The city government is setting its sights on bringing back the love for reading following the launch of its first outdoor library at the Plaza Libertad on Monday.

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas led the launch by reading a story and engaging in a short interaction with children from various daycare centers across the city.

In an interview, Treñas said he noticed a stark change in children’s reading habits compared to the time before television, smartphones, and malls became prevalent.

“That’s part of development. But we need to bring back the love for reading,” he said, citing a Senate report on poor reading and comprehension performance among junior and senior high school students.

The mayor said he has been donating his pocketbooks to the library because he wanted people to continue reading.

“We continue to prepare the schools needed. We continue to train teachers through our collaborations with the Synergeia (Foundation Inc.), but unfortunately, the children don’t know how to comprehend what they are reading,” he added.

The outdoor library, which offers a variety of reading materials, will be open on weekdays and is expected to be replicated in other district plazas.

In addition to the outdoor library, the city government also operates seven barangay libraries—each with a daycare center on the ground floor and a reading space on the second floor—encouraging early literacy within communities.

“Iloilo City continues to support initiatives like this. These are interventions to bring back the love for reading,” he added. (PNA)