Chief scout Rody tells kids: Serve country as soldiers

MANILA, Philippines - As members of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) living by the dictum laging handa, they have pledged readiness to serve the country – but not necessarily as soldiers as President Duterte would want them to be.

Not everyone raised his hand when the President asked a gathering of young scouts yesterday who among them would want to be a soldier.

They were at the Palace to attend his formal installation as Chief Scout, a title automatically given to the Philippine president.

After Duterte had asked the question, there was a brief silence in the hall followed by chatting among the young scouts.

“I need soldiers. Pssst, look at me. I need Boy Scouts. I need soldiers… Not all of you will become soldiers but maybe you are interested. I have lots of airplanes but I have no pilots. I have many ships but no one is joining the Navy,” the President told his audience, which included kid scouts as young as four years old.

Duterte then went on to blame the abolition of the mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) for the lack of interest in the military and discipline among the youth. The program was abolished in 2002 following the murder of a University of Santo Tomas cadet who exposed alleged anomalies in his unit.

“Kung pasukin tayo ng mga dayo, walang alam itong mga ito kundi mag-inom, mag-droga. Kaya kayo ang inasahan ko. Ready kayo? Ay sagot anak ng… Ready ba kayong mag-sundalo? (If our country is invaded, they cannot do anything but drink or take drugs. I am counting on you. Are you ready? Answer, son of… Are you ready to become soldiers?),” the President said.

A few scouts answered “yes,” but most remained silent.

“Ah ready kayong mag-ROTC ha? Sinong gusto mag-PMA? Philippine Military Academy (You are ready to take ROTC? Who wants to go to PMA)?” Again only a few scouts raised their hands.

“Who wants to marry but remain jobless? They are worthless Filipinos. Again, who wants to become a soldier? Who wants to die for the country?”

He said he wanted his guests to either join the military or take the ROTC. “Always love your country. You know why you should? We only have one country, we can’t replace it even if we want to,” he said in Filipino.

When Duterte mingled with the scouts, a kid scout was heard saying that he would become a soldier to kill rebels.

In his 28-minute speech that did not contain profanities, Duterte discussed his war on illegal drugs, a campaign that he said was intended to protect the next generation.

And while he did not curse anyone during his speech, he still threatened to kill drug lords and even taunted human rights advocates critical of him to jump off a building.

“We will take care of you. We protect you from the scourge of drugs. We protect you from exploitation. I am angry and I will kill those who prey on our youth,” Duterte said.

“I am really strict. If you prey on our children, I will really kill you,” he said, apparently referring to drug offenders.

To human rights advocates, he said, “I do not care about you. My problem is the Filipino nation and the Filipino youth. And I will do everything even at the cost of my life, my honor and my presidency.”