Three Aklan towns vying for cityhood

The province of Aklan still has no city and at least three of its towns are looking to become one. They are the capital town of Kalibo, Malay and Nabas.

Nabas Mayor James Solanoy said they may also soon start planning to develop the town to become a city because of their fast economic growth brought about by the booming tourism industry.

Based in the town of Nabas are two multinational corporations. One is expanding the Caticlan Airport.

The Caticlan Airport from adjacent Malay town in Aklan is being operated by the San Miguel Corp. Another company is the Petrowind Energy Corp., a 50-megawatt wind-farm project in the province.

“We initially targeted a P9-million local government revenue for the year 2017. However, just from January to June, we already collected P24 million in local government revenue. This is a huge sign the economic progress of our town is unprecedented,” Solanoy said.

Aside from this, the town of Nabas has also received several requests from other multinational companies to invest in their town. The town is currently classified as a fourth-class municipality.

In June of this year, the Malay Council has revived their bid to become a city.

Malay Councilor Frolibar Bautista said he had already filed a resolution calling for the creation of a technical committee that will serve as a secretariat in preparing documents for the cityhood of Malay.

Boracay, which is under the geographical jurisdiction of Malay, is considered the country’s premier tourism destination.

The town of Kalibo, meanwhile, has been pushing for cityhood since 2007. Kalibo Mayor William Lachica said they still need to fill the requirements of population and geographical area to apply for cityhood.

“Kalibo town is doing its best to be declared a city,” he said, adding the town is famous for Ati-Atihan Festival.