Malinao Boy Scouts Participate in the 20th Western Visayas Regional Jamborette
November 25 - 30, 2002

Camp Malinao at the 20th Western Visayas Boy Scout Jamborette

The Boy Scouts of the Philippines held its regional jamborette at Jawili, Tangalan, Aklan. As with every town in Aklan, Malinao sent a contingent of 147 scouts and 12 scout masters. The head of delegation was Mayor Joji Ilio who attended the opening ceremonies on November 25, 2002. Head scout master is Mr. Paterno Ibarreta and District Boy Scout Coordinator is Mr. Jim Regno.

Jawili, Tangalan has long been known as the home of the Seven Basins, ascending seven pools created by a series of waterfalls. A reforestration project of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is being maintained at the watershed of the falls. Jawili Falls is near the beach and the beach is an added attraction to visitors because of its white sands, nearly comparable to the sands of Boracay. Today the beach is studded with resorts and vacation houses. Jawili has become an alternate tourist destination to Boracay.

The beach of Jawili, Tangalan, Aklan

As a camp site for boy scouts, Jawili is ideal. There is the forest, the waterfalls and the beach. A large area for camping and other scouting activities were available for numerous scouts. For this jamboree, there were more than 6,000 participants. The bulk were from Western Visayas but there were contingents from Zamboanga, Aurora, South Cotabato and Leyte. Most probably these delegations from outside the region proceeded to Boracay after the jamborette.

The Malinao delegation was camped beside the road going to Bugtong Bato, a barrio further west. The camp was composed of three sub-camps, the camp of the Malinao School for Philippine Craftsmen (MSPC), the camp of the scouts from Lilo-an named Camp Candido Iban and the camp of the elementary schools. The main camp was named Mayor Joji Ilio, which was a bit odd, naming a boy scout camp to a living person and the mayor at that. But then all the other camps were named after their mayors, so there was the Camp Jed Tirol of Tangalan, Camp Victor Fernandez of Lezo, Camp Raymar Rebaldo of Kalibo, etc. Maybe these boy scout masters were making palakas to the mayors. The funds for the boy scouts comes from the Special Educational Fund, a local government fund, controlled by the local school board, which is chaired by the mayor.

The boy scout camping must have change with the times. Witness the tents of the Malinao subcamps. The MSPC tent was the biggest, made of "trapal," a thick plastic sheet; the tent housed all twenty- seven scouts and their scoutmasters. Instead of wood for cooking the MSPC delegation brought LPG stoves. Instead of the scouts cooking an older non-scout was in charge of the food and cooking. The pantry was well stocked. There was even a cage for native chicken, a source of stable viand for the scouts. The light in this subcamp came from electricity. MSPC brought car batteries for the fluorescent lights. Convenience for the delegates was a priority for this contingent. But then the teachers that acted as scout masters stayed with the scouts. And they may not have been able to endure five days of real boy scout camping life.

The coming of the boy scouts transformed Jawili into one temporary town. Its jamborette population of more than six thousand is thrice the population of Poblacion, Malinao. So all the needs of everyday living were supplied. The concentration of people attracted all sorts of trade. Along the roadside were the usual sari-sari stores, even a talipapa selling meat, fresh fish and vegetables.. A section along the beach was converted into a flea market with Muslim traders peddling their wares of trinkets, fake watches, beads, swords, radios, pirated CDs, pirated VCDs, madami pang iba. A fiesta atmosphere pervaded in Jawili. The young boy scouts must have a grand time.

The boy scout jamboree had a schedule of scouting activities during their five day stay. But aside from these formal activities the scouts were much more interested in taking baths in the basins of the Jawili Falls and the beach. For those scouts coming from inland towns like Malinao, Jawili Falls and beach were such a treat. At all times there were always scouts out in the falls or on the beach.

After five days in Jawili the scouts were tired and ready to go home. Valuable lessons in scouting were learned. But for the Malinao delegation five days in Jawili were five days of fun and an experience of how paradise might be.

Photo Gallery
Mayor's Corner