Malay , officially the Municipality of Malay ( Aklanon: ''Banwa it Malay''; Hiligaynon: ''Banwa sang Malay''; tl, Bayan ng Malay), is a 1st class cosmopolitan

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Aklan Aklan, officially the Province of Aklan ( Akeanon: ''Probinsya it Akean'' k'ɣan hil, Kapuoran sang Aklan; tl, Lalawigan ng Aklan), is a province in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Its capital is Kalibo. The province is situa ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It is the richest municipality in the province in terms of revenue. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 60,077 people making it the second most populated town in Aklan. It is the northernmost town in the island of Panay and the youngest amongst all municipalities in Aklan province. The resort island of

Boracay Boracay (; often locally shortened to Bora) is a resort island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located off the northwest coast of Panay. It has a total land area of , under the jurisdiction of three barangays in Malay, Ak ...

is part of the municipality.

History

The municipality of Malay was created on June 15, 1949, through Republic Act No. 381 and the help of Claro Tumaob, out of various portions of the municipality of

Buruanga Buruanga, officially the Municipality of Buruanga ( Aklanon: ''Banwa it Buruanga''; Hiligaynon: ''Banwa sang Buruanga''; tl, Bayan ng Buruanga), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Aklan, Philippines. It is the farthest town of Akla ...

, then part of

Capiz Capiz, officially the Province of Capiz (Capiznon/ Hiligaynon: ''Kapuoran sang Capiz''; tl, Lalawigan ng Capiz), is a province in the Philippines located in the central section of Western Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Roxas. It ...

. It included the following barangays: Malay (poblacion, seat of local government), Dumlog, Cabulihan, Balusbos, Nabaoy, Cubay Norte, Cubay Sur, Cogon, Argao, Sambiray, Caticlan, Manoc-Manoc, Balabag, Yapak, Motag, Napaan, and Naasog. On April 25, 1956, Malay became part of the newly-created province of

, along with several other towns of Capiz. It was hit severely by typhoon Seniang on December 9–10, 2006, with much destruction and damage of homes and infrastructure.

Cityhood

"Resolution no. 066, series of 2010" created an ad hoc Committee and Technical Working Group to conduct initial study and evaluation for the proposed cityhood of the Municipality of Malay, Aklan. In 2021, the Aklan Provincial Board passed a resolution urging legislative action to change the local government classification of Malay from first-class municipality to

chartered city In the United States, a charter city is a city in which the governance, governing system is defined by the city's own charter document rather than solely by general-law municipality, general law. In states where city charters are allowed by law, ...

. On November 28, 2022, House Bill No. 6401 was filed by Rep Teodorico Haresco Jr which seeks accomplish this.

Geography

Malay is located at . It is west of

Kalibo Kalibo, officially the Municipality of Kalibo ( Aklanon: ''Banwa it Kalibo''; Hiligaynon: ''Banwa sang Kalibo''; tgl, Bayan ng Kalibo), is a 1st class municipality and capital of the Province of Aklan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...

, the provincial capital. According to the

Philippine Statistics Authority The Philippine Statistics Authority (Filipino: ''Pangasiwaan ng Estadistika ng Pilipinas''), abbreviated as PSA, is the central statistical authority of the Philippine government that ''collects, compiles, analyzes and publishes statistical inf ...

, the municipality has a land area of constituting of the total area of Aklan.

Climate

Barangays

Malay is politically subdivided into 17

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...

s, three (Balabag, Manoc-Manoc, and Yapak) of which are situated within Boracay Island, while the rest are in mainland Malay.

Demographics

In the 2020 census, Malay had a population of 60,077. The population density was .

Economy

Because of its robust tourism industry, the municipality is now considered as having the strongest economy in all the municipalities in the Region and the richest municipality of

in terms of income and annual budget. The tourism industry of

became the catalyst of its economic growth that brought many investors to come and helped transform the municipality into a cosmopolitan area.

Banks

, there are ten (10) banks in the municipality of Malay operated by six (6) commercial banking corporations.

Transportation

Air

Malay has one airport, officially named Godofredo P. Ramos Airport but more popularly known as ''Caticlan Airport''. Only small aircraft were allowed to land on the runway. The runway was extended to in 2016, allowing bigger aircraft like the

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the famil ...

to land at the airport.

Sea

The Caticlan Jetty Port, one of the ports along the Strong Republic Nautical Highway, serves as a gateway to

island,

Roxas, Oriental Mindoro Roxas, officially the Municipality of Roxas, is a 2nd class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. It has a population of 58,849 according to the 2020 census. History ...

, and

Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro Bulalacao, officially the Municipality of Bulalacao ( tgl, Bayan ng Bulalacao), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,366 people. It is formerly kno ...

Education

;List of schools in Malay

Secondary

* Boracay National High School * Boracay National High School Manoc-Manoc Extension * Caticlan Academy Foundation, Inc * Lamberto H. Tirol National High School * Malay National High School

Healthcare

Malay is being served by three hospitals, of which 1 is private, and 2 are owned by the government. * Don Ciriaco Tirol Memorial Hospital * Malay Municipal Hospital * Aklan Baptist Hospital

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Code* www.CaticlanAcademy.org {{Authority control Municipalities of Aklan Port cities and towns in the Philippines