araw ng pagbasa

Press Releaseaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa President Aquino to lead nation in reading President Benigno S. Aquino III will lead the nation in reading on November 27. He will read a story to pupils of a Quezon City public elementary school. This is to celebrate araw ng pagbasa, the official culminating activity of the National Reading Month (of November). The event highlights the month-long celebration aimed at promoting the love for reading. It is conducted through simultaneous storytelling sessions. This is the second year that araw ng pagbasa will be celebrated nationwide, after the Department of Education declared it as the culminating activity of the National Reading Month last year. In its new memorandum, Memorandum No. 182, s. 2012, DepEd renewed calls to emphasize the value of reading. The Department also enjoins all schools to initiate activities that would support this goal. The declaration of November as National Reading Month with araw ng pagbasa as its culminating activity is in line with President Aquinos Ten Point Education Agenda that promotes the Every Child a Reader Program (ECARP)1. The date, November 27, is also very special as it commemorates the birth anniversary of the late Senator Benigno Ninoy Aquino, Jr. who, himself, was a voracious reader. araw ng pagbasa draws inspiration from the life of Ninoy who found hope and inspiration in books and letters from his family during the dark years of his incarceration at Laur, Nueva Ecija. araw ng pagbasa started in 2008 as a district-initiative of Rep. Jorge Bolet Banal (3rd District, Quezon City) when he was City Councilor. In 2009, the Quezon City Council passed Resolution No. 332, S-2009, making the event a city-wide celebration. In 2011, the Department of Education made araw ng pagbasa the culminating activity of the National Reading Month, pursuant to Memorandum No. 244, s. 2011. House Bill No. 3877, currently pending second reading in the Senate, aims to declare November 27 as a regular working holiday to be called araw ng pagbasa. President Aquinos participation marks a milestone in the history of araw ng pagbasa. This will give utmost significance to the event as it spreads the message of empowerment that one finds in reading, while learning from the lives of Ninoy and other eminent Filipinos.

For more information, kindly visit the Araw ng Pag(b)asa Official Fanpage at www.facebook.com/arawngpagbasa2012. For inquiries, please contact Miguel Estrada of the Office of Rep. Banal at (02) 931-5988 or 09328700019.
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Department of Education Memorandum No. 182, s. 2012 (page 1)