Aklan, officially the Province of Aklan, is a province in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Its capital and largest town is Kalibo. The province is situated in the northwest portion of Panay Island, bordering Antique to the southwest, and Capiz to the southeast. Aklan faces the Sibuyan Sea and Romblon province to the north.
Aklan is most well-known for Boracay, a resort island 0.8 kilometers north of the tip of Panay. It is known for its white sand beaches and is considered one of the more prominent destinations in the country. The Ati-Atihan Festival of Kalibo has also been known worldwide, hence declared "The Mother of all Philippine Festivals." It is an annual celebration held on the third Sunday of January to honor the Santo Niño (Infant Jesus). The festival showcases tribal dancing through the town's main streets to the tune of ethnic music, with participants in indigenous costumes and gear.
History
Early history
Aklan is believed to have been settled in ancient times by settlers from Borneo, ruled by Datu Bangkaya, with his seat at Madyanos, near present-day Numancia.
Spanish colonial era
Several datus succeeded Datu Manduyog until the Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi landed in Batan in 1565 and claimed the island for Spain, in early Spanish accounts it was called El Río de Aclán. According to an 1818 census, Aklan which was still in political union with the province of Capiz had municipalities with large amounts of Spanish-Filipino families, of which Batan had 56, Banga had 8, Malinao had 11, Kalibo had 167, and Ibajay 30.
Japanese occupation
In 1942, the Japanese invaded Aklan during World War II. In 1945, combined Filipino and American army along with Aklanon guerrillas liberated Aklan during the war in the Pacific.
Postwar Era
Aklan (Akean) became an independent province through Republic Act No. 1414 signed by Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay on April 25, 1956, separating Aklan from Capiz. The original towns were Altavas, Balete, Batan, Banga, Buruanga, Ibajay, Kalibo, Lezo, Libacao, Madalag, Malay, Makato, Malinao, Nabas, New Washington, Numancia, and Tangalan, then all part of the province of Capiz. The province was inaugurated on November 8, 1956. Jose Raz Menez was appointed the first governor of Aklan by President Magsaysay and he served until December 30, 1959.
In 1960, Godofredo P. Ramos became the first elected governor but upon resigning to run for Congress he was succeeded by the vice governor, Virgilio S. Patricio. In 1964, José B. Legaspi succeeded Patricio and he held office for two consecutive terms from 1964 to 1971.
Marcos dictatorship
The beginning months of the 1970s had marked a period of turmoil and change in the Philippines, as well as in Aklan. During his bid to be the first Philippine president to be re-elected for a second term, Ferdinand Marcos launched an unprecedented number of foreign debt-funded public works projects. This caused the Philippine economy to take a sudden downwards turn known as the 1969 Philippine balance of payments crisis, which led to a period of economic difficulty and a significant rise of social unrest. With only a year left in his last constitutionally allowed term as president, Ferdinand Marcos placed the Philippines under Martial Law in September 1972 and thus retained the position for fourteen more years. This period in Philippine history is remembered for the Marcos administration's record of human rights abuses, particularly targeting political opponents, student activists, journalists, religious workers, farmers, and others who fought against the Marcos dictatorship. Aklanons discovered that they could be arrested for even mundane things like being caught possessing a cassette tape of nationalistic songs.
With no way to express their grievances about government abuses after the declaration of Martial law in 1972, many students felt they had no option but to join the underground resistance movement against the dicttorship. Among the most prominent of them were underground movement leaders Antonio "Tonyhil" Hilario, Rolly Lorca, and Antonio Tagamolia, who were killed in a raid in Libacao in February 1974; as well as student journalist Antonio "Diore" Mijares and Baptist Youth organizer Edward Dela Fuente, who were caught, tortured, and killed somewhere in Ibajay on Good Friday, April 20, 1984. Some of these figures were later honored by having their names inscribed in the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani memorial which honors the martyrs and heroes who fought the authoritarian regime.
