i’m sorry i haven’t updated in a long time. it’s just that i’ve been really busy with school and other stuff. as some of you already know, i’ve been taking summer classes. that’s mostly the reason why i can’t spare time to make a new post for this blog. and yet, i’m writing one now, when it’s our midsummer exam on monday. how ironic! and not to mention… stupid!

anyways, moving on to what this post is really about. i was facebook-ing when a high school friend of mine suddenly IM-ed me and asked me, “es, mu-bilar mo?” (my apologies for the non-bisaya readers. i don’t really know how to translate… basically bilar means vigil. so yeah… my friend asked if mag-vivigil ba daw kami…) i was confused with the message. i didn’t know who died. i didn’t even know somebody died. so that was when i was told that Sir Sergio Damazo Jr. died this morning at 9am.

who is Sir Damazo? for every high school student from the university of san jose-recoletos (basak, pardo, cebu city), he is our scoutmaster, our mentor, our inspiration and our leader. he is the man who served san jose for more than 50years. and he has greatly contributed to the boy scouts of the philippines (BSP). i, as a girl scout (GSP), look up to Sir Damazo. not only has he inspired me, he has inspired a lot of people!

Sir Damazo has achieved a lot over the years. he has received countless awards locally, nationally, and i think internationally too! he was even in the cover of TIME MAGAZINE. i’m not sure which edition and which year, all i know is that he kept it framed in his Casa (located at the school campus. yes, he lives/lived in the school campus). i searched all over the net for this cover so i can show the picture/scan to you guys, but unfortunately, i couldn’t find it online. instead, i found this tribute video made for him on youtube. it was uploaded years ago, but still, it’s a beautiful tribute video, so i’m going to share it to you guys.

i also found these sites/blogs; CLICK >HERE< AND >HERE< ;where people shared their stories about Sir Damazo. and since we’re talking about stories/experiences about Sir Dam-Dam, i think i’ll share mine too.

i remember when i was still in elementary school, i was really looking forward to studying in USJ-R. (both my sisters were josenians at the time and both of them were also GSP officers) it was their “Showdown Encampment” and i was there, visiting my sisters (with my mom of course) holding this huge sleeping bag and trying to be like a little girl scout and helping them set up their campsite. i was so small (well, i’m still small, nothing changed, haha!) and looked so innocent, when i ran into the famous Sir Damazo, whom i’ve heard so much about. i was really scared when i saw him, he looked so intimidating and so hard to reach. but then i was so surprised when he smiled and asked me if i was joining the encampment. he even patted me and giggled. i didn’t know how to react! i just said with my very soft and shy voice, “no.” HAHA! that was so lame of me! but then, 2 years later, i became part of the josenian family and the GSP unit. i, too, was an officer myself!

i have to say that a big part of my high school life and my growing up (i think not literally because as you can see, i’m still very petite! ) was my Girl Scouting days… and Sir Damazo made a huge impact on all of us. i will always look up to him and his achievements and i know that he will always be respected by every scout there is.