EDITORIAL - November 2018

Editorial

Giving Hope on Christmas

Christmas is the time of the year when houses are filled with hugs and laughter as family members from all around the country or the world come home to celebrate with their loved ones. Parents, grandparents, aunts, or uncles arrive, and with them are boxes filled with presents for almost every member of the family. ‘Tis indeed the season for family gatherings and reunions, but it is also a time for receiving and giving gifts.

Shopping malls from around the country have cut the prices of their products because they know the pressure that everyone is feeling to give the perfect present for their families and friends. Many people want gadgets like phones and laptops while some wish for a car or other material things. In this day and age where expensive gifts are taking over the holiday season, one of the most important presents that we could give others is hope.

It is hope which lifts people’s spirits up when they are down, and it is hope which Jesus Christ brought with Him when he was born. Christian or non-Christian, the story of the humble birth of a child on a manger speaks to anyone because it is a story of hope. His birth, according to Pope Francis, “speaks of a different hope, a trustworthy, visible and understandable hope, because it is founded on God.”

Hope is something that every person needs. Children waiting for their OFW parents to come home on Christmas after years spent apart, students studying hard to pass their exams and graduate, and even men and women seeking employment need it, because without it, they wouldn’t have anything to look forward to. But what is hope without action? Hope is merely a driving force for us to keep aiming for the thing that we want most, a spark which ignites us to work hard to achieve our goals.

Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao is a visionary who makes big things happen because he hopes for the best for all Bayambangueños. Since first taking office, Mayor Quiambao has done so much for his hometown and its people. His administration has spearheaded countless events which were organized to help everyone, especially the poor, in town. He is called “Santa Claus” during Christmas season not just because of all his contributions to Bayambang’s development, but also for the gift that he has brought to all Bayambangueños: hope. He is helping Bayambangueños realize their full potential to make sure that they would have a better town and better future, not just on Christmas, but all year round.

Aside from intensive measures to eradicate poverty through the Rebolusyon Laban sa Kahirapan, the Quiambao-Sabangan administration has also made the country take notice of Bayambang. Paskuhan sa Bayambang Year III by Rosario Animated Display is now the biggest animated Christmas display in the Philippines and it is found at the Municipal Plaza. This gives Bayambangueños more opportunities for tourism as more people would come to Bayambang to see the spectacle.

Events and projects like these educate and uplift the spirits of Bayambangueños. The administration has exerted efforts to give Bayambangueños hope by opening up opportunities for everyone. But in order to succeed, Bayambangueños are the ones who should make the changes within themselves.

Hope can always be found within oneself. Sometimes we just need the help of another person to see it. This is why it is one of the most important gifts that we could offer this Christmas. Hope is something that we could give to our loved ones, or even to strangers, because we never know who might need it.

As Pope Francis once said, “Hope never stops; it’s always on a journey, and it makes us walk forward.”