Amazing Grace
Normally it would be the opposition bloc that goes after administration officials facing charges of corruption or incompetence. But in the case of Police Director General Alan Purisima, it has been administration ally Sen. Grace Poe who has put pressure on Purisima to call it a day.
Purisima has been suspended for six months by the Ombudsman over a controversial P100-million firearms license courier contract between the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Werfast, the private firm with close ties to the police chief.
If memory serves me well, the last time Purisima faced a Senate hearing chaired by Senator Poe, he had just returned from Colombia where he attended a senior police officials’ conference on antiextortion and antikidnapping activities. This time, when his suspension order came out, Purisima was in Saudi Arabia for a meeting with law enforcement officers “to enhance cooperation against transnational crimes.” From his frequent travels one would think that our own peace and order situation is quite satisfactory.
In between the Colombia and Saudi Arabia trips, it has been Senator Poe who has pursued with determination and clarity of purpose the replacement of Purisima as head of the national police force. If she keeps up this streak of independence and objectivity, she may well end up as our next president.
Some people say she lacks experience, exposure, maturity, seasoning, etc., etc., etc. Nobody is totally prepared for the job of the presidency. As Sen. Cynthia Villar recently put it, the position is oftentimes a matter of destiny. If Fernando Poe Jr. was cheated of the presidency, destiny will decide how to make amends.
It is difficult to understand why an officer in charge has to be named for a few days until Purisima returns from his trip. There are a number of well-qualified officers in the PNP who can do the job. Organizational effectiveness should never be sacrificed for the sake of a few individuals.
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The Boy Scout. During the last years of the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, we lived in the hometown of my parents in Ilocos Norte. Liberation provided us with our first taste of chocolates, chewing gum and, I might add, Camel and Chesterfield cigarettes. Before that, papaya leaves soaked in vinegar and dried under the sun were the choice of boys wanting to try something different.
With the return of normalcy to the community, the Boy Scout organization was reestablished by some of the older fellows and became the focus of our attention. The uniforms, the camaraderie, the pursuit of higher status within the organization provided us with personal goals and a sense of belonging that gave new meaning to our lives.
Especially enjoyable were the field trips that included camping out along the banks of a river that ran through the town. We were taught how to tie different kinds of knots, with ropes used in setting up our tents. Some of us had Boy Scout knives and at times we prepared our own food, with fish and frogs caught from the river. For a young boy, it was all so exciting.
But aside from the physical activities, we were also indoctrinated in the values of the scouting movement that stressed responsibilities to community and country.
I didn’t get very far in my scouting career although I looked up to my elders and dreamed of one day becoming an Eagle Scout, considered the highest achievement in the organization. After a while, I lost track of my former colleagues in the movement.
Recently the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) organization was in the news. It was marking its 78th anniversary, and some of the things that I was not aware of concerning the BSP came to light.
The BSP was established on Oct. 31, 1936, by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 111, signed by President Manuel L. Quezon. We were a mere council of the Boy Scouts of America until 1938 when we became an independent scouting nation. Our first participation in a World Scout Jamboree was in 1947 in Moisson, France. In 1959, the Philippines hosted the 10th World Scout Jamboree in Mount Makiling, Laguna, the first ever held in Asia. In 1963, tragedy struck when a 24-member Philippine Scouts delegation to Greece perished in a plane crash off Mumbai, India. Streets in the South Triangle district of Quezon City are named after the boy scouts who were members of this delegation. The first Filipino elected chair of the World Organization of the Scouting Community was Antonio Delgado whose son, Jose Antonio, was one of the scouts who died in the plane crash of 1963.
What is the scouting movement all about?
It is a movement aimed at inculcating in our young people love of God, country and fellowmen. It prepares them for leadership roles so that they can contribute to nation-building in accordance with the ideals and principles of scouting.
The Scout Code calls for them to share responsibilities at home, school, church, the neighborhood and the community. It emphasizes dealing fairly and kindly with fellowmen. The last part of the Code declares that “I will do everything in my power to pass a better Philippines to the next generation.”
Perhaps, what the organization needs today are role models who can be sources of inspiration for the youth of the land.
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As Typhoon “Ruby” passes through the country, it is never too late to extend assistance to those who have been affected by the latest calamity.
