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In a few days, 2022 will end and we will welcome a fresh, new year. Many experts have expressed pessimism on the capacity of the country to achieve growth in 2023. They cited the risks to growth in the coming year, including inflation, hikes in interest rates — both of which are expected to dampen spending — and an expected slowdown in growth in advanced economies. There are certainly reasons to be pessimistic. But from where I stand, I think there are equally compelling reasons to expect a resurgence of optimism.

What a year it was. We opened 2022 with alarm as Covid-19 cases in the country surged again with the Omicron variant becoming the dominant strain in January. The Russia-Ukraine war broke out in late February, disrupting the global chain supply and sending world oil and grain prices soaring.

I want to wish my readers and the entire Filipino nation a happy and healthy Christmas! We deserve to celebrate a very merry holiday season after more than two years of lockdown resulting in muted celebrations of a feast, we are famous for. I also emphasize “healthy” because if there is one thing that this pandemic has shown us it is that we should take better care of our physical and mental health.