|
Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf arrived yesterday in the country for the centenary celebration of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines. |
The king, who is the first Swedish monarch and head of state to visit the Philippines paid a courtesy call on President Benigno Aquino in Malacanang.
He is also the honorary chairman of the World Scout Foundation (WSF).
The monarch was scheduled to have dinner with Vice President Jejomar Binay and officials of the World Organisation of the Scout Movement and the WSF at the Coconut Palace later.
Binay, who is the national president of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, led the Philippine delegation to Sweden when it hosted the World Scout Jamboree in 2011. Tomorrow, King Gustaf will visit Tacloban City to check on the Swedish humanitarian effort carried out through the United Nations for Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) victims.
The WSF raises funds for scouting projects worldwide, including the Ticket to Life project in the Philippines.
President Aquino is the country’s chief scout by virtue of Republic Act 727.
The king was welcomed at the airport by Education Secretary Armin Luistro, DFA European Affairs Assistant Secretary Maria Zeneida Angara Collinson, non-resident Philippine Ambassador to Sweden Bayani Mercado and J Rizal Pangilinan, regional director of the World Organisation for the Scout Movement.
As Education chief, Luistro leads the 2mn-strong Filipino Boy Scouts, the third biggest scout membership in the world, after the Boy Scouts of America and Boy Scouts of Indonesia.