In the heart of Quezon City, in an area geomancers refer to as “the eye of the dragon” for being one of the most lucrative and preferred business areas in Metro Manila, there stands a memorial that honors the memory of 21 Filipino boy scouts and three scoutmasters who perished in a plane crash on July 28, 1963.
They were on their way to represent the country in the 11th World Jamboree in Marathon, Greece, when United Arab Airlines flight 869 plunged into the Indian Ocean. The figures are lined up in a circle, each standing at attention and facing the streets named after them — Scout Borromeo, Scout Delgado, Scout Albano, Scout Rallos, and so on.
The 11th World Scout Jamboree Memorial — also called Boy Scout Circle — is on Tomas Morato and Timog Avenues. Figures are lined up in a circle, each standing at attention and facing the streets named after them. (PHOTO: Mac Dy Photography)
Spiritistas — those inclined towards the occult and claiming to have a connection with the spirit world — say the monument has actually become a vortex for souls roaming the area, and sometimes, the spirits of the boys themselves like to stroll the streets that carry their names. But set all the romantic hogwash and mysticism aside, and what you’re left with are memories, plain and simple, of the families the boys left behind.
Virginia Castor, 96, one of only two parents of the boys who is still alive, still tears up when she remembers her son Roberto. He was 14 and in third year high school, she says. He started scouting in the fourth grade. On the day of the flight, he was asked to raise the flag at Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. High School.
Scout Roberto Castor was among 24 boy scouts and scoutmastes who perished in a plane crash on July 28, 1963 while on their way to the Greece for a World Jamboree. His mother, Viriginia (see photo above), is one of only two surviving parents of the scouts. (PHOTOS: Courtesy of Viriginia Castor | Regina Abuyuan)
The whole family went to the airport to see him off. Nanay Virginia got to accompany Roberto to the pre-flight area, where a farewell cake was waiting. He cut a slice for his mother and fed her a piece. “Ma, pag nagkapera kayo, bumili kayo ng bagong bahay (when you come into some money, buy a new house),” Virginia recalls her son saying. She didn’t think anything of it.
It was like any other day, says Manuel (“Maning”), Roberto’s younger brother. Except that they were brimming with pride at how Roberto, a First Class Scout, was going to represent the country in the event.
Their father, Tomas, was a die hard scout. Maning likes to joke that if you had cut open his father’s veins, you’d find blood not of Type A or B, but Type BSP (Boy Scouts of the Philippines).
Tomas was a scout even during the boy scouts’ nascence in the Philippines, when the organization was still called the Boy Scouts of America. They were of modest means. Virginia and Tomas were in real estate, buying and selling small properties. They lived with their eight children — all scouts — in a cramped house in Iba, La Loma, Quezon City. The ceiling hung low and the stairs had holes, Virginia recalls.
A posthumous award for Sct Castor a year after the tragedy. On the day of the flight, he was asked to raise the flag at Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. High School.
When Roberto, or Bontsie, as he was called, was chosen to join the Philippine delegation, they solicited funds for his expenses. “Si Tatay lang nag pursige na sumama si Roberto, kahit na nag-aaway sila ni nanay na walang pera (Our father insisted that Roberto go, even if he and Nanay were fighting about the expense),” says Maning.
It was the first time any of them would travel abroad. Among Bontsie’s sponsors was Mayor Norberto Amoranto, who also lived in the La Loma area.
“Kami lang ata mahirap (I think we were the only ones who were hard up),” says Virginia, noting that Roberto was the only one from a public school, and his fellow scouts were from private old boy schools and wealthy families — the Borromeos of Cebu, Fuentabellas of Bicol, De Guias of Baguio, the Albano boy had parents who were doctors, the Delgado boy was the son of a prominent industrialist.
The Boy Scouts delegates paid a courtesy call to Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal on July 25, 1963. (PHOTO: Courtesy of Virginia Castor)
They would all be bound — doctor’s and politicos’ and businessmen’s wives — however, when they heard of the missing plane and news of their children’s deaths. “Nung nalaman ko na nag crash, di ako makausap, nahimatay raw ako (When I found out about the crash, I was inconsolable, they said I fainted),” Virginia says, the tears pooling again and gathering in the soft crevices under her eyes.
She remembers being at the Boy Scout Council office with the other parents.
“Noong napunta kaming Council, noong verified na patay na — sila Delgado, sila Chuatoco, mga ina, tumba kami lahat. patong-patong kami mga ina. Biruin mo ang lalakas ng mga bata tapos mabalitaan mo, namatay…Nagyakapan kami, nag iyakan (When the deaths were verified, we all fainted — Delgado, Chuatoco, all the mothers, we fell into a heap. Imagine — all our boys were strong and healthy and suddenly they were all gone…we couldn’t do anything but hold each other and cry).”
Maning says they first heard about it on the radio, about the Philippine Boy Scout delegation being lost. “Tapos tumawag ang Council sa amin, di na namin malaman kung anong gagawin (Then the Council called us. We didn’t know what to do).”
Three days after, the parents were called on to identify the bodies. “Kinewkento ni tatay na isang oras sila naghihintay ng clearance, di sila maka-landing kasi ang tataas ng alon, so ang iginawa niya raw, kumuha siya ng papel, lahat ng parte ng katawan niya tinalian niya. Takot na takot din sila kasi di maka-land kunwari may nangyari, putol-putol. (My father told me that they couldn’t get clearance, they couldn’t land because the waves were too high. So what he did was to write his name on different pieces of paper and tie them around his limbs. They were all afraid that something would happen and their bodies would be scattered all over, as well).”
Their sons’ bodies had turned to an almost-mush, like bread that had been soaked in water. His father didn’t want to tell them how the bodies looked, says Maning.
Roberto’s body was identified by his underwear. “Hindi brief; carsonsillo na kulay aquamarine, na tinahian ng nanay ng plastic sa loob, secret pocket para pagligo ng kuya ko, may paglalagyan ng pera niya (It wasn’t briefs; it was a pair of aquamarine boxer shorts. Our mother had sewn a plastic pocket inside, so that when my brother would take a bath, he could keep his money there and it wouldn’t get wet).”
According to a blog post by Bobby M. Reyes, one of the scouts who was supposed to join the delegation, only the bodies of Jose Delgado, Henry Chuatoco, Roberto Castor, Ascario Tuason, Jr., and Librado Fernandez were positively identified from among the human remains recovered in the Bay of Bombay.
The 24 coffins carried incomplete remains.
Greek ambassador Jorge Adamson paid his respects to the parents of the boy scouts who perished when the United Arab Airlines flight they were in plunged into the Indian Ocean. (PHOTO: Courtesy of Virginia Castor)
Jorge Adamson, ambassador of Greece to the Philippines, visited each family in their homes. Mayor Amoranto and Eddie Ilarde held vigil. Across the country and at the Jamboree site in Greece, flags flew at half-mast. Bishop Benedict Parientis of the Athens Archdiocese conducted a necrological service and mass in Marathon.
From around the world, leaders from Pope Paul VI to President Sukarno of Indonesia sent messages of condolence. No death gratuities was provided by the government and Boy Scout Council. An insurance pay out of PHP100,000, however, was given by United Arab Airlines.
When insurers approached Virginia at the airport, asking if she wanted to avail of personal insurance for her son, Maning recalls her answering: “Di ko kelangan ng pera, kelangan ko anak ko (I don’t need money, I need my son).”
But what Roberto told his mother before their flight seemed to be prescient, as a few days later, with the check encashed for the PHP100,000, Virginia purchased a house in Barangay Sienna in Quezon City.
She had seen the ad for the not-quite-finished house in the papers and came with the money, not bothering to fix herself up. The owner, a certain Tensuan, was hesitant about entertaining the strange middle-aged woman and only took her seriously when she showed him the cash.
Virginia and Tomas Castor received a posthumous award for their son from BSP President Gabriel Daza. (PHOTO: Courtesy of Virginia Castor)
She and her husband argued about her not inspecting the whole structure before plunking down the money. But Tomas gave in when they finally visited the site and saw the lattice work in the living room: it was a whole wall of fleur de lis, the Boy Scout insignia. Outside was a four-petal flower design, which would later be adopted by the Girl Scouts as their insignia. They all moved into the five bedroom house soon after.
Outside, there is a shrine of sorts to Roberto and Tomas. Virginia sits there often, says Maning, looking at the photo of her lost son and most likely wondering what could’ve been, if he would’ve pursued his dreams of being a soldier.
Scout principals during the vigil at the Council. (PHOTO: Courtesy of Virginia Castor)
His mother hasn’t stopped remembering, Maning says. The mere sight of children in scouts uniforms, and the act of them saluting her, are enough to bring her to tears. “Di pwede di pumasok sa isip namin (We can’t help but think about it),” Maning admits. One of the things he remembers his kuya saying is, ‘I will be somebody…’ Napakababaw ng luha namin (the tears come easily).”
To keep alive the memory of the 24 scouts, an 11th Jamboree Foundation was established. Initially handled by the parents of the boys, the foundation is now run by the boys’ siblings and nephews and nieces. Its president now is Arthur Tuason, brother of Scout Ascario Tuason.
The pain hasn’t prevented the whole family — right down to Maning’s grandchildren, and Virginia’s other great grandchildren — from pursuing the scouting life. A few have held council and board positions in different chapters. Maning likewise has spearheaded the revival of the Boy Scout culture in E. Rodriguez High School. “Nasa dugo namin (it’s in our blood),” he says. “Hindi mo maalis yon (You can’t escape it).”
The 52nd death anniversary of the 24 Scouts will be commemorated in a series of events on July 27 and 28, 2015, at the Scout Memorial Rotunda and North Cemetery. Details: Boy Scout Quezon City Council, +63 2 9218988.
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