Dispossession of Boracay from the Ati
On Nov. 10, 1978, six years after the declaration of Martial Law under Ferdinand Marcos, 65 Philippine islands including Boracay was declared "tourist zones and marine reserves" without any mention of the status of the Ati who were the original residents of the island. This de facto dispossession of Ati lands on Boracay by Marcos placed the islands under the control of the Philippine Tourism Authority, and marked the beginning of rapid development on the island. In turn, this resulted in the further marginalization of the Boracay Ati for decades.
Contemporary history
Aklan was among the provinces affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, with an overseas Filipino worker who showed symptoms on March 12, 2020 becoming the first "person under investigation" (PUI) in the province.
Geography
thumb|left|A view of the Aklan River
Aklan occupies the northern third of the island of Panay and is bordered by the provinces of Capiz from the southeast and Antique from the southwest. It also faces the Sibuyan Sea from the north. The province covers a total area of , and includes the island of Boracay which is located at its northwestern tip.
Mount Nausang, is formerly the highest peak in Aklan, standing at , the discovery of Mount Timbaban is much higher, with an elevation of above sea level, Mount Timbaban is not considered as independent mountain, it is still part of Mount Madja-as sub-summit with only Topographic prominence peak of above the isolation from the Parent peak. Located 6 km northwest of Mount Nausang and 4.8 km northeast of Mount Madja-as in Antique. Aklan River, is the longest river in the province with a total length of long.
The province features high geographic diversity, ranging from white sandy beaches, mangroves and mountainous landscapes. Situated within the province is the river Akean, which appears unique due to its "boiling or frothing" appearance.
Administrative divisions
Aklan comprises 17 municipalities. The province is divided into two legislative districts for congressional representation.
thumb|400px|upright=1.1|
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="table-layout:fixed;text-align:right;background-color:white;font-size:95%;border-collapse:collapse;"
|-
! scope="col" style="border-width:thin 0 0 thin;" class="unsortable" rowspan="2" |
! scope="col" style="border-width:thin 0 0 0;text-align:left;padding-right:1.5em;" class="unsortable" colspan="2" | Municipality
! scope="col" style="border-bottom:0;text-align:center;" class="unsortable" colspan="3" | Population
! scope="col" style="border-bottom:0;text-align:center;" class="unsortable" |
! scope="col" style="border-bottom:0;text-align:center;" class="unsortable" colspan="2" | Area
! scope="col" style="border-bottom:0;text-align:center;" class="unsortable" colspan="2" | Density
! scope="col" style="border-bottom:0;text-align:center;" class="unsortable" |
|-
! style="border-width:0 thin thin 0;" colspan="2" |
! style="border-width:0 0 thin thin;text-align:center;" colspan="2" |
! style="border-width:0 thin thin 0;text-align:center;" |
! style="border-top:0;" |
! style="border-width:0 0 thin thin;text-align:center;" | km<sup>2</sup>
! style="border-width:0 thin thin 0;text-align:center;" class="unsortable" |
! style="border-width:0 0 thin thin;text-align:center;" | /km<sup>2</sup>
! style="border-width:0 thin thin 0;text-align:center;" class="unsortable" |
! style="border-top:0;" |
|-
! scope="row" style="border-right:0;background-color:initial;" |
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:bold;border-left:0;" | Altavas
|
| 24,619
|
|
|
| style="text-align:center;" | 14
|-
! scope="row" style="border-right:0;background-color:initial;" |
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:bold;border-left:0;" | Balete
|
| 28,920
|
|
|
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
|-
! scope="row" style="border-right:0;background-color:initial;" |
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:bold;border-left:0;" | Banga
|
| 39,505
|
|
|
| style="text-align:center;" | 30
|-
! scope="row" style="border-right:0;background-color:initial;" |
