About 1000 boy scouts from the provinces of Oriental Negros and Siquijor will participate in the 9th Council-Wide Jamborette, Dec. 8-13, in Barangay Tambo, Ayungon town, Oriental Negros.

The campsite will be in a seven-hectare area of Sitio Cabog, Barangay Tambo, which is near the 10,000-hectare rainforest of Ayungon, the only remaining forest in the host province.

"Bring your jackets. It's going to be very cold," warned Ayungon Mayor Edsel Enardecido, who is also camp chief this year.

In a general meeting with Scoutmasters and other officials from all over the province at the BSP Building Friday, Enardecido said preparations are now being finalized for the camp, which he said, they plan to soon convert into a summer tourist attraction.

He said the jamborette will also be an ideal time to promote Ayungon to Oriental Negros and to assert the claim of his town as the rice granary of the province.

"I am very excited at the opportunity of hosting this jamborette, especially because this will be my contribution to scouting. You see, I was not a member of the Boy Scouts in my younger years," Enardecido said.

The town of Ayungon is 81 kilometers from the provincial capital, Dumaguete City, while Barangay Tambo is about 12 kilometers from the national highway, and is accessible by an all-weather road.

Provincial Board Member Rodolfo Martinez, who is also a member of the Executive Board of the Negros Oriental-Siquijor Boy Scouts Council, is the camp director.

Martinez said this camp will be fun and memorable for all participants, because of the many activities that they can join.

"Aside from participating in competitions and cultural events, the boy scouts will also have the opportunity to earn merit badges in as many as 14 events," Martinez said.

BSP Council Scout Executive Alfredo Catacutan, on the other hand, said the goal of the jamborette is to help the boy scouts move up in the world of scouting.

"Advancement, after all, is this year's theme," Catacutan said.

To defray the cost of holding the camp, the Boy Scouts Council is also undertaking a fund-raising drive. Council chairman Arturo Umbac initiated the fund-raising campaign by meeting with potential donors in Manila last week.*AP

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