Malay , officially the Municipality of Malay ( Aklanon: ''Banwa it Malay''; Hiligaynon: ''Banwa sang Malay''; ), 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 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 populous municipality in Aklan. It is the northernmost town on the island of

Panay 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 Il ...

and the youngest amongst all municipalities in Aklan province. The resort island of

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 ...

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, then part of

Capiz Capiz (), officially the Province of Capiz (Capiznon language, Capiznon/Hiligaynon language, Hiligaynon: ''Kapuoran sang Capiz''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the central part of the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines ...

. It included the following barangays: Malay (''

poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

'', 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.

Geography

Malay is located at . It is west of 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, ...

, from

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...

, from

Roxas City Roxas (, ), officially the City of Roxas (Capiznon language, Capiznon/; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Capiz, Philippines. According to the 2 ...

, 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

Barangays

Malay is politically subdivided into 17

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 ...

. There are 3 barangays (Balabag, Manoc-Manoc, and Yapak) of which 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 .

Languages

Aklanon is the dominant dialect of Malay. Kinaray-a is also used due to Malay’s 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. Tagalog and English are also used particularly in Caticlan and Boracay to communicate with local and foreign tourists alike.

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.

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, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first membe ...

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, and Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro The Tabon port is not used a lot but it is used if its not summer.

Ground Transportation

Malay uses the electrics Sikad in

island.

Bus

Malay is also using the hop on hop off shuttle service in

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 ...

island

Education

;List of secondary schools in Malay * 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 2 hospitals both of which are owned by the government. * Don Ciriaco Tirol Memorial Hospital * Malay Municipal Hospital

Media

FM Radio Stations

* Radyo Todo Aklan 88.5 ( Philippine Broadcasting Service/Todo Media, Inc.) * 89.7 DYIE FM ( Far East Broadcasting Company) * 91.1 Yes the Best (

Manila Broadcasting Company The Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC), doing business as the MBC Media Group, is a multimedia company in the Philippines. It is currently owned by the FJE Group of Companies of Fred J. Elizalde, which also operates hotels and Pasay-based amusem ...

/Philippine Broadcasting Corporation) * 93.5 Easy Rock (

/Cebu Broadcasting Company) * 94.9 Brigada News FM (

Brigada Mass Media Corporation The Brigada Group of Companies is a Filipino conglomerate, with interests in entertainment and consumer goods. editions in Mindanao, a network of FM stations across the Philippines, one TV station, distribution of herbal food supplements, ...

) * 97.3 Boracay Beach Radio (

Interactive Broadcast Media Interactive Broadcast Media, Inc. (IBMI) is a Philippine radio network based in San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines. History IBMI was established on October 31, 1996 by broadcast veteran Roberto Bacsal and businessman Rene Palma as a media out ...

) * 98.1 iFM (

Radio Mindanao Network Radio Mindanao Network, Inc. (RMN), d.b.a. RMN Networks or RMN Network, is a Filipino media company based in Makati, Philippines. It is primarily involved is one of the largest radio networks. Its corporate office is located at the 4th Floor ...

) * 106.1 FM2 Boracay ( Philippine Broadcasting Service/One Media Boracay)

Cable Television

* Kalibo Cable TV Network * Paradise Cable TV

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Code {{Authority control Municipalities of Aklan Port cities and towns in the Philippines 1949 establishments in the Philippines