Philippines: Duterte confident of a bright 2021 as country's case total nears 477,000

Passengers wearing face masks and face shields for protection against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) queue for bus rides going to provinces amid the holiday season, at the Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange, in Paranaque City, Metro Manila, Philippines. - Reuters

MANILA, Jan 2 (Xinhua): In a New Year message, President Rodrigo Duterte voiced confidence that the Philippines will sail through the pandemic and see "brighter days" in 2021 amid the global health crisis.

"The Covid-19 pandemic may have cost us so many lives and material resources, but we also learned so much from it. We realized the value of human life and our relationships with each other. We understood what it means to be a family, a community, a nation. We learned to share and to look after the welfare of our brethren," he said.