Buruanga, officially the Municipality of Buruanga ( Aklanon: ''Banwa it Buruanga''; Hiligaynon: ''Banwa sang Buruanga''; ), is a

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

in the

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

Aklan Aklan, officially the Province of Aklan, is a Provinces of the Philippines, 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, Panay Islan ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. It is the farthest town of Aklan from its provincial capital. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 19,357 people.

History

The name ''Buruanga'' came from the word ''Busuanga'' meaning "eruption" or "swell". Frequently harassed by inundations from the river, the early residents constructed earthen dams which were subsequently washed away. The people named the river "Busuanga," which later became the name of the Municipality. When the Spaniards arrived, they renamed ''Busuanga'' to ''Buruanga'', or perhaps the change was purely a clerical error. The present municipality of Malay, including

Boracay Boracay (; sometimes shortened by non-natives as Bora) is a resort island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located off the northwest coast of Panay, Panay Island. It has a total land area of , under the jurisdiction of thre ...

, was once a part of Buruanga. On June 15, 1949, the enactment of ''

Republic Act This article contains a partial list of Philippine laws. Sources of Philippine laws ;Notes : *Customs may be considered as supplementary source of law, however, customs which are contrary to law, public order or public policy shall not ...

391'' separated Malay from Buruanga to become an independent municipality. It was hit severely by typhoon Seniang on 9–10 December 2006, with much destruction and damage of homes and infrastructure.

Geography

Buruanga is located at the western tip of

Panay Island Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and a total population of 4,542,926, as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City of I ...

. It is a coastal town bounded on the north by Malay; south by

Libertad, Antique Libertad, officially the Municipality of Libertad, (; ; Aklanon: ''Banwa it Libertad''; ), is a municipality in the province of Antique, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 17,507 people, making it the 17th most p ...

; and west by the Cuyo East Pass of the

Sulu Sea The Sulu Sea (; Tausug: ''Dagat sin Sūg''; ; ) is a body of water in the southwestern area of the Philippines, separated from the South China Sea in the northwest by Palawan and from the Celebes Sea in the southeast by the Sulu Archipela ...

. It is from the provincial capital

Kalibo Kalibo, officially the Municipality of Kalibo (Aklanon language, Aklanon: ''Banwa it Kalibo''; Hiligaynon language, Hiligaynon: ''Banwa sang Kalibo''; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, ...

and from

San Jose de Buenavista San Jose de Buenavista, officially the Municipality of San Jose de Buenavista (; ; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Antique (province), Antique, Philippines. According ...

. According to the

Philippine Statistics Authority The Philippine Statistics Authority (; PSA) is the central statistical authority of the Philippine government that collects, compiles, analyzes, and publishes statistical information on economic, social, demographic, political affairs, and gene ...

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

Climate

There is one prevailing type of climate identified as Type I, two pronounced seasons which are dry from November to April and wet for the rest of the year. This is also true in all municipalities of Western Aklan such as Malay (excluding Boracay Island) and Nabas, as well as the Western portion of the municipalities bounding Antique. In these areas, including Buruanga, the wettest month is August with rainfall averaging and the driest is March with rainfall of only about . The average temperature if the area is with an average humidity of 77.8%. The wet season coincides with the planting of rice while offshore fishing is in full gear during the dry season. Typhoons and strong winds rarely occur, and if it ever occurs, it coincides with the wet season. The humid north-western monsoon arrives in the area by June causing an increase in rainfall which reaches its peak in the month of August.

Barangays

Buruanga is administratively subdivided into 15

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

Demographics

In the 2020 census, Buruanga had a population of 19,357. The population density was .

Languages

Aklanon is the dominant dialect of Buruanga. Kinaray-a is also spoken due to its proximity to

Antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

. Hiligaynon is also widely spoken and understood in the municipality.

Economy

Tourism

Despite its proximity to

, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Philippines, Buruanga sees very few tourists. Various scenic spots such as caves, waterfalls, beaches, hills, and mountain parks are found throughout the area such as the Hinugtan White Beach, Batason (Ariel's) Point, Langka Beach, Nasog Beach, Tuburan Baybay Beach, Tigis Beach/Falls, and Pagatpat Mangrove Park.

Flora and fauna

The upland barangay of Tag-Osip contains a portion of the Northwest Panay Peninsula Natural Park which is contained within the municipalities of Buruanga, Malay, and Nabas in

Province and Libertad and Pandan in

. The park is home to many important plant and animal species such as the Visayan

leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a Felinae, small wild cat native to continental South Asia, South, Southeast Asia, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely di ...

, the blue-necked parrot, the Visayan hornbill, and the roughneck monitor lizard. In 2011, several researchers from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

conducted various biological assessments along the Buruanga coastline. It was found that Buruanga hosts 4 different species of

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

s including large tracts of nypa found in the barangays of Alegria, Balusbos, Poblacion, and Santander. Other species including pagatpat, bakawan, and piyapi are concentrated in Pagatpat Mangrove Park in barangay Panilongan with a few trees in spotted areas in barangay Santander. Buruanga also is home to 5 different species of

seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine (ocean), marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four Family (biology), families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and ...

identified including '' Cymodocea rotundata'', '' Cymodocea serrulata'', ''

Halodule pinifolia ''Halodule pinifolia'' is a seagrass species in the genus ''Halodule ''Halodule'' is a genus of plants in the family (biology), family Cymodoceaceae described as a genus in 1841. It is widespread on tropical and semi-tropical ocean shores of ...

'', '' Halophila ovalis'' and '' Thalassia hemprichii''.

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Code {{Authority control Municipalities of Aklan