FOR years, local social science researchers have stood firm on their assertion that most of Filipinos are not given to book-reading, especially non-textbook titles.
What a small group of alumni from the erstwhile Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Santo Tomas has observed may thwart that old pundits’ contention.
Last Sunday, December 4, the Philets Foundation organized a book sale at the Lung Center of the Philippines compound on Quezon Ave. in Quezon City. Proceeds of the retail auction will help finance deserving students who will take up journalism or mass communication at UST.
A cross-section of Filipinos are surprisingly enthusiastic book lovers and readers. They are attracted to a diverse range of titles. They can even be impulse buyers too. And each brought home copies, notwithstanding their second-hand condition.
There were hundreds of books – hard-cover and paper-back – all donated to the foundation that were offered for sale. The regular Sunday
tiangge has habitual army of patrons coming from the environs of Metro Manila.
Tents and booths hawk a long line of saleable merchandise: from food items, paintings and dresses, the books, Dagupan
bangus, and Baguio vegetables.
Editor Jullie Yap Daza who was chairman of the book sale event and her motley group of dedicated Philets alumni solicited the books mainly from UST alumni, friends of alumni, and "friends of their friends.’’ The donated books were packed in eight big boxes.
It took two trips of the van of former Information Minister Greg Cendana, chairman of the Philets Foundation, to haul them to and from the
tiangge site.
The Philets alumni holding the fort at the corner of a two-tent stall were surprised at the sizeable throng that surged to the book display from the time the entire
tiangge site opened at 7 o’clock in the morning up to 3 o’clock in the afternoon. What they discovered:
1. No specific title or topic was chosen by the majority of the book buyers (except those in some professional endeavors, e.g., agriculture, finance, or health care). They would snap up whatever caught their interest.
2. Many of the buyers were confessed book-reading fanatics, while some said they would open the covers during their weekend relaxation or leisure.
3. The stiff prices of brand-new books deter many of them from pursuing and sustaining their hobby. No, not one was a member of a book club. They were individual bookreading enthusiasts.
By the way, there was one heart-warming revelation by a youthful buyer who came early in the morning that Sunday to the stall.
According to Jullie, the young man who was beaming with excitement told her he had found a book that was an ideal gift to his 100-year-old mother. The title: "My Mother.’’
The members of the Philets Foundation who were manning the booth became instant retail salesmen, complete with irresistible glib-talk persuasion. For example:
Tony Chong had a ready answer to those who asked the sources of the books. "They were donated by some alumni and friends from their own private collection.’’
Evelyn Sebastian Peplow: "You are in banking, you said? Oh, here’s one book you urgently need.’’
Manny Azarcon: "Some of the books here are rare. You can find copies of them only in the Library of the US Congress!’’
Norma Quinit and Lalie Dua Garcia made use of their girlish charm to convince the already mesmerized young people to buy more than what they could put into their back-packs, while Menchu Bon, foundation secretary, was kept busy at the cash box.
There were some patrons who volunteered to donate a few hundreds to the Philets cause. Boy Lat and wife Tess, after handing
R500 for a few books they bought, decided to donate the change to the foundation.
Columnist Neal Cruz, aside from getting some titles, also plunked down
R500 for the fund-raising chest.
The Philets book sale was so successful, if they do a repeat, it will be a serious threat to other known used book dealers in town.
CHILDREN’S JOY FOUNDATION. In this Yuletide’s season, many are asked by a number of entities for donations to their projects. One of those truly deserving is the Children’s Joy Foundation which for the past seven years has been providing day care and feeding programs for abused, neglected, unwanted, and poor children.
At the annual Christmas get-together of the residents of Filinvest Homes II in Batasan Hills last Saturday, the homeowners were entertained by a group of boys and girls from the CJF. Barely six years old – the oldest maybe 12 – the hapless tykes delighted us with their talents for playing rondalla instruments and in singing Christmas carols. They performed some dance numbers too, the most applauded of which was
Mama, Yo Quiero.
These children, some were left in dormitories before being taken in as wards of CJF, barely had one meal a day. They certainly deserve everyone’s endorsement and support, especially this Christmas, which means so much to children.
CJF is accredited by DSWD and registered with SEC. Its address: No. 6 Brown St., Project 8, QC, with tel. no. 920-3272.
Go and give something to the kids.
