el toro bumingo 2: Municipal Hall

Showing posts with label Municipal Hall. Show all posts

Saturday, October 10, 2020

Balete, Aklan

After returning to Kalibo from New Washington, I saw a signage of a jeepney trip to Balete, Aklan. I always travel by jeep as much as possible because it’s more economical. So I rode a jeep and dropped off at the municipal hall compound.

The Town Hall of Balete, Aklan

They have a Quick Response Center, which serves also a waiting shed because it’s along the main highway. There’s a nice church dedicated to St Raphael the Archangel near the Balete Town Hall. There’s also a monument dedicated to Jose Rizal.

Balete is a nice small town. There isn’t much business establishments nearby and the market is nowhere to be found. This is a new town. I investigated Google Maps and found a museum nearby called Basura Garden. It’s a museum for works of arts made from recycle materials. I’ll made a separate blog post about it.

Here’s more information about it from PhilAtlas:

Balete is a landlocked municipality in the coastal province of Aklan.

The municipality has a land area of 118.93 square kilometers or 45.92 square miles which constitutes 6.53% of Aklan's total area. Its population as determined by the 2015 Census was 28,920. This represented 5.03% of the total population of Aklan province, or 0.38% of the overall population of the Western Visayas region. Based on these figures, the population density is computed at 243 inhabitants per square kilometer or 630 inhabitants per square mile.

That concludes my 3 Days Trip to Mindor0 and Aklan. After visiting Balete, Aklan I returned to Kalibo and waited for my flight back to Manila.

Balete Quick Response Center, Aklan

St Raphael the Archangel Church, Balete, Aklan

Barangay Poblacion Multi-Purpose Building, Balete, Aklan

Mayor Miguel Calizo Multi-Purpose Building, Balete, Aklan

Jose Rizal Monument in Balete, Aklan

Balete Playing Field

St Raphael the Archangel Parish Church, Balete, Aklan

Flickr Tags: Basura Garden,Balete,Aklan,Jose Rizal Monument,St Raphael the Archangel Parish Church

New Washington, Aklan

This town was named after the first president of the United States of America – George Washington. I was curious on why and the answer can be found in Wikipedia:

Established on January 15, 1904, the municipality was named after the first president of the United States, George Washington, as a tribute to the Thomasites, a group of American teachers who in the early 1900s established a new public education system in the Philippines, taught basic education, and trained Filipino teachers with English as medium of instruction. The municipality was formerly called Fonda Lagatic, which was derived from Lagatik River that stretches along some of the municipality's barangays at a length of 9.6 kilometres (6.0 mi).

The Municipal Hall of New Washington, Aklan

New Washington, Aklan is also the birthplace of Jaime Cardinal Sin – famous archbishop of Manila during the Marial Law up to the Cory Presidency. There’s a huge statue of him at the New Washington Park.

One of the things I like about New Washington, Aklan is the Sampaguita Gardens. It’s like a private resort with Mediterranean and Christmas Theme. It’s definitely a must-see place in New Washington. I will post a separate blog article of Sampaguita Gardens soon.

Other things I like about New Washington, Aklan are the old houses. There’s a huge bahay na bato besides the public park that is repurposed into a business space for Palawan Express. An ideal way to preserve at the same time optimize existing old, stone houses.

New Washington also has a nice esplanade that gives you a great view of the sea.

Welcome to New Washington, Aklan

I love New Washington marker. I hope it could have been closely spaced.

A great view of the sea even from inside the tricycle.

New Washington Archway

A monument for New Washington’s famous son – Jaime Cardinal Sin of Manila

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church, New Washington, Aklan

Sampaguita Gardens, New Washington, Aklan. Will post more pictures of this gorgeous Christmas-theme inspired place.

