INTRODUCTION
Thank you, Secretary Renato de Villa of the Department of National Defense and Chairman of the Jamboree Organizing Committee; Mr. Andrew Nocon, the National President of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines and camp chief of this First ASEAN Jamboree; Governor Restituto Luna of the Province of Laguna and Mayor Lorenzo Meneses of the host Municipality of Los Baños, both of whom are soon to become Boy Scouts; your excellencies of the diplomatic corps; the heads of the 17 national delegations to this First ASEAN Boy Scout Jamboree and your ladies; the honorable Francisco Roman, member of the World Committee of the World Organization of the Scouting Movement; the members of the Asia-Pacific Regional Boy Scout Organization; the members of the Philippine National Boy Scout Executive Board; fellow scouters, fellow boy scouts, fellow scout volunteers; other special guests; ladies and gentlemen, mga mahal na kababayan, mga kapatid at mga kaibigan.

It gives me great pride to welcome the delegations from our neighboring countries in ASEAN, in Asia and the pacific and from other parts of the world, as well as the delegations from all of the Philippine Scout Councils all over our republic. I am sure that all of you will have a memorable one-week stay in this historic, legendary and beautiful Mount Makiling, in the town of Los Baños, in the province of laguna, in the Republic of the Philippines, which has seen many international scout gatherings in the past.

As already mentioned by governor luna, it is most fitting that this opening ceremonies coincide with the 97th anniversary of the martyrdom of Dr. Jose P. Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines. His greatness in spearheading reforms against our colonizers — which is a shared experience with all of our ASEAN neighbors — is acknowledged in our Asia-Pacific region by the nickname that he earned as “the pride of the Malay race.” of particular significance to our First ASEAN Boy Scout Jamboree was Rizal’s unwavering trust in our youth as the hope of the fatherland. Thus, as he offered himself for his country, the Philippines, through the ultimate sacrifice of being executed by a firing squad, he was confident that the young people of the Philippines would carry on his advocacy and struggle of reforms. In fact, it must have been god’s will that this formal inauguration was delayed by three days because of inclement weather. So that this formal opening falls squarely on the anniversary of the death of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.

In fact, I want you to know that Chairman-Secretary de Villa and BSP president Andrew Nocon ordered the most beautiful weather for this Jamboree, starting with the period just before Christmas. And I endorsed that request for good weather because I was here also during the preparatory stages and the weather was very beautiful. But as you know, the authority of Secretary de Villa and Boy Scout president Andrew Nocon and even my own, as the Chief Scout and President of the Republic of the Philippines is limited when it comes to ordering good weather because that is a decision that comes from above. But, indeed, we must be thankful, for the important thing is that we are together on this occasion. And for this the entire jamboree, as i have always said to our calamity prone countrymen all over the Philippines, because we have an average of about 25 to 30 typhoons or storms in the course of a year, i say to all of you, “never mind the weather as long as we are together.”

Sa ating mga kababayan ang gustong sabihin niyan, kahit anuman ang krisis, kahit anuman ang kahirapan, kahit anuman ang kalamidad, kung tayo ay nagkakaisa, nagtutulong-tulong, tayo ay magtatagumpay dahil sa kaya natin iyan. Thumbs up everybody.

Ladies and gentlemen, our boy scouts who are here from the Philippines as well as from our friends and neighbors are the reflection today of Jose Rizal’s dream. In fact, as Chief Scout of the Philippines, I have always been a firm believer in scouting, not only because the scouting movement is the molder of upright, disciplined and helpful young men such as all of you, but also serves as a tested training ground for the leaders of the future. This is a belief shared by most of our countrymen as the Boy Scouts of the Philippines count more than 2.5 million members, making it second only in the whole world to the Boy Scouts of America. Pumalakpak naman kayo diyan.

But it is heartening to note, our dear friends from all over the world that of the 16 million scouts belonging to 131 national scout organizations worldwide, 53 per cent, more than one half, come from the Asia-Pacific region.

