Maligayang Pasko at Masaganang Bagong Taon!

Christmas is here and the holiday spirit can be felt in every corner. In the midst of our preparations for the yuletide season, let us pause and ponder on the messages that the birth of Christ brings. Among these are peace, hope, love, giving, compassion, and humility.
The year 2010 has given us a new dawn of hope with the change in leadership in our country. As we anticipate and work towards meaningful reforms that will improve the lives of ordinary Filipinos, the best gift we seek this Christmas is peace. For without peace, the road to prosperity is faint.

In our world today, there is no promise of peace among nations or between disparate groups. However, we can engage in the "peace process" by initiating peace in our communities, in our workplace, and in our homes. These may just be small pockets of peace but they could bring out the best in each of us thus generating the positive forces to propel us towards progress.

This Christmas and beyond, let the spirit of peace reign in our hearts. In our daily endeavors, let us initiate peace by listening better to one another, by finding what connects us rather than what divides us, by rising above our narrow interests, by building bridges that allow us to focus on common goals, and by observing mutual and reciprocal respect for the individual nobility of man.