Celebrating 80 years of BSP growth, stability

THE Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) celebrates its milestone 80th charter anniversary on October 31, 2016 with the theme “Celebrating 80 Years of Growth and Stability.” Membership growth is the organization’s major final goal until 2025.

The celebration focuses on the contribution of BSP to nation-building, through developing young Filipinos’ spiritual, moral, physical, and intellectual aspects, and molding them to be responsible, law-abiding, productive agents of change in their community, in the country, and in the world. BSP has produced leaders, not only for the Philippines, but also for world Scouting.

The Philippines has one of world’s largest Scout organizations with 2.3 million youth members. One of five Filipino boys of age is into Scouting. Boy scouts are 10-12 years of age, while senior scouts are boys aged 13-17. The Filipino scouts’ motto is Laging Handa (Be Prepared). BSP is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, the umbrella organization of all Scout organizations.

Among BSP activities are celebration of National Scouting Month, A Walk with BSP exhibit, Jamboree-onthe-Air, Jamboree-on-the-Internet, and Gabi ng Pasasalamat. It awarded last October 14 the 2016 Ten Outstanding Boy Scouts of the Philippines, and conferred the Eagle Scout Badge or Jose Rizal Scout Badge, the highest rank for a senior scout. The Habitat for Humanity, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Far East Council, and the BSP Cebu Council built houses in Cebu as part of BSA Scout Build 2016.

BSP will launch the 1st Scouts of the World Award (SWA) Seminar and Discovery, an educational program, in Los Baños, Laguna on November 7-13, 2016. This will seek to equip young people, lay and volunteer leaders, with knowledge, skills, motivation, and opportunities to face global challenges.

Scouting started in the Philippines in 1910 with an initial group of 26 Muslim boys, called the Lorillard Spencer Troop in honor of Spencer’s son, an active American scout. The BSA-Philippines Council was formed in 1923 by the Rotary Club of Manila. BSP was chartered under Commonwealth Act No. 111 on October 31, 1936, signed by President Manuel L. Quezon, to promote “the ability of boys to do useful things for themselves and others, to train them in scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues.” Commonwealth Act 111 was amended twice – by Presidential Decree 460 in 1974 and Republic Act 7278 in 1992 – to strengthen the volunteer and democratic character of BSP.

Charter members of BSP were Joseph Emile H. Stevenot, the first national president (1936-1942); Arsenio N. Luz, Gen. Carlos P. Romulo, Gen. Vincent P. Lim, Judge Manuel R . C a m u s , J o r g e B . Va r g a s , a n d Gabriel A. Daza. The Philippines first participated as independent Scouting country at 6th World Scout Jamboree in Moisson, France in 1947. The 10th World Scout Jamboree, the first to be held in Asia, was held on Mt. Makiling in Los Baños in 1959