Surely, there is a connection, there is a correlation between the growth of the scouting movement in the Asia-Pacific region, more than in any other region, with the dynamism and the success of the economies of Asia and the Pacific which is the region to which we all belong.

Mayroon connection iyan, mga kapatid. Dahil sa ang gustong sabihin, dito tayo sa Asia at saka sa Pacific ay sa palagay ko masipag sa lahat. I say, this is a reflection likewise of the industry and work ethic of the people of Asia and the Pacific. It also reflects the tradition cherished by our peoples in this part of the globe, that we raise our children to be imbued with traits of courage, industry and mostly, in terms of our boy scout oath, preparedness, as well as love and respect for elders, for fellowmen and for country.
BUILDING BRIDGES AMONG OURSELVES
But beyond strengthening the values of our young along these established scouting principles, we also appreciate the need to forge stronger ties of unity and brotherhood within our family of nations that is the Association of Southeast Asian nations or ASEAN.

This jamboree organized on the theme, “building bridges for understanding,” is one such effective means of reinforcing those strong ties. By living together, sharing in the work and fun, learning the ropes, so to speak, and getting wet together — we learn teamwork, we learn to be on our own in the isolation of this wilderness called Mt. Makiling. And for all participants, to experience a camaraderie and cooperation that they will remember the rest of their lives.

This is why, i unhesitatingly agreed to endorse and support this First ASEAN Jamboree to be held here in the Philippines. We, the leaders of the ASEAN community today, are doing our utmost to strengthen our alliance. But we also want to ensure that whatever gains we achieve in our cooperative undertakings shall be preserved and even enhanced by the younger generations such as you, the boy scouts of our region, who will come after us.

You, the young scouts and scouters are our assurance that the unity and brotherhood among our peoples shall always be maintained, if not made stronger, in the years to come.
OUR LEADERS TOMORROW
Our confidence is bolstered by the fact that our youth of today will be our leaders of tomorrow. I am sure you will agree with me when I say that many such leaders shall rise from among the more than 15,000 boy scouts gathered here in this jamboree.

Whether it be in government, business, industry, academe, or other fields of endeavor, many of the faces that we see here today will be prominent in their respective countries in the future.

And as these young people occupy prominent positions and collaborate with their counterparts in other countries, may they all be reminded of the spirit of cooperation and mutual support that they have found here at Mt. Makiling. The seeds of friendship that will be sown here shall serve as a strong foundation for ever closer relations among our countries.

Today, all barriers of belief, ideology, creed or nationality will be set aside as the participants to this jamboree consolidate their oneness and solidarity in this jamboree. This is the essence of scouting. For long after this gathering is over, our scouts from all over the region, from all over the world in fact, will draw on their shared experiences, their mutual purposes and common values to make all our peoples true and dedicated partners.

If only for this immeasurable benefit, all our efforts in staging this ASEAN gathering have been well worth it.
CLOSING
And so in closing, i would like to extend my sincere appreciation and extend likewise my highest commendations to the organizing committee, headed by Defense Secretary Renato de Villa, and all government and non-government agencies in support for a job well done.

And I also wish to thank all those who generously contributed their time, resources and labor to make this jamboree not only possible but also a great success. You all deserve the gratitude of the entire Filipino people, particularly the Boy Scouts of the Philippines.

Likewise, I wish to congratulate and thank the delegations from 17 other countries, as well as two international organizations that have come to our shores for making this effort, for sharing in the spirit of scouting and for manifesting their friendship to the people of the Philippines especially the Boy Scouts of the Philippines.

Two days from now, you will all be welcoming, we will all be welcoming the new year 1994 in this Mt. Makiling camp. This is symbolic of our confidence that you will perform your respective roles in the future with excellence.

And so to all of you, fellow scouters, thank you. Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat. Mabuhay and a happy new year to everyone.