Reading habit

CHEERS TO GMA News TV’s State of the Nation with Jessica Soho for a feature report last Jan. 15 on the reading habits of Filipinos and promoting reading among its viewers.

The segment “Assignment Pilipinas,” shown near the end of the news program, featured the report “Nagbabasa ba si Juan?” (Does Juan read?)

The report featured “Youth Power,” a program that encourages children and students to read at least 20 books every year.

It cited National Book Development Board (NBDB) data showing that only 16 percent of Filipinos who read books do so for pleasure. The report further noted that there are only 1,124 public libraries in the country and only 42 percent of Filipinos know where a library is, despite a law on the establishment of libraries and reading centers in municipalities and barangay.

The report asked why there is a need to read, quoting NBDB executive director Andrea Flores as saying “(Reading) makes you a better human being.”

The news program also posed the question to their social media followers and posted some of the answers.