Agusan del Norte 2nd District Representative Dale Corvera filed a bill seeking to include the scouting program in the elementary and junior high school curriculum in all public and private schools in the country.
Corvera said he introduced House Bill No. 3035 before the House of Representatives plenary.
In his explanatory note, the legislator said the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) and the Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) remain dependent on the Department of Education (DepEd) in terms of scouting programs and recruitment of members.
“The scouting in the country continues to be school-based.”
“The scouting in the country continues to be school-based,” the lawmaker said, noting that teachers continue to serve as volunteers to help the BSP and the GSP carry on the task of bringing scouting closer to the youth.
The measure, he said, is anchored on the state principle that recognizes the role of the youth in nation-building and for the promotion and protection of their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being.
“All public and private schools are mandated to maintain or employ at least one teacher for the scouting program.”
Under the bill, all public and private schools are mandated to maintain or employ at least one teacher for the scouting program.
The designated teacher must have sufficient knowledge and training on scouting as certified by the BSP and GSP councils.
HB 3035 prescribed an equivalency exemption provision in which scouts reaching the rank of Eagle Scout under the program “shall be exempted from the Basic Reserve Officer Training Corps program or other similar programs which may be created and implemented in the future”.
