Interacting with the Participants to the Division Cluster Read-A-Thon

The Local Chief Executive has requested me to welcome in his behalf the participants to the Division Cluster Read-A-Thon and Annual Language Fest Competition comprising the Districts of Balete, Banga, Libacao and Madalag. The event was held on November 17, 2010 at the Balete Elementary School, Balete, Aklan. Hereunder is the message I delivered during the said event.

Good morning!

In behalf of Mayor Bobby Calizo and the Baleten-on community, I welcome you all to our peaceful and enchanting town. We are honored to host this year’s Division Cluster Read-A-Thon covering the mentioned Districts. I have with me some reading materials. The first is a news article taken from the Inquirer.net under the category, “Breaking News/Nation” entitled, “15 LGUs receive ‘good housekeeping’ award.” Allow me to read to you a portion of it. (pls. follow this link…)

The second is the “Hala Birada News Weekly” dated November 4-10, 2010. One of its headlines read: Aklan town one of RP’s ‘good housekeeping’ awardees. Again, allow me to read to you its opening statement…"The town of Balete...made it to the exclusive circle of 15 lgus in the country as a 'good housekeeping awardee.'...As an awardee, (it) qualifies to avail of the Performance Challenge Fund..."

The third reading material I’m going to share with you is an article taken from a blog entitled, “By the Jal-o River” at www.a-river-called-jal-o.blogspot.com. The article “Savoring the Aromatic Seal of Good Housekeeping Award” explains how Balete made it to the top 15 LGUs in the country.

These funds will enable us to finance the programs and projects we have identified in our joint Executive Legislative Agenda of which DepEd Balete has actively participated during our month-long workshop last July 2010. The Local Government of Balete has always prioritized education as one of its flagship programs. Despite our being a poor municipality, our people have now a complete access to basic education starting at preparatory up to tertiary level. Our library, though modest it is, is accredited by the National Library of the Philippines. Some of the National High Schools have accessed to information communication technology and we have made the Town Hall wi-fi hotspot to facilitate communication and information traffic. We are doing these not because we are encouraging our people to be addicted to Farmville and Counterstrike. We are doing these things precisely because we believe that knowledge is the tool for conquering the future. We’ve invested much on educating our youth precisely because we believe that the real wealth of Balete is its people.

We support the “Every Child A Reader Program” of the DepEd not only because it develops literacy. Reading forms the child’s character—the child who is father to man. That is to say, to the child who is the hope of our fatherland. I remember seeing a statue depicting Joseph sitting and on his lap is the young boy Jesus. With his muscular arms outstretched around Jesus, Joseph is holding an unfurled scroll in front of them. Together, with mouths very wide open, they were singing the Psalms. It was a very moving portrayal of Jesus and the paternal care and love of his poster father. What struck me most was that this depiction shows one of the ways that the young boy Jesus came to know his mission in life. By learning to read the Torah or the Sacred Scriptures, he was able to ponder their deepest meaning—the meaning that he so well live and died for—and earned him the name above every other name. Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

It is with these thoughts then that we welcome you to Balete.