Hundreds of kids receive Christmas gifts from Marcos in Malacañang

Hundreds of children on Sunday morning received Christmas presents from President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in Malacañang.

With a theme “Balik Sigla, Bigay Saya,” the chief executive led the nationwide gift giving activity at the Kalayaan Grounds in Malacañan Palace, along with First Lady Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos.

Around 600 children living in communities around the Malacañang complex in San Miguel, Manila participated in the event.

In his speech, Marcos greeted the children a Merry Christmas, saying that the event was held to ensure that every child will experience the yuletide celebration.

“Napakasaya talaga at hindi kumpleto ang kahit anong Pasko kung hindi natin nakikita ang ngiti at tuwa ng ating mga anak, ang ating mga apo, ang ating mga kabataan,” he said.

(It's really fun as Christmas will not be complete if we don't see the smiles and joy of our children, our grandchildren, and our youth.)

“This is a very, very happy day for me dahil tradisyon ito dati pa, dito sa Palasyo. Gumagawa kami ng children’s party ‘pag Pasko para naman lahat nakasiguro tayo lahat ng ating kabataan sa buong Pilipinas ay merong Pasko, may konting party, may konting gift-giving, may konting palaro, at lahat ‘yan,” he added.

(This is a very, very happy day for me because this is a tradition here at the Palace. We do a children's party during Christmas so that we can be sure that the youth in the whole country will have Christmas, and that there will be a little party, a little gift-giving, some games, and all that.)

The gift giving activity was simultaneously held in around 40 locations across the country.

The gifts the children received were provided by private businesses, and government agencies including the Office of the President, Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.

In Malacañang grounds, inflatables and other children's entertainment activities were set up for kids to play.

The children also sang “O Holy Night” and were joined by Marcos and his wife.

On Saturday, Marcos also led the Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Malacañang, wherein he said that Filipinos remain blessed despite the difficulties that the country has faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. —KG, GMA Integrated News