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Pacquiao enjoins Pinoys to read the Bible: Sen. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao enjoins Filipinos to “read the Word of God every single day” during a privilege speech he delivered Monday, January 25, 2021 in observance of the National Bible Day pursuant to Republic Act No. 11163. Signed in 2019 by President Rodrigo Duterte, RA 11163 declares the last Monday of every January as a special working holiday. “Today more than ever, our country needs the Lord. We are confronting challenges that we had not encountered before, and we cannot rely on our own strength and knowledge. We need God,” Pacquiao said. He cited a June 2020 Veritas survey which showed that 89 percent of respondents believed that faith is very important in the fight against COVID-19. Pacquiao said a Pulse Asia survey conducted in September 2020 showed that 51.8 percent of the respondents stated they became more religious during the pandemic while 1.5 percent of the respondents said they became less religious. (Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB)