Edited December 7, 2022

Mayor Danter Dexter A. Agatep, Jr. treated a hundred of his young constituents in Barangay Alannay to a storytelling and reading party last Saturday, as part of his 50th birthday celebration on December 4, 2022.

For the second leg of Natalged a Lasam Storytelling and Reading Caravan, Mayor Agatep also gamely dramatized the role of King Lion from the storybook Si Haring Kuliglig at si Haring Leon.

Initially wearing a full-face mask replicated from the Haring Leon storybook character, the mayor’s surprise appearance delighted the 50 Grades 1-3 participants in the morning with the Filipino version of the storybook, and another 50 Grades 4-6 pupils in the afternoon, with the English version.

The King Cricket and the King Lion is among the lavishly illustrated storybooks used in the Natalged a Lasam Storytelling and Reading Caravan. This is a “feed the mind, feed the body” program of Lasam-LGU geared towards the fulfilment of its goals for Academic Excellence and Access to Health and Social Welfare.

In his message to the participants and their parents after his storytelling segment, Mayor Agatep emphasized the still-important role of reading to enrich the mind even today. He then went back to the winning attitude of the King Cricket from the story he helped tell the participants.

While the ferocious King Lion and his four-legged cohorts were expected to win in the duel, he lost to King Cricket. This after the flying army of King Cricket outwitted the army of King Lion by getting them exhausted rather than immediately engaging them in a violent battle. The bilingual storybook was retold by Eugene Evasco and illustrated by Brent Sabas.

Ang Mahiyaing Manok, another storybook with striking illustrations also delighted the Grades 1-3 participants in the morning. The storybook was written by Rebecca Añonuevo and illustrated by Ruben de Jesus, a professor at UP College of Fine Arts.

Each participant of the Natalged a Lasam Storytelling and Reading Caravan gets to choose a storybook to read at home. He or she then has to make a short book report before passing the book on to a next reader, forming a reading chain.

Mayor Agatep then asked for the cooperation of the parents and teachers to help facilitate the book exchange among the young readers, and for them to take care of the books so that more readers will benefit from the program.

Dr. Lorelie Remando of the Rural Health Unit also gave some health reminders prior to the snack treat of Mayor Agatep.

Both the morning and afternoon sessions culminated with the participants singing the birthday song, with a final chorus greeting of happy birthday and thank you for the chief executive. #