TOBS in Focus
A Public Servant with a Big Heart: Honorable Scott Davies S. Lanete, M.D. (November 2011)
Honorable Scott Davies S. Lanete, M.D., Representative in the Third District, Province of Masbate, was born in Cebu City on October 1, 1982.
During elementary and high school, he had consistently been sent by the Boy Scouts of the Philippines as a delegate to represent the Philippines in other countries. He garnered the Eagle Scout rank at age 14. In 1996, he was chosen as the Regional Representative for Visayas. A year later, he was given the honor as one of the Ten Outstanding Boy Scouts of the Philippines.
Rep. Lanete is a graduate of B.S. Pharmacy at the University of the Philippines. He continued his post-graduate studies at the University of the East – Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center. He, then, graduated B.S. Medicine in 2009. As a physician, he imposes instruction to health workers under his turf to advance preventive health measures. To catch up with some health prevention, medication and surgery, he organized a series of 3-day medical, surgical, and dental mission which covered to at least 5,000 patients from the entire province of Masbate. The scope of which included surgical operations such as dental extractions, cleft palate, thyroid, some gynecologic cases and medical consultations.
As a legislator in the 15th Congress, Rep. Lanete is the Vice Chairperson of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety. He is also a member of the following House Committees: Appropriations, Bicol Recovery and Economic Development, Dangerous Drugs, Government Reorganization, Health, Information and Communications Technology, Science and Technology, and Transportation.
With health being one of his primary concerns, he authored House Bill No. 4963 entitled “An Act Establishing a National Program for Sharing of Organs from Deceased Donors and Appropriating Funds Therefor.” Rep. Lanete is sponsoring the said bill, knowing that transplantation has prolonged and improved the quality of life of patients in need of organ replacement. However, the perennial lack of deceased organ donors has continually hampered the widespread application of transplantation. The imbalance of supply and demand has created the need to resort to other sources of grafts, such as living donors, which, albeit, a noble act of charity, has been beset by numerous ethical issues, has unfortunately lent itself to abuse and has been tainted with commercialism in many areas of the world and oftentimes has been associated with human trafficking. Thus, this bill is necessary to institutionalize the development of a national system of promoting organ donation from deceased donors and sharing of grafts through the creation of the Philippine Network for Organ Sharing (PHILNOS), which shall implement a system of timely referral and processing of potential multiple organ donors, uphold equitable allocation, efficient procurement and transplantation of organs from deceased donors.
Rep. Lanete exemplifies a young, budding public servant who is up to meet the challenges in order that his vision for his constituency will be realized. By his leadership, he fervently aligns his district towards a more productive and progressive state. He is driven to alleviate the poor living condition of his underprivileged folks, as well as strengthen economic, legislative and security measures in the countryside. His precedence is to oversee the welfare of his people. And, being a dedicated and benevolent legislator and doctor, it is with sincere devotion that he shall perform and deliver efficient service to them, even beyond the call of his duty and profession.
A Scouts Trail: Atty. Charls Mark B. Parcia (October 2011)
Charls, as he is fondly called by friends, grew up in a small town nestled at the foot of Mayon Volcano. Surrounded by nature and its wonders, it was natural for him to grab every opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. This enthusiasm and zest for adventure fueled his interest to join the scouting movement.
As a scout, he is no stranger to the mud of Makiling nor afraid of its lore’s after having scaled its slope countless of times and sleeping beneath the canopy of it’s forest. An avid camper, he was able to go to most of the Jamborees during his time and cherishes the moments that he has shared with fellow scouts around the campfire.
But his earliest recollection of scouting is when he has donned the type A uniform for the first time. This was to welcome then DECS Secretary Isidro Carino to his school during nationwide campaign to encourage young boys to explore learning beyond home and school, to join the scouting movement.
“I consider it the greatest surprise of my life that 20 years after, I am the chairman of an organization that is composed of my fellow awardees, scouts that were hailed as outstanding scouts in a search founded through the support of Sec. Carino.”
His fulfillment as a scout did not end in winning the TOBS award in 1998 as he went on to represent the country in the 19th World Jamboree held in Chile.
He took up Anthropology at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Thereafter he went on to law school graduating from the Faculty of Civil Law of the University of Santo Tomas in 2009. As a student leader he made sure that the students are always able to participate in policy making both in school and in the government. He is a keen advocate for students’ rights and welfare and firm believer that the government must always be accountable to the people.
A lawyer by profession but a volunteer at heart, he has lived up to the promise of doing a good turn daily by making his free time available to the oppressed and underprivileged. Despite being engaged in legal and legislative work in the Senate of the Philippines, he continues to render free legal assistance to migrant workers and laborers as well as oppressed farmers and fisher folks.
“There has never been a time that I have forgotten all the I have learned in scouting, I always trust that my advocacies are always for the good because I draw them from a solemn oath and duty to obey the Scout law”
The belief that scouts no matter where they are and how far they have reached will always carry with them the truths of Baden Powell’s ideals makes him optimistic that there will always be a brighter future for the world.
“As long as there is one Boy Scout left, we can sleep soundly for we are assured of a better tomorrow.”
