MANILA, Philippines – All cities and municipalities all over the country should have library and reading centers with the latest technological equipment for electronic library services to encourage the passion for reading, according to Sen. Loren Legarda.

Legarda filed Senate Bill No. 1428 proposing to mandate the National Library, in coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), to establish 40,000 additional public libraries equipped with computers nationwide.

“At present, there are only 1,136 public libraries that have been established. This figure is only a fraction of the libraries that need to be set up in the 41,980 barangays and 1,618 cities and municipalities,’’ she said. (MBC)