2 celebrities to grace reading session

CNN Hero of the Year for 2009 Efren Peñaflorida and Chin-Chin Gutierrez are among the public figures who will be invited as readers in the story-telling session at People's Park reading center.

Councilor Ma. Belen Sunga Acosta said inviting celebrity guests to read to children is among the strategies to be taken by the government and private sector effort to promote reading in the city.

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"Celebrity guests, who children and the people look up to, will become very good examples and a source of inspiration to the city, especially to the young ones who are our future," Acosta said during Thursday's I-Speak media forum.

The reading program in the park, which launched on Friday, would hold reading sessions to children every Saturday at 4 p.m., said Acosta, chair of City Council committee on education, culture, and science and technology.

"Iba kasi yung effect sa bata pag nakita niya yung ini-idulo niya na nagbabasa. Talagang tatatak yan sa utak nila yung values na daladala ng pagbabasa at matututo at nag-eenjoy pa silang kasama ng mga magiging celebrity guests," Acosta said.

The said program is dubbed "Love Ko ang Libro" under the "Happy Reader, Future Leader" of the local government, in partnership with the Department of Education, Bantay Bata 163, and Rotary Club, among others.

Acosta said the reading sessions at the People's Park is one of a kind in the country as it was rare that the government provide the reading sessions in partnership with the private sector.

"Hindi man mababa ang literacy rate natin dito sa city, we still prioritize yung important ng reading. Ang literacy rate kasi it's on the function, it's whether a person can read or write," she said.

"What the reading center embodies is the ideal na masarap magbasa ng libro. That it's fun to learn and you can relax while reading. That's what the park provides. You can enjoy the scenery and at the same time absorb new knowledge," Acosta said.

Acosta also mentioned TV personality Christine "Tin-Tin" Bersola and fellow media practitioner Alan Abais as among the list of guests who will be invited to read on Saturdays.

Acosta, who heads the literacy effort of the government, was hailed last March 12 as among the Top 10 Outstanding Councilors in the country for 2009 by the Junior Chamber International Philippines, in partnership with the Office of Senator Edgardo Angara and the Philippine Councilor’s League.