STORYTELLERS Weather anchor Kim Atienza shares a trivia about Inquirer mascot Guyito while Police Lt. Col. Jonathan Pablito reads the story about a Marine soldier’s bravery.
MANILA, Philippines — Children should talk to their parents whenever they feel down as they continue to face challenges brought by the pandemic, an Inquirer Read-Along ambassador advised students during the closing day of the virtual celebration of the 11th Inquirer Read-Along Festival.
“I wanted to read [to you] face-to-face because I miss you and I wanted to see you all in person … but this is our situation so just talk to mama and papa all the time whenever you’re lonely, whenever you’re sad, whenever you’re feeling depressed,” TV host Kim Atienza, who is a father of three, told students during the online storytelling session.
Atienza, who read “Mahal na mga Front-liner” written by Eugene Evasco and illustrated by Jan Rex Casiroman, said the COVID-19 situation was “not easy,” but “mama and papa are there.”
Before reading the story, Atienza gave a trivia about Inquirer’s mascot Guyito, which is a carabao.
“Why are carabaos always submerged in mud? Because they have very little sweat glands—almost nothing. And they have no way to cool themselves from the heat of the sun. So that is their way of cooling themselves down so they won’t overheat,” he explained to some 60 students who joined the event.
Saturday’s storytelling session, which was held in partnership with Metrobank Foundation Inc., sought to pay homage to front-liners as well as give hope and inspiration to kids who have been affected by extended lockdowns for nearly two years due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Front-liners as readers
It featured readers who also served as front-liners in their own capacities—weather anchor Atienza, Metrobank’s outstanding Filipino awardee Police Lt. Col. Jonathan Pablito and educator Dyali Justo.
The true story of Private First Class Nestor Acero, a Marine who died in 1972 during a battle with Muslim outlaws in Sulu province, titled “Ang Kabayanihan ni PFC Nestor Acero,” was read by Pablito, who is currently the lead strategist of the Western Visayas police organization and community transformation.
For Pablito, his proudest moment as a front-liner was when he took over as the Malay police chief and facilitated the departure of about 12,000 stranded individuals on Boracay Island when flight restrictions and lockdowns were first imposed at the onset of the spread of COVID-19 in March 2020.
‘Feed your mind’
Since the police have been tasked to enforce quarantine restrictions, Pablito said in an interview that he reminds his subordinates “to always treat people that you apprehend as if they are your relatives” and “to always understand an individual’s background.”
Justo, who has been a storyteller for Read-Along since 2008, gave an animated reading of the story “Patrolman Ngiyaw” by Rene Villanueva.
“Grab a book and read, read, read. Feed your mind because we can’t keep our mind idle. As long as we keep ourselves busy, as long as we are productive, time will fly by fast,” said Justo, who does weekly storytelling session for Department of Education’s online tutorial platform “ETULay.”
Four different schools—Patricio Jarin Memorial Elementary School, The Seed Montessori School, Barreto National High School and IAngel Learning Center—participated in the virtual session.
This year’s two-day festival, which carries the theme, “Celebrating Everyday Heroes,” was held online via Zoom and live streamed on the Inquirer’s Facebook pages.