On My Honor: Stories of Scouts in Action Some heroes act in the daily round of existing, others act at the moment. This is a book about heroes who were and who are members of the great Movement known as Scouting. Some of them received official recognition for their acts, some did not. On My Honor: Stories of Scouts in Action narrates stories of Scouts and Scouters who have displayed heroism in the service of fellow human beings. It is a landmark work in the history of BSP publishing. Special thanks to Bong Saculles for creating a digitized copy of this book for the Boy Scouts of the Philippines. All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the Boy Scouts of the Philippines. To all the Scouts. 1 FOREWORD It is fitting that we remember the past. It is practical that we move with the times. It is important that we serve the youth of today. It is necessary that we face present realities. No monument ever suffices to honor acts of heroism. Imitation is the best praise. So the best tribute which can be rendered to people who have performed heroic acts is to publicize the deed in order that an example can be set before others to inspire them to do likewise. On My Honor: Stories of Scouts in Action narrates stories of Scouts and Scouters who have displayed heroism in the service of fellow human beings. It is a landmark work in the history of BSP publishing. As with most of our publications, it is the product of joint effort. The Public Relations Office, Office of the Secretary General, labored hard to bring out a quality work, notwithstanding the time constraints which have placed some limits on the extent that the writers and editors could pursue their ideas. As a pioneering effort, this work may not be flawless, but it is the first work of its kind in our organization's history. To The Youth You, my dear young men and women, are growing physically, mentally and emotionally. I hope you are also growing spiritually. Scouting is a good place in which to grow and develop your physical, mental, and spiritual health. In Scouting you are given the opportunity to exercise them while having fun at the same time. Today, many of you will try considering learning more about the many ideals Scouting provides. Just open your hearts and minds and see how playing and working with other boys gives you the opportunity to grow well. Listen to other voices, hear their songs and watch them play and see how beautiful it is to be growing up in Scouting. The fact is, we should all be growing - whatever age we are at. Healthful growth happens when we are active in healthful endeavors and when we know how to grow with other people. Please grab the growth opportunities that come your way, and do not waste your time in growth- obstructive activities. Soon you will be adults, and responsibilities shall come your way. Handling these responsibilities will be easier for you if you have educated and trained and prepared yourselves well. To The Scouters Seldom has anyone given you appreciation for the million little things you do everyday to help our boys, our program, our association, and our nation. So let me, at this moment, give you thanks and appreciation for your work. This book is also for you. Many people in our country still are not aware of the service our association has rendered through the years to our youth. So, let people know of our activities. There's nothing wrong with publicizing our good work, as long as we do it with grace. We can be humble, but we can also let the public be aware of our work at the same time. This takes maturity, but it can be developed through practice. The reason we want people to know about our work is not only to solicit public support, but to set an example for others to follow, and to inspire others to do likewise. When you light a candle, you do not hide it under a cover. Let its light shine freely. We hope that this work will inspire young people everywhere to devote their lives to following the example 2 set in the stories of Scouts in action. Jejomar C. Binay National President, Boy Scouts of the Philippines PREFACE The courage to face the trials and to bring a whole new body of possibilities into the field of interpreted experience for other people to experience — that is the hero's deed. ~ Joseph Campbell The hero confronts the spots and episodes of life with sight and act out of the ordinary and mundane. The hero is one of us. Yet often he is not of us. He has seen the world we have seen; often we do not see the world he sees. The hero may be steadfastly and doggedly hammering at the mountains on humanity's path. He may be a crouching tiger who pounces only when prey fleets by him. They have had emotions and experiences in life as we have. They have had problems, concerns and activities, triumphs and failures. They have made mistakes, conflicts, apprehensions. Yet at the moment of truth, they let their talk merge with that truth. Some heroes act in the daily round of existing, others act at the moment. This is a book about heroes who were and who are members of the great Movement known as Scouting. Some of them received official recognition for their acts, some did not. Many of these stories have appeared in the pages of the Philippine Scouting Magazine. They compose just a small number of incidents where Scouts, Scouters, and former Scouts willingly offered their efforts and took risks in the service of others. It is not a complete documentation of all the acts of heroism performed by Scouts and Scouters. No book can accomplish such a task, for there surely have been many more heroic acts which have gone unrecorded. Yet we endeavor in this work to remember and retell the exploits of Valeriano Abello, Oscar Alcaraz, Octavio Alvarez, and many others like them, so that these stories may give succeeding generations inspiration, encouragement and guiding zeal. Readers will notice some unevenness in the treatment of individual person's story. This is not intentional as there is no attempt to make comparisons between the individual stories. It is due to limitations in available information. Inaccuracies in detail may even be present. The purpose of this work, however, is not to focus on a meticulous documentation of historical data, but rather to inspire people to develop themselves and others. 3 The Supreme Sacrifice ARIS C. ESPINOSA If you would ever be in a situation where you could save the lives of other people, but with the necessity that you sacrifice your own, would you be prepared to do it? In the Bible, it is said: “There is no greater love than this, that one lays down his life for his friend.” (Johan 15:13). In this world of enmity and ill-will, there are a handful of souls who have been filled by God with such love and spirit that they can easily give up the gift of physical life in His service to awake into eternal life. One such person was Aris Espinosa. Aris had learned the ideal of service. He had taken an oath which said, “to help other people at all times.” This oath Aris had taken to heart, perhaps more seriously than many other people, young or old. On 30 January 1994, at around 2:40 in the afternoon, some boys were playing with a hand grenade. The boys were tossing the dangerous weapon around as if it were a ball, and then hurled it towards a basketball ring. Aris was just a short distance away as the grenade rolled towards a group of children. Shouting at the children to get away, Aris dropped face down on the explosive and covered it with his body. Witnesses Rodrigo Gapor, Ponciano Jamoroi, and Cirilo Senangote were at the scene of the incident within two minutes of the explosion. Recovered from the sit were parts of Aris' face, breast, and arms. Scout Aris Espinosa of Troop 60, Rupagan Elementary School. Lanao del Norte Council, was posthumously conferred the Gold Medal of Honor. Aris Espinosa, 13 years old, offered the supreme sacrifice. Reflecting on his shining example, one stands in awe at his selflessness almost too noble to believe. It stands at the very pinnacle of heroism, for though many heroes risked their lives not knowing whether they would survive or not, Aris must have known that he would die - and gave his all nevertheless. No human award can do justice to honor one so sublime, yet it is our duty to ourselves that we honor his memory. 4 SAHJID S. BULIG and RICHARD H. CELESTINO On July 2,1993, the famous “Pagoda” of Bocaue, drifting on the Wawa River, started sinking from the weight of devotees who had boarded the floating shrine. Richard Celestino was at home when his mother arrived crying and told him of the tragedy. Richard rushed to the scene of the incident to see if his sisters were among those on the pagoda. The place was dark, but a search light was being used on the scene. Richard swam across the lighted portion of the river, and boarded the sinking edifice on the left side.