Scouting in school curriculum pushed

AGUSAN Del Norte Second District Rep. Dale Corvera filed House Bill 3053, which seeks to include scouting in the curriculum for elementary and junior public and private high schools nationwide.

“While scouting in the Philippines is school-based, and DepEd (Department of Education) supports its revitalization, and even encourages its officials and schoolchildren to participate in scouting activities, it is not mandatory for all students to take up scouting. Thus, some schools have not offered scouting at all, thereby denying the schoolchildren its benefits,” Corvera said.

Once approved, the proposed bill will make scouting a regular subject and place a strong emphasis on the Boy Scouts of the Philippines’ (BSP) and Girl Scouts of the Philippines’ (GSP) mission to embody patriotism and nationalism in young people while preparing them to be responsible leaders in the future and contribute to the building of the country.

The scouting program is offered by the BSP and the GSP, the two biggest youth organizations in the Philippines, and is regarded as an excellent program for developing a child’s leadership and morals.

The proposed law also exempts scouts who achieve the Eagle Scout rank, the highest rank in scouting, from the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and other comparable programs that may be developed and put into place in the future.

“Leading our young people to become scouts is also leading them on their way to becoming responsible citizens of the future,” Corvera said.

Corvera is a scout leader, the current National President of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, and chairman of the Asia Pacific Regional Scout Committee of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.