MANILA, Philippines—With more and more people amusing themselves by surfing the Internet or tinkering with their iPods, cell phones or PlayStations, today’s generation has little time to read stories, much less poetry.

The National Book Development Boardis trying to counter that through “Tulaan Sa Tren” (Poetry in the Train), an innovative project that aims to reintroduce poems written by Filipinos “to a great number of people,” NBDB executive director Andrea Pasion-Flores told the Inquirer in an interview.

The main message of the program, Flores said, is to promote local authors and give the Filipino book industry a boost. Working alongside the board are the Light Rail Transit Authority, Optical Media Board and the Book Development Association of the Philippines.

Since Aug. 9, passengers of the LRT Line 2—which plies the Recto-Santolan route and vice versa—have been “bombarded” with poetry readings broadcast on the overhead train system’s public address system in its 11 stations.

And if the voices coming out of the speakers seem familiar, it’s because they belong to TV and movie personalities who have agreed to lend a hand to the NBDB project.

They include OMB Chair Edu Manzano, actor Romnick Sarmenta and wife Harlene Bautista, TV hosts Lyn Ching-Pascual, Rhea Santos, Miriam Quiambao and Christine Bersola-Babao; singer Nikki Gil, teen star Matt Evans and actress and environment advocate Chin-Chin Gutierrez.

“If you want to reach out to people, the celebrities are a good way to get your message across,” Flores said.
“When you see Edu holding the book Latay Sa Isipan (a collection of Filipino poems), it sends a message to us. He’s actually telling us to read Latay.” The book was chosen by Manzano himself, she added.

The poems picked for the project include Amado V. Hernandez’s “Ang Langgam,” Bienvenido Lumbera’s “Voyagers on Recto,” Jose F. Lacaba’s “Awit sa Ilog Pateros,” Rene O. Villanueva’s “Kay Sarap Magbasa” and Virgilio “Rio Alma” Almario’s “Ang Ilog.”

Flores said the poems paint varied pictures of Metro Manila—how it is to live in its complexity, amidst beauty and ugliness, and trying to keep your dignity despite living in misery.

“These poems show a lot of things which we want people to see,” she added. “When you ride the train … when you read the poems, it gives you something that is not found in ordinary life.”

Everyday, passengers are treated to 30-minute doses of pre-recorded poetry readings at 8 a.m., 12 p.m., 4 pm. and 7 p.m.

“I read Pinoy!” Manzano tells listeners before he reads Jose Garcia Villa’s “To A Lady Going to Antipolo” or Gemino Abad’s “I Teach My Child.”

Allain Russ Dimzon’s “Inday Diutay,” on the other hand, comes to life with the animated interpretation of Gutierrez.

For passengers who prefer poems written in Filipino compared to those written in English, there is Sarmenta’s solemn rendition of Jose Corazon de Jesus’ “Ang Tren.”

“In the case of Matt Evans, I learned during the recording session that he reads books about Philippine ghost stories. It’s good that he’s reading stuff like this at his age,” Flores said of the 19-year-old product of ABS-CBN’s reality show, “Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition.”

In a text message to the Inquirer, Quiambao said she felt honored to be involved in a project that promotes Pinoy culture.

“Although I have my own poetry collection and I write poems myself as a form of expression, it’s my first time to be exposed to this literary art form. I have to say that I have a better appreciation now for poetry reading,” said one of the hosts of Q Channel 11’s “The Beat,” a public affairs program on television.

Pictures of the celebrity readers with their favorite Filipino books are displayed inside three of LRT Line 2’s trains for people not content with just listening to their voices.

So far, response to the program has been positive, with some teachers of Philippine literature expressing interest in getting copies of the pre-recorded poetry readings.

“They are asking us if copies in compact discs are available for sale. A lot of people have been making inquiries,” said LRTA press relations chief Evelyn Paragas.

She said the positive feedback was probably due to the celebrities’ “cool-and-pleasant-to-the-ear” delivery.

Flores said they were in the process of recording another set of poems featuring more celebrities and books, good but not necessarily commercial.

“If you look at them, the books they are holding are not easy to push. Poetry itself is not easy to sell,” Flores said.