Robredo tells kids in Tondo story of ‘Digong Dilaw’

TALE OF ‘YELLOW’ BOY Vice President Leni Robredo tells reporters that she personally likes reading the storybook “Digong Dilaw” to children because of its “irony” and “representation.” —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday visited one of Tondo’s day care centers where she read to more than two dozen children a storybook, “Digong Dilaw.”

Although the title may sound politically discordant and catchy in today’s context, the book is 15 years old and is not about President Rodrigo Duterte, who is nicknamed Digong, or about the Vice President’s fellow “yellows.”

The President has often accused the yellows — the political opposition, specifically the Liberal Party — of constantly trying to sabotage his administration.

“Digong Dilaw” is the story of Digo, a lazy boy who is so enamored of the color yellow that he only ate food that are of the same color.

A spirit tells the boy to get rid of his laziness and start to eat vegetables or else he would suffer from the curse of turning anything he touches into yellow.

Speaking to reporters after the read-along session, Robredo said she personally liked the book because of its “irony” and “representation.”

‘Metro Laylayan’

The Vice President said the book had a “nice” story and offered a good life’s lesson for children.

First printed in 2003, the oversized illustrated book was written by National Artist Virgilio Almario.

Robredo went to Tondo’s Barangay 58 as part of her “Metro Laylayan” program to visit the poorest communities in Metro Manila.

She met with recipients of her office’s propoor projects and held the read-along session with about 30 children.

The Vice President, however, clarified that she did not pick the book herself.

‘Dubredo Army’

“It was handed over to me by the ‘Dubredo Army,’” she said, referring to supporters of a Duterte-Robredo tandem.

“They were the ones who were supposed to read the book. When I entered, the session had not yet started, and so the role [of reader] was passed on to me,” Robredo said.

At one point, she stopped flipping through the pages of the book and asked the children: “Who among you here like the color yellow?”

A number of them raised their hands, and responded loudly, “Me!”

It was the second time that Robredo read the same book to children. Last year, she was reported to have read it during the unveiling of a mini-library in Camarines Sur, her home province.