SCOUTING IN SCHOOLS. Agusan del Norte 2nd District Rep. Dale Corvera wants scouting to be part of the curriculum of the elementary and junior high schools in the country. Corvera filed House Bill No. 3035 before the House of Representatives plenary Wednesday (August 3, 2022). (PNA file photo)
BUTUAN CITY – Agusan del Norte 2nd District Rep. 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.
In a statement Thursday, Corvera said he introduced House Bill No. 3035 before the House of Representatives plenary on Wednesday.
In his explanatory note, Corvera 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,” Corvera 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.
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.” (PNA)
