Did you know?
A Boy Scouts troop formation was documented in 1922 when 16-year
old Celso Mirafuente, a student of Marinduque High School formed a troop in
Boac, Marinduque based on a BSA handbook and clippings of Boys Life magazine
that came into his possession. This led to the recognition of Mirafuente as the
pioneer of Scouting in the province.
Through the initiative of the Rotary Club of Manila, in cooperation with other civic oriented groups like the Young Men’s Christian Association, Knights of Columbus, Masons, Elks, the Filipino and Chinese Chambers of Commerce, the United States Army, Catholic and Protestant Churches, and the American Legion, Scouting was officially established in the country as the Philippine Council of the Boy Scouts of the America (BSA). The Council was chartered as a first class council on December 27, 1923.
This Marinduque Boy Scouts preceded the founding of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines in 1923. It was organized by a 16-year old boy from Boac, Celso Mirafuente, who was inspired upon getting a copy of Handbook for Boys of the Boy Scouts of America and clippings of Boy's Life magazine.
The existence of the group surprised American Governor General in the Philippines, Leonard Wood, who kept a diary and wrote therein the following entry on December 10, 1922:
"We arrived off Boac about five o'clock or a bit afterwards and were met on the beach by the Governor, the Provincial Treasurer, the Judge of the Court of First Instance, the Mayor of the town, and a number of local officials, and also by about 25 or 30 boy scouts, an organization made up of young men of, I should say, 15 to 20 years of age. They were armed with wooden guns, carrying the American and Filipino flags and also a flag of their own company. They are full of enthusiasm and I did everything to encourage them by showing an appreciation of their turning out. Told them that I hoped that every boy in the Philippines of proper age and character would belong to the Boy Scouts; that we should soon have military training in the schools and colleges; that I felt the Boy Scout organization would have a fine influence throughout the Islands; all of which pleased them very much, and all of which I meant in all sincerity..."
A few days later came out in the Manila Times issue of December 13, 1922, the following entry: "Boy Scouts Unit praised by Chief Executive" "-xxx. He also mentioned the reception accorded to him in Boac, Marinduque, by a company of some 30 boy scouts who, he said "made an excellent showing".
