By Filane Mikee Cervantes/PNA
MANILA — Expect bigger celebrations in line with the National Bible Day in the coming years.
Senator Manny Pacquiao made this statement as the country celebrates the new holiday centered on the Christian faith and values found on the Holy Bible.
“The National Bible Day will be an annual celebration. In the coming years we will make the celebration bigger. We will invite and encourage our partners in the public and private sectors, as well as learning institutions, to celebrate in their own special way,” Pacquiao said on Monday.
“Bible reading can be integrated during the flag ceremony. There may be Bible distribution, Bible study, Bible quiz, and other creative ways of honoring the Word of God,” Pacquiao added.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte has declared the last Monday of January every year as a special working holiday, in observance of the National Bible Day.
Pacquiao, author and sponsor of the bill in the Senate, said reading the Bible religiously nourishes an individualm similar to how a “tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.”
Under Republic Act 11163 he signed on Dec. 20, 2018, the President recognized the value of the Holy Bible as the core of Christian faith, especially in a predominantly Christian nation.
“As a predominantly Christian nation and the largest Christian nation in the Asia Pacific, this Act recognizes the value of the Holy Bible as the core of Christina faith,” it reads.
The law emphasizes the policy of the state that the government shall aid and encourage the development of the moral character and spiritual foundation of the Filipino people.
It was passed by the Senate as Senate Bill 1270 on Feb. 5, 2018 and adopted by the House of Representatives as an amendment to House Bill 7544 on Oct. 10, 2018.
