‘Inqspot-ted’ for the second year
Students of some 40 schools in Luzon and Mindanao continue to enjoy the opportunity to read the Inquirer every day and keep abreast of developments and issues that may affect their present and future.
For the second year, the Maynilad Water Services Inc., Representatives Jorge “Bolet” Banal Jr. of Quezon City’s third district and Maria Isabel “Beng” Climaco of Zamboanga City’s first district, and Mayor Jose Enrique “Joet” Garcia III of Balanga, capital of Bataan, have bought Inquirer subscriptions so students in beneficiary schools can continue to develop the habit of reading the daily newspaper, not only to promote literacy but also to prepare future citizens for their duties and responsibilities.
The sponsors donate five copies of the newspaper to each of their chosen schools five days a week for the whole school year. The newspapers are kept in a specific place, dubbed the Inquirer Learning Corner (ILC), where they are easily accessible to students. Each school assigns a teacher to manage the ILC.
Garcia, who has the distinction of being the first to get into the ILC bandwagon last year, explained his decision to continue his sponsorship of an Inqspot in one Balanga school. “Students learn and understand better (when they are aware of) real-life news or situations. They are able to relate lessons in class with specific or concrete examples happening in our country and the world.”
The mayor seems to be so impressed by how the ILC has helped students in his municipality that he has persuaded his brother, Rep. Albert Garcia of Bataan’s second district, to sponsor subscriptions for four schools in his district.
Banal, who started the project last school year when he was still a city councilor running for his current post, said, “I decided to continue the project to inspire the youth to read and learn and aspire. We’re doing this project in all of our (QC District 3) seven public high schools (with a) total student population of about 13,500.”
Climaco, a former high school English literature teacher, said she participated in the ILC project because “reading is learning and it is only when you read and read and read that you learn about our world.”
Climaco said she appreciated the value of reading when she was a high-school teacher. “It made me realize that when you read, you get a better understanding of how things are and it brings you to places without really having to leave. More than ever, I believe that reading is irreplaceable.”
Climaco has set up Inqspots in 37 barangays (villages) and 13 national high schools in her district.
Maynilad is once again donating to 17 public elementary and high schools in its concession area, the west zone of the Greater Metro Manila area, which includes parts of Cavite.
Vital information
A new memorandum of agreement for the donation was signed between Inquirer president Sandy Prieto Romualdez and Maynilad president and chief executive officer Victorico Vargas at Batasan Hills National High School in Quezon City, one of the beneficiaries.
Vargas said, “We renewed our partnership with Inquirer because we believed in the program and saw how valuable it was to our beneficiary schools. In the same way that we are striving to provide the children in our concession area with access to clean water, we’d also like to provide them with access to vital information.”
The other recipients of free newspapers from Maynilad are Caloocan City High School, Legarda Elementary School in Manila, Pasay City High School, West San Antonio Elementary School in Parañaque City, CAA Elementary School in Las Piñas City, Muntinlupa National High School, Gen. T. de Leon Elementary School in Valenzuela City, Navotas Municipal High School, Tinajeros National High School in Malabon City, and Palanan Elementary School in Makati City; and Cavite’s Ladislao Diwa Elementary School, Bacoor Elementary School (Central), Malagasang 2 Elementary School, Rosario Central Elementary School, Binakayan Elementary School and Noveleta Central Elementary School.
The 17 schools have a combined student population of more than 80,000.
