It has been 63 years since the untimely demise at the age of 14 of First Class Scout Jose Fermin “Jojo” Magbanua, a worthy son of Dumaguete because of the sterling virtues he had exhibited until his last breath. Jojo was one of 24 Filipino scouters, the only Visayan delegate, who perished in a plane crash off the stormy waters of Bombay, India on July 28, 1963 enroute to Marathon, Greece for the 8th World Boy Scouts Jamboree.
At the time of his death, Jojo was a sophomore high school student at Silliman University where he was in the honor roll. He graduated at the top of his class in the elementary also at Silliman University. One of the six children of former chair of the Silliman University Board of Trustees, the late Engr. Juanito Magbanua Sr. and Monserrat Gonzales Magbanua of Negros Occidental, Jojo loved scouting so much that he regarded it as a way of life. A few days before the Filipino delegation left for the jamboree, Jojo was privileged to have carried the flag during the visit to the country of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Jojo’s mother recalled that she and her husband were watching a movie on that fateful night of July 28. “I received a call when we got home informing us of the tragic news. It was devastating and we were all shocked and shaken. Looking back, despite our great loss, God has been good as He made Jojo His instrument to allow the family to live a comfortable life because of the sizeable insurance money from the Boy Scouts that was given to us because of his untimely demise,” Mrs. Magbanua shared, not without a tinge of sadness.
Similarly, the families of the 23 other scouters held their own manner of remembering the heroism and valor of their ill-fated beloved sons. Had these scouters been alive today, we wonder what their contributions to national development would have been.
According to former Silliman University president Dr. Ben S. Malayang III in a eulogy some years back, although Jojo may have died young, he did not die in vain because he lives on in the love and care manifested by his family. “His strength of character and dedication to scouting as a way of life have been emulated by the thousands of scouters who have come after him and who have found inspiration in his ideals,” exhorts Dr. Malayang.
The memory of Jojo has also been perpetuated by the number of scouters his family had helped through scholarships and other tangible ways of recognizing their achievements, or giving of financial assistance to scouters sent out to international jamborees.
Dr. Malayang relates that, in more ways than one, he believes he is connected to Jojo because aside from him being a fellow Sillimanian, Jojo was likewise his “brod” in the Order of Demolay, Leon Kilat Chapter.
He said that however painful the circumstances may be in snuffing out a person’s youthful enthusiasm and zest for life, but if family members persist in honoring his memory with only the purest of intents and purposes, translating these into service for others, then his memory will live on forever.
“This, in essence, is what we are commemorating today – Jojo Magbanua continues to touch lives and inspire others primarily because of the deep-seated love of his family,” Dr. Malayang waxes.
He exhorted the officials of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines to take the cudgels in restoring the left arm of Jojo as he stands, together with the 23 other ill-fated scouters, at the Jamboree Shrine located in South Avenue Rotonda, Quezon City, where streets have likewise been named in honor of the scouters. He challenged the BSP leadership that the gesture will go a long way in remembering a 14-year-old boy as he would have looked today.
In a similar vein, registered in 1922 as Troop 8 of the New York Boy Scouts Council, the Scouting Movement of Silliman University was registered eight or nine months before the Boy Scouts of America-Philippine Islands Council was created. While the Scouting Movement worldwide has been in existence for the last 115 years, scouting in Silliman University is all of 104 years old and counting.
In a recent issue of the Parish News, official weekly newsletter of the Silliman Church, it stated that the first Boy Scouts troop in the Visayas was under the auspices of Silliman Church.
Scouting pioneer in Dumaguete, Dr. Paul Doltz, organized Troop 8, which was recognized by the New York Boy Scouts Council in 1922 as the first Boy Scouts troop in the Visayas. William Guy was the first registered Scoutmaster. The Parish News further reported that the first boy who earned the highest Boy Scout rank at the then Silliman Institute was Bill Raymond, who hailed from Iowa, USA and decided to stay in the Philippines throughout his lifetime. He was one of the pioneering graduates of chemistry of Silliman Institute. The first boy to earn the Eagle Rank was Carlos Madrazo Jr., who completed the requirements for this particular rank at the age of 14 and a half years old.
Together with his fellow Scouts who likewise did not make it to the World Jamboree, Jojo was elevated to a Scout Hero with streets in select cities in the country named after them. A monument in his honor is erected at the Dumaguete Memorial Park where he is laid to rest. | NWI
