Gabriel Daza

Gabriel A. Daza (1896-1994) was one of the charter members of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP). He completed Bachelor of Arts at the Ateneo de Manila in 1914 and subsequently attended Herald’s Engineering College in San Francisco, California, Bliss Electrical School in Washington, DC, and the Educational Department of Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

His involvement with Scouting started in 1928 when he registered to be a member of the Cebu Council, Boy Scouts of America. Later on, he was appointed as Secretary of the Boy Scout Foundation by Joseph E. Stevenot, the foundation's chairman. He served in the BSP's National Executive Board until 1961 when he was elected to succeed Jorge B. Vargas as President and Chief Scout. Prior to his election he was already serving as acting President and Chief Scout, as Jorge Vargas was concurrently serving the position and as a member of the World Scout Committee since 1951.

Daza received several recognitions. Among them was the Bronze Wolf awarded by the World Scout Conference in 1965, the Silver Tamaraw (BSP), Golden Pheasant (Japan), Cruz de Merito (Venezuela), Silver Tiki (New Zealand), and Mongunhwa Gold Medal (South Korea).

He was also recognized by the two Popes. First by Pope Pius XII in 1947, awarding him with the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Sylvester with the grade of Knight, and by Pope John XXIII in 1960 granting him the grade of Knight Commander with Star from the same order.