Despite the heavy workload, responsibilities and duties, this opportunity as a public servant is what I am truly grateful for this holiday season.

Time flies so fast. I could not believe that a year has already passed since I wrote my first Christmas article in this space of Daily Tribune. Within that timeframe, a lot has definitely happened.

Christmas, as always, is a time of giving and a time of love but more importantly, a time to be grateful. This year, it is apt for me to write in this column what I am thankful for.

I have to be honest, I was experiencing a roller coaster of emotions during this time last year. Was it a good decision to run in the Senate? If I win, can I create helpful legislation, do I have the abilities to lead the people, and serve them to the best of the nation’s expectations?

Today, I am serving the nation wholeheartedly as a senator. I am confident to say that I have won people’s hearts. I may have been a veteran in public service yet I was a nobody in the political arena. Most of my colleagues have years of experience and have served the country for a much longer time but, me? Who am I to be elected and placed third in the 2019 senatorial elections?

It was and still is an unbelievable, ongoing journey. And although I still have a lot to prove, my stint as a senator is one for the books. To my Filipino brothers and sisters, thank you.

More than just winning the hearts of the Filipino nation, what I am also thankful for is the battles I’ve won for the benefit of this country, and the people who have supported and helped me along the way.

Among other advocacies that I have pushing in the Senate, I am proud of the Malasakit Center which I initiated and was supported by the President himself, way before I became a senator. It was recently signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte. In effect, the Malasakit Center is now a permanent office that will help the poor, indigent and the sick Filipinos in their medical and financial woes.

I am thankful to all the people who supported this program. It was just an idea and we were swimming in unknown waters. The health care system in the country has always struggled throughout the years before this current administration but, me and the President have always been determined to address the problems that have plagued the country’s health system. Again, thank you!

On another note, the success of the recently concluded 30th Southeast Asian Games proved to the whole world that we can hold international events in this country with our world-class facilities.

It is also proof that our economy is indeed improving. And as the chair of the Senate Committee on Sports, the success of our athletes that made this country finish as over-all champions of the biennial sports meet showed that Filipinos can make it to the top.

Hence, to all the sports executives, coaches and athletes, I am thankful for your achievements. It is a confirmation of the efforts we, together with President Duterte and the rest of his Cabinet members, have put into the country’s sports program.

Recently, the Senate’s approval of salary increases for government workers especially for the teachers and nurses is a step forward towards realizing the value and hard work our nation’s workforce is putting to keep our economy strong and resilient. I am grateful for my colleagues who believe in the same vision I have for this country.

No amount of worldly things could measure to what I have been given. The trust the Filipino nation has given to me is something I will treasure for the rest of my life. And despite the heavy workload, responsibilities and duties, this opportunity as a public servant is what I am truly grateful for this holiday season.

Of course, there are many other things I would like to list but, it may fill the whole page. Nonetheless, what I won’t forget to be grateful to is the Almighty One up above who continues to guide me in this wonderful, challenging journey. He has given me so much more than what I could have hoped for.

With this feeling of gratefulness, I am more than happy to share whatever I have to those who need it the most, and hope that I create ripples of gratefulness among us.

Today, I am still writing for the publication and now, already as a senator serving the nation. There is indeed, a lot to be thankful for.