黑料社

MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The halls of Malaca帽ang were filled with laughter and excitement on Thursday as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. read a short story to 30 preschoolers.

He read the book 鈥淎ng Limang Tuta鈥� (The Five Puppies), written by Eugene Evasco and illustrated by Almar Denso. It teaches children to treat animals with love and kindness.

Marcos also brought presidential dogs Tequila and Lucky with him to bring joy to the children.

READ: Marcos approves fund request for child development centers

The storytelling session was held prior to Marcos鈥� witnessing of the ceremonial signing of a joint circular between the Department of Education and the Department of Budget and Management for the establishment of Child Development Centers (CDCs) nationwide.

In his speech after the signing, Marcos encouraged local government units to provide all necessary support for the establishment of the centers in low-income areas.

鈥漈o our LGUs, we need your full commitment to ensure the success of the project. You must provide our childhood development teachers and workers with the support and resources that they need while encouraging our community members to take an active role in the CDCs,鈥� he said.

At least 328 low-income barangays will receive funding to establish their respective CDCs this year.

Eighty-nine of these barangays are in Luzon, 106 are in the Visayas, and 133 are in Mindanao, including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

鈥淚n these centers, our youth can play, read, and study,鈥� Marcos said in Filipino.

鈥淚t can also be used as a resource center for developmentally appropriate learning materials and a laboratory for conducting research, data gathering, and innovations about early childhood. Through the CDCs, our children will have a solid foundation, which will in turn strengthen the foundation of our country,鈥� he added.