Phl seeks pencil record
The Philippines attempted yesterday to beat Germany’s Guinness World Record for the longest line of pencils in connection with the celebration of the 24th National Children’s Month.
Council for the Welfare of Children ( CWC) spokesperson Celaine Cabrera said Staedtler Mars GmbH and Co. KG in Nuremberg,
Germany got the record of the longest line of pencils at 459.97 meters on Aug. 5, 2015.
But yesterday, more than 2,000 Filipino youths aged 14 to 17 challenged Germany’s record, forming a giant line of pencils measuring 858.76 meters.
Cabrera said the youths formed two lines at the seaside of the SM Mall of Asia at around 7 a.m., with each participant holding four pencils.
The CWC, National Youth Commission (NYC) and Department of Social Welfare and Development ( DSWD) organized the initiative to raise awareness on quality education for children, especially those in remote villages.
“We mobilized millions of pencils for the children and then we wanted to call the attention of the public that if you have spare pencils or something to donate, we can give them to those who are in need, especially in far-flung areas,” Cabrera said.
The CWC, DSWD and NYC gathered 3,337,521 pencils during their campaign, much higher than their one-million target.
Meanwhile, Marie Joy Degui, deputy executive director for CWC, said they will submit documentation of the event to Guinness.
She said they wanted to invite Guinness officials, but the plan did not push through due to financial constraints.
She added that it would take a month for Guinness to evaluate the documents before getting a status of the Philippines’ attempt to break the record on the longest line of pencils.
In the absence of representatives from Guinness, the CWC, NYC and DSWD invited Brig. Gen. Jose Antonio Carlos of the AFP Human Rights Office and Bulacan Rep. Linabelle Ruth Villarica as independent observers.
Engineers Arnel Raios and Willie Nage from the Land Registration Authority served as surveyors.
Significant move
DSWD Undersecretary for institutional development group Angelita GregorioMedel said the attempt for a world record is a significant move for them because this will help raise awareness on the government’s advocacy for the right education of Filipino children.
Cabrera explained that the NYC, CWC and the DSWD have decided to focus on education in this year’s National Children’s Month since the government has concentrated on child protection for the longest time.