Abstract This study aimed to develop a contextualized reading project to address the reading comprehension difficulties of Grade 9 learners in one of the public schools in Tarlac City. An explanatory sequential mixed-method design was utilized for the data gathering. The Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) comprehension test was used to describe the quantitative data or the learners' reading performance, and the researcher-made interview guide questionnaire was utilized to determine the qualitative data or the factors that affect their reading comprehension difficulties. The pre-test and post-test scores were compared using paired T-test. The pre-test results revealed that the learners performed average on the literal level and below average at the inferential and critical levels of reading comprehension. The results of the interview also revealed that limited vocabulary knowledge, inability to establish connection to the text, time constraints, and the difficulty of test constructions were the factors that contribute to the learners' reading comprehension difficulties. The findings were used as the bases for the development of the contextualized reading project, which was rated as excellent in terms of curriculum/objectives, text materials, and assessment; and very good in terms of instructional design by the set of validators. Project REAP UP underwent a four-week implementation. After the implementation, the results revealed a highly significant improvement on the learners' performances in the three levels of reading comprehension. The findings further suggest that the developed contextualized reading project was an effective intervention in reading comprehension. Keywords.: reading comprehension difficulties, contextualized reading project, proficiency upgrade.