PALO, Leyte — Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Thursday called on the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) to help government push Filipino children finish school.

“As our partner, may I call on the Boy Scouts of the Philippines to support our advocacy for all Filipino children to be able to go to school and obtain degrees,” the Vice President said during the BSP’s 66th Annual National Council Meeting (ANCM) at the Leyte Academic Center here.

“Education, as we know it, is a powerful weapon against poverty and a strong shield against forces that aims to manipulate, control, or poison the minds of the Filipino children and youth,” she added.

Duterte was guest of honor and speaker in the event.

The Vice President also called on the BSP to help protect children from sexual abuses, slavery, the lure of illegal drugs, and the deception of the terrorist Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army.

“These forces steal the innocence of our children — crushing their souls and destroying their future, thereby, destroying the future of our country,” Duterte said.

“As a community, we have a collective responsibility to ensure the future of Filipino children,” she added.

Duterte lauded the BSP for its dedication to the mission to help young Filipino boys become strong, confident, skilled, reliable, responsible, and productive individuals.

“You have prepared them for bigger men tasks like emergency and disaster preparedness and response — and introduced to them survival skills,” she said.

The Vice President also shared the Department of Education’s plans of integrating scouting into the curriculum.

She also shared the Department’s MATATAG Agenda, which pushes for “transformative, concrete, and targeted reforms” in the basic education system.

“Our vision — is for the Philippines to become a Bansang Makabata,” she said.

“And Filipino children to become Batang Makabansa,” she added.

The Matatag Agenda highlights the two-track approach of the Department — complementing the traditional solutions of hiring more teachers and building more classrooms with more innovative solutions of tapping modern technology to bridge the gaps in basic education.

OVP MEDIA