DSWD Undersecretary Mae-Fae Ancheta Templa (middle) and Assistant Secretary Jose Antonio Hernandez (8th from right) join other government officials, officers of the Philippine National Police and representatives from the business sector as they present the pencils collected from the One Milion Lapis Campaign during the kick-off activity of National Children’s Month 2016 at the Bay Side, SM Mall of Asia.
Children line up to come up with the longest line of pencils.

More than 2,000 Filipino youth,  14-17 years old, achieved a world record as they produced the longest line of pencils measuring 858.76 meters during the kick-off activity of National Children’s Month (NCM) celebration at the SM Mall of Asia over the weekend.

Authorities are now preparing the documents to make this the Philippines’ entry to the Guinness Book of World Records (GBWR).

Based on the measurement,  the children were able to break the record set by  the incumbent GBWR holder, Staedtler Mars GmbH and Co. KG in Nuremberg, Germany,  on the longest line of pencils at 459.97 meters achieved on August 5, 2015.

The participants holding four pencils each formed two lines at the seaside of the SM Mall of Asia early Saturday creating a long line of pencils.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), and the National Youth Commission (NYC), together with SM Super Malls organized the milestone event to symbolize that writing is a basic right of the youth.

DSWD Undersecretary Mae Fae Ancheta-Templa and Assistant Secretary Jose Antonio Hernandez witnessed the event and expressed solidarity with other government agencies, non-government organizations and local government units in ensuring that children’s rights are promoted and protected.

On the other hand, CWC Executive Director Patricia Luna announced that the One Million Lapis Campaign initiated by the agency and partners achieved its goal of collecting more than one million pencils.

The pencils collected from the campaign will be given to under privileged elementary students in 4th and 5th class municipalities. The campaign  aimed to raise awareness on the need to provide quality education for all Filipino children, especially those in far-flung and  remote barangays.

“Nakakolekta tayo nang mahigit 3 milyon lapis, kaya’t labis-labis po ang aming pasasalamat sa lahat nang nag-donate at nakipagtulungan upang maging matagumpay ang proyektong ito (We were able to collect more than 3 million pencils, so thank you very much to all who donated and helped us in ensuring that this project turns out successful),” she said.

This year’s NCM theme is “Isulong: Kalidad na Edukasyon para sa Lahat ng Bata’, which emphasizes the importance of education as the key to the children’s brighter future. ###

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