Nice house along the National Highway, New Washington, Aklan

Old and New

Hall of Justice, New Washington, Aklan

An old house in Poblacion, New Washington, Aklan

New Washington Public Park

An old bahay na bato repurposed as a business establishment for Palawan Pawnshop

Another old house

I’m guessing this is the ancestral house of Jaime Cardinal Sin’s family in New Washington, Aklan. There’s a church logo on the facade

Another old house repurposed as an outlet for Western Union, New Washington

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Church, New Washington

Interior shot of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Church, New Washington, Aklan

7-11 New Washington, Aklan

Some business in Poblacion, New Washington, Aklan

The Old Town Hall of New Washington, Aklan

Flickr Tags: New Washington,Aklan,Jaime Cardinal Sin,7-11

The Municipality of Malay, Aklan Province

Boracay Island (and it’s 3 barangays) are part of the Municipality of Malay in the Panay Island. From Boracay Tambisaan Jetty Port, I rode a ferry that took me back to Caticlan. I rode a tricycle and asked to be taken to the Municipal Hall of Malay, Aklan where Boracay is a part of.

I took some photos of the Malay Church (St Joseph Parish Church) and Rizal’s Monument. Nearby is the Northwest Panay Peninsula Natural Park. After Malay, I planned to visit the other municipalities on my way to Kalibo, Aklan but I found it difficult because there are no jeepney routes.

I decided to go straight to Kalibo, Aklan and bypass the other municipalities because the fare for the van trip is the same whether it’s near or far.

Here’s more information of Malay, Aklan from PhilAtlas:

Malay is a coastal municipality in the province of Aklan.

The municipality has a land area of 66.01 square kilometers or 25.49 square miles which constitutes 3.62% of Aklan's total area. Its population as determined by the 2015 Census was 52,973. This represented 9.22% of the total population of Aklan province, or 0.70% of the overall population of the Western Visayas region. Based on these figures, the population density is computed at 802 inhabitants per square kilometer or 2,078 inhabitants per square mile.

You could also visit the Official Website of Malay, Aklan here as well as the Official Website of Aklan Province here.

Malay, Aklan is a coastal municipality so you will see a lot of sceneries like this.

St Joseph Parish Church, Malay, Aklan

Interior shot of the St Joseph Parish Church in Malay, Aklan

Northwest Panay Peninsula Natural Park signage near the Malay Municipal Hall

Flickr Tags: Malay,Aklan

To Caticlan via the Port Town of Bulalacao

Bulalacao in Oriental Mindoro also has a port that offers RORO trip to Caticlan in Panay Island (Aklan Province to be exact). I went to Boracay last year via Bulalacao Port onboard the FastCraft.

There are no jeep plying to Bulalacao so I have to take a public van. I arrived late in the afternoon and after securing my ticket at the FastCat ticket office, I visited the main church of Bulalacao, the municipal hall and the market.

The Municipal Hall of Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro

The trip to Bulalacao from Roxas is very similar to my trip from Calapan to Puerto Galera – zigzag road but with a view of the sea. It was almost 6 o’clock when I reached the sleepy town of Bulalacao. The van took us straight to Bulalacao Port. It won’t accept ticket reservation until 7:00 PM so I rent a tricycle for P60 to take me to the town hall, church and market. They have no Rizal Monument at their plaza.

Bulalacao Port is constructed with the help of the Philippine Port Authority (PPA). The trip to Caticlan Port is roughly P460 with a P30 terminal fee. The RORO is new and is operated by FastCat. Our departure time is 10PM so I had some time to eat, take a bath and sleep at a nearby cafeteria.

Here’s more information about Bulalacao from PhilAtlas:

Bulalacao, formerly known as San Pedro, is a coastal municipality in the province of Oriental Mindoro.

The municipality has a land area of 321.86 square kilometers or 124.27 square miles which constitutes 7.59% of Oriental Mindoro's total area. Its population as determined by the 2015 Census was 39,107. This represented 4.63% of the total population of Oriental Mindoro province, or 1.32% of the overall population of the MIMAROPA region. Based on these figures, the population density is computed at 122 inhabitants per square kilometer or 315 inhabitants per square mile.