INTRODUCTION
Isang daang taon na ang nakalilipas nang inihayag ni Heneral Emilio Aguinaldo sa Kawit, Cavite, ang kalayaan ng bansang Pilipinas. Noong ika-12 ng Hunyo 1898, winigayway ng ating mga ninuno ang bandila ng Pilipinas na siyang naging simbolo ng ating kasarinlan.

Ibinigay ng ating mga kababayan ang kanilang buhay upang maisilang ang ating bansa. Ngayon, pagkalipas ng isang daang taon, nararapat lamang na ating gunitain at pagtugunan ng pansin ang mga sakripisyo at pakikibakang ginawa ng ating mga bayani.

I am delighted to be with you at the opening of the Philippine Centennial Scout Jamboree today. I consider it a great honor to be part of the scouting movement of the Philippines and find it inspiring to be among young people who are enthusiastic, idealistic and patriotic in very practical ways.

I am also happy with your choice of the theme, “scouts: heroes for tomorrow”. I find your theme very appropriate at this time in our nation’s history, for we live in times of great change at both the national and global levels. We live in times that call for true heroes.
HEROES FOR TOMORROW
Our nation and our people demand from us — the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) –the very best that we can give. By the pledge we all make when we join the Boy Scouts, we are all committed “on our honor to doing our best, to doing our duty to god and to our country” and to our fellow men. If we all try to live according to the high standards of our scout oath, we will be pursuing the ideals that will make us heroes. We do not have to look very far if we want to find examples of true heroes. We find them within our own ranks, within the ranks of the BSP.

The scouting movement has always inspired heroism among our young people, a heroism that in many cases is too quickly forgotten. Real-life heroes can sometimes appear to us as all too common, a mere news story. For example, who among us remembers Scout Sajid S. Bulig who gave his life in rescuing victims of the fluvial tragedy in Bocaue, Bulacan? Who remembers Scouts Florencio Agapito and Robin Garcia in Cabanatuan City who died while trying to save children from a school building devastated by a killer quake? Who remembers Scout Aris Canoy Espinosa from Lanao del Norte who gave his life shielding other children with his body from a grenade blast?

And who can forget the group of 24 scouts, the most revered names in Philippine scouting today, who perished in a plane crash while on their noble mission to represent our country in the 11th World Jamboree in Greece in 1963.

They are all true heroes, who reflect what is best and most noble in the Filipino spirit, but how quickly we forget them. These young people, by giving their lives for their fellow men, chose the road less traveled, chose the path of heroes, and walked in the footsteps of some of our national heroes who sacrificed their lives so that our nation might live.
THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE OTHERS
We too often forget that many of our national heroes were young people, who devoted their energies and talents to win freedom for our people. They did not hesitate to lay down their lives for the good of our people and for the freedom of our nation. Jose Rizal was young and so were Emilio Aguinaldo, Andres Bonifacio, Gregorio del Pilar, Apolinario Mabini and Emilio Jacinto. Let us remind ourselves that it is due to these youthful heroes that we are a free and democratic nation today.

Let us not use our youthfulness as an excuse for not working for the good of our nation, for not dedicating ourselves to the causes that promote the welfare of our people. Let us do the task that has to be done today.

While not many of us are given the privilege of dying heroic deaths for our country and for our fellow men, we are all given the opportunity to live for our country and our fellow men, we are called upon to devote our talents, our energies and our strength to promote and secure the well-being of our people.

We can do this all the time. While everyday life does not usually give the opportunity for acts of gallant heroism, it gives us adequate opportunity to serve others.

We can always bring enlightenment and joyous confidence into our homes and schools. We can all provide little services that can mean so much to others. Something as simple as a smile can brighten lives. A kind word, a thoughtful act can make a big difference. Helping the handicapped and our neighbors, putting others before ourselves — these are the little things of life that build character and ground us in the heroic spirit.

All these little acts are in keeping with our boy scout oath. But besides these individual acts, the BSP have undertaken campaigns and programs that have had impact at the national level. Your tree planting and cleanliness campaigns, your anti-polio and malaria-control programs, your fight against drug addiction and your disaster-preparedness drive show that you, the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, truly live the spirit of service and are indeed partners in nation building.
THE IDEALISM AND ENTHUSIASM OF SCOUTING
Your theme, “Scouts: Heroes for Tomorrow,” looks to the future just as we are all looking to the future as we begin a new century in the history of our nation and a new millennium in the history of mankind. However, our future as a nation will be determined by the choices we make today. Our national heroes dreamt of a free, independent and united Philippines. They made their choices at the cost of great sacrifice.

Today, we have to make our choices. Our choices, to be wise, must be based on a deep understanding of the past and on accurate and realistic assessment of our strengths and weaknesses as a people. We must learn from past mistakes, build on our many strengths and remedy our weaknesses. Our history will make us wise if we are willing to learn from it.

You, the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, and all the scouters from abroad who have joined us here at this historic Clark area, will play a part in shaping the destiny of our nation, of our Asia-Pacific region as we begin a new century. With the idealism and enthusiasm and sense of honor that inspire our movement, I have no doubt that many of the leaders that will guide our people in the next millennium will come from your ranks.

Kaya ang masasabi ko sa inyo, ipagpatuloy ninyo ang pagiging isang scout. Dalhin ninyo ang mga adhikaing binuo ng ating mga ninuno. Bigyan nating lahat ng tamang halaga ang tunay na ispiritu ng kabayanihan.

Mabuhay ang scouting!

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!