salvador, an employee at a Korean restaurant in Quezon City, is looking forward to a work upgrade in 2024.
“I am already up for a promotion. My manager has already talked to me about my promotion this January,” she told Arab News. “I’m very optimistic that 2024 will be a good year.”
Jonathan Medijo, a security guard who also works in Quezon City, said: “I hope we will be given blessings. I only want a happy life for my family.”
As for taxi driver Mang Oca, who lives in Antipolo, east of Manila, health was top of his mind.
“I hope that there will be no more disease like the COVID-19 and that my family will always be healthy,” he said. “I hope that there will be more blessings for my family. Life is tough, that’s a fact, but I never lose hope.”
