I don’t have any list of New Year’s Resolutions. Byt I started the Year of the Ox with something good. To my mind, I had to start the year with a good deed to others, with positive outlook, with a mission.

On the first day of January 2009, right after the festive atmosphere of New Year’s celebration, I packed up one (1) box of used books and other reading materials, some were old and some were not-that-old, for a barangay/ public library in Poblacion-2, Tiaong, Province of Quezon. The barangay chairman, Hon. Rodrigo M. Doromal, had asked me if I could donate my old books to his barangay upon learning that I would do so for Barangay Pitogo in Makati City. Without second thoughts, and in the spirit of public service, I agreed to his request.

Some of the books and reading material were my old stuff used during my college days in UP, while some were just my collection out of the many books that waited for the trash cans and the “basureros.” It’s worthy to  note that the barangay chairman has such initiative for his barangay in Tiaong. He was very eager for books for his library project, much willing to help the children and youth in his locality through learning and information. He has an advocacy for education that, I would say, an indispensable to every barangay and every local government unit (LGU) in the country.

Hon. Doromal is only true to his call of duty as the Punong Barangay. In the Local Government Code of 1991, particularly in Sec.389, the Punong Barangay has the duty to “ensure the delivery of basic services,” which includes the provision of basic facilities and services like an ‘information and reading center.’ And the barangay of Hon. Doromal has such facility for the benfit of the youth in his jurisdiction, and even beyond his area of responsibility. He shared to me that only in his barangay that one could find a library; there’s no other barangay in Tiaong, Quezon that has similar facility to speak of.

This project of Hon. Doromal is a great endeavor to encourage the community to read; to instill to the people, especially the youth, the value of education. Moreover, this is the simplest way to advocate and further instill the “culture of reading” amongst the children and the youth. Barangay library, public library, community library, reading center, or whatever term that applies to different localities, have a significant impact to the people and community itself.

Although schools have existing libraries of their own, public library in a locality is still needed to provide access and opportunity even for the out-of-school youth. Not all youth have ample access to the information and learning provided for by educational institutions. Through this public institution, even the working youth, youth with disabilities and out-of-school youth have open access to the world of knowlegde and information in every barangay in the country. Printed learning materials like books are still relevant and credible source of information, despite the advent of information and communications technology (ICT) in the form of the Internet. The absence of Internet in the far-flung areas, in the remote barangays, should not be a hindrance to achieve the goal of providing the Filipino access to information. Libraries can compensate to that; the youth must still value the attitude of reading books and doing reasearch out of it in a four-walled venue.

From that experience, I foresee a similar barangay or community library in our place in Nursery, Masbate and eventually in every barangay or municipality in my province. This would be a noble pursuit for the education and the youth sector in Masbate.

The future of children in Poblacion-2, Tiaong, Quezon, is in the right track. With a leadership that values education as a key to development, I am pretty sure that the local government itself would be gearing towards growth and prosperity- with human resources equipped with good education and proper literacy.

Kudos to Hon. Rodrigo M. Doromal and the Barangay Council of Poblacion-2, Tiaong, Quezon for a job well done! Mabuhay kayo!