Swedish king gives $100K for disaster response

President Benigno S. Aquino III exchanges views with His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, during the courtesy call at the Music Room of the Malacañan Palace on Friday (January 24). This is the first visit of a Swedish monarch and Head of State of Sweden to the Philippines. Also in photo are Vice President Jejomar Binay, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Kingdom of Sweden Ambassador to the Philippines His Excellency Klas Molin and World Scout Foundation executive committee member Lars Kolind. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/ Gil Nartea/Malacañang Photo Bureau

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines—The devastation  wrought by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in Central Philippines moved His Majesty, Carl XVI Gustaf, the king of Sweden, to donate $100,000 from the World  Scout Foundation for community disaster preparedness training.

Gustaf, who also leads the World Scout Foundation, on Saturday graced the 3rd regional jamborette attended by about 6,000 scouts from Southern Luzon and the National Capital Region at the foot of Mt. Makiling here.

The Swedish king is set to fly to Tacloban City, one of the areas worst hit by the storm, Sunday.

“One of the first things the king (will do) is show his respect for the people who lost their lives and the people who lost their livelihood because he’s been very touched by the disaster,” said John Geoghegan, the foundation’s chief executive.

On Nov. 8, Yolanda, the strongest storm ever recorded, ripped through the Visayas and claimed the lives of more than 6,000 people.

Geoghegan said the amount was not a form of “relief” for the typhoon survivors but was intended to strengthen disaster preparedness and response.

This is the Swedish monarch’s first visit to the Philippines. He arrived in Manila on Friday for a three-day visit and met with President Aquino.

During the regional jamborette here, Vice President Jejomar Binay, also the president of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP), conferred the Mt. Makiling Award, a rare recognition  given to dignitaries in a “court of honor,” on King Gustaf.

Binay was here to open the court of honor of the 3rd One Regional Scout Jamborette.

Geoghegan said the king was impressed by the BSP’s community programs and how its members in the storm-hit areas helped their communities.

He noted that the  BSP, with 16,000 members, is one of the biggest and most “effective” among the 161 countries in the international scout movement.

“I have to say I’ve travelled with the Swedish king for 14 years now to many different countries (and) he does not normally make a speech,” Geoghegan said.

After receiving the recognition, Gustaf delivered a short message and vowed to continue working for the scout movement, before he toured the camp to greet young scouts and pose for pictures.

“It means he’s happy, he’s relaxed, and it also means he is very impressed with the scouts he’s meeting today,” Geoghegan said.

BSP-NCR sub-camp director Arwyn Fabellon said Gustaf’s presence was an inspiration to them. “For a king to walk about five kilometers (to tour the camp), that’s historic,” he said.

Geoghegan said that aside from the disaster fund, the World Scout Foundation is also giving another $100,000 to the BSP for a program intended for streetchildren in Manila.

A part of that amount came from Saudi Arabian King Abdullah for the foundation’s community service projects, he said.

“So in all there are two kings helping, one (Philippine) president, one vice president, and a lot of smiling scouts,” Geoghegan said.

“The name of the Philippines has to be changed (now) to the ‘Land of Smiles,’” he added.