ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews / 6 November) – All is set for the holding of the five-day Boy Scout of the Philippines’ (BSP) Centennial Jamboree in this city with Vice President Jejomar Binay as the keynote speaker.
The jamboree for Mindanao is scheduled to be held from November 8 to 12 at the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (Zamboecozone) in Barangay Talisayan, 26 kilometers west of this city.
Engr. Reynaldo Misanes, BSP-Zamboanga City Council second vice chairman, said Thursday the number of confirmed participants has already exceeded 1,200 as they targetted only 5,000. “As of 9 o’clock last night, the number of confirmed participants swelled to 6,200 already,” he added.
Misanes said that the BSP-Zamboanga City Council has the largest number of registered participants at 3,500.
The delegation from the Municipality of Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte have already arrived.
Misanes, who is Zamboecozone’s construction and development chief, disclosed they are also expecting the participation of foreign scouting delegates to join the jamboree.
He said the jamboree is being held in three separate places in the country. It is now ongoing in Marikina City for the Luzon area, and the one for Visayas opened today in Cebu City.
Misanes said the holding of the centennial jamboree is very memorable and historical for this city since the earliest documented formation of a Scout troop in the islands was that of the Lorillard Spencer Troops of Zamboanga formed in 1914 in Barangay Recodo here by a United States Navy lieutenant named Sherman Kiser.
The jamboree is anchored on the theme “Peace and Development Through Scouting.”
Binay, aside from being the keynote speaker, will also accept the peace torch and baton during the opening ceremonies on Saturday.
Meanwhile, in line with the event, Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar has declared the period November 8-12 as National BSP Week in this city.