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:bold;border-left:0;" | Batan
|
| 32,032
|
|
|
| style="text-align:center;" | 20
|-
! scope="row" style="border-right:0;background-color:initial;" |
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:bold;border-left:0;" | Buruanga
|
| 19,003
|
|
|
| style="text-align:center;" | 15
|-
! scope="row" style="border-right:0;background-color:initial;" |
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:bold;border-left:0;" | Ibajay
|
| 49,564
|
|
|
| style="text-align:center;" | 35
|-
! scope="row" style="border-width:medium 0 medium medium;background-color:initial;" |
| style="text-align:left;font-weight:bold;border-width:medium 0 medium;" | Kalibo
| style="border-width:medium medium medium 0;padding-right:0.7em;" | †
|
| 80,605
|
|
|
| style="text-align:center;" | 16
|-
! scope="row" style="border-right:0;background-color:initial;" |
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:bold;border-left:0;" | Lezo
|
| 15,224
|
|
|
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
|-
! scope="row" style="border-right:0;background-color:initial;" |
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:bold;border-left:0;" | Libacao
|
| 28,241
|
|
|
| style="text-align:center;" | 24
|-
! scope="row" style="border-right:0;background-color:initial;" |
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:bold;border-left:0;" | Madalag
|
| 18,389
|
|
|
| style="text-align:center;" | 25
|-
! scope="row" style="border-right:0;background-color:initial;" |
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:bold;border-left:0;" | Makato
|
| 27,262
|
|
|
| style="text-align:center;" | 18
|-
! scope="row" style="border-right:0;background-color:initial;" |
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:bold;border-left:0;" | Malay
|
| 52,973
|
|
|
| style="text-align:center;" | 17
|-
! scope="row" style="border-right:0;background-color:initial;" |
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:bold;border-left:0;" | Malinao
|
| 23,194
|
|
|
| style="text-align:center;" | 23
|-
! scope="row" style="border-right:0;background-color:initial;" |
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:bold;border-left:0;" | Nabas
|
| 36,435
|
|
|
| style="text-align:center;" | 20
|-
! scope="row" style="border-right:0;background-color:initial;" |
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:bold;border-left:0;" | New Washington
|
| 45,007
|
|
|
| style="text-align:center;" | 16
|-
! scope="row" style="border-right:0;background-color:initial;" |
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:bold;border-left:0;" | Numancia
|
| 31,934
|
|
|
| style="text-align:center;" | 17
|-
! scope="row" style="border-right:0;background-color:initial;" |
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:bold;border-left:0;" | Tangalan
|
| 21,916
|
|
|
| style="text-align:center;" | 15
|- class="sortbottom"
! scope="row" style="border-right:0;" |
! colspan="3" style="border-left:0;text-align:left;font-size:medium;font-variant:small-caps;letter-spacing:0.05em;" | Total
! style="text-align:right;" | 615,475
! style="text-align:right;" | 574,823
! style="text-align:right;" |
! style="text-align:right;" | 1,760.30
!
! style="text-align:right;" |
! style="text-align:right;" |
! style="text-align:center;" | 327
|- class="sortbottom" style="background-color:#F2F2F2;line-height:1.3em;border-top:double grey;"
| colspan="2" style="border-width:thin 0 0 thin;" |
| colspan="5" style="border-width:thin 0 0 0;text-align:center;padding:0.7em 0;" | Provincial capital
| colspan="6" style="border-width:thin 0 0 0;text-align:left;padding:0.7em 0;" | Municipality
|- class="sortbottom" style="background-color:#F2F2F2;line-height:1.3em;font-size:110%;"
| colspan="13" style="border-top:0;padding:0 12em;" |
|}
Demographics
The population of Aklan in the 2024 census was 634,422 people, with a density of .
Ethnic groups
The main inhabitants of the province are the Aklanon, who are part of the Visayan ethnic group. Other inhabitants include the Negrito, locally known as the Ati and the Sulod, a lesser known tribal group living in the hinterlands of Panay. Other Visayans also present are the Hiligaynon, Karay-a, and Capiznon.