Kalibo, Aklan

Kalibo is the capital of the province of Aklan, in the northwest of Panay Island, Philippines. It is a First Class Municipality in the Western Visayas Region practically located at the center of all coastal municipalities of Aklan province. The native Kalibonhon population of about 80,000 explodes to more than 200,000 during daytime being a commercial and educational haven that caters not only to the people of Aklan but also to transients coming from other nearby provinces, cities and countries. As a major tourism gateway, the influx of tourists to Boracay Island catalyzes rapid economic expansion and municipal landscape development. Tourism activity peaks in the heart of Kalibo every January as the yearly celebration of the world-famous Sto- Niño Ati-Atihan Festival - normally held during the 3rd Sunday of January, the Mother of Philippine Festivals attracts devotees, revelers, and tourists from different parts of the world to experience the utmost solemnity and unparalleled camaraderie and spontaneity - unique twin characteristics of the Ati-Atihan that truly make it the fiesta of all fiestas.

The term Kalibo comes from the Aklanon word "sangka libo", ("one thousand"), the number of native (Ati aka aeta) people who attended the first Catholic Mass there. After this very first Mass, a celebration was held that was continued annually as the Ati-atihan festival.

From the time of the Spanish colonial administration until the institution of Pilipino as the national language in 1946, Kalibo was spelled as "Calivo".

The municipality has already reached the requirements to be a city but certain issues prevent the municipality from reaching cityhood.

Air travel to Kalibo from Manila is about 45 minutes on a daily schedule with four airline companies flying: the Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Zest Air and Airphil Express. These airlines increase their flights daily during the Kalibo Ati-Atihan Festival in January. Mandarin Airlines and TransAsia Airways have weekly flights to and from Taipei, Taiwan and Philippine Airlines and Shanghai Airlines have chartered flights to and from Shanghai, China; Zest Air have its daily flights to Seoul-Incheon Korea, twice weekly to Busan four times weekly to Shanghai China and soon in Beijing. Kalibo is also the jumping off point for many international travelers heading to Boracay.

Kalibo International Airport is about ten minutes from the main plaza.

Economy

Kalibo's main industry is agriculture where the primary product is rice and coconuts. Kalibo is the hub for the Piña cloth industry of Aklan.

The Piña and Abaca cloths are exported to various parts of the world, most particularly North America and Europe. Kalibo is known for other native products such as handbags made of buri leaves which is a favorite for Caucasian females visiting the town. Pineapple silk is considered the queen of Philippine fabrics and is the fabric of choice of the Philippine elite. During the 1996 edition of APEC in the Philippines, world leaders donned a pineapple silk Barong Tagalog from Kalibo during the obligatory class photo.

Kalibo also has a burgeoning meat-processing cottage industry and is beginning to be noticed in the processing of locally made chorizo, tocino and other meat products, particularly with Rosa Foods in the Linabuan Norte district. Remy Nadal Duck Meat is also a well-known processor in the province, located at Magdalena in Kalibo.

Kalibo has tourist boomtown character and is famous not only as a jump-off point to Boracay but as the home of the Philippines most popular, most colorful and wildest festival Ati-atihan. The festival is celebrated during the third weekend of January of every year, and despite little government support to promote the festival, word of mouth amongst tourists swelled attendees coming from all over the world, leading to a shortage of hotels.

Ati-atihan is among the most-copied Philippine festivals. Other prominent and better-funded festivals that has copied the Ati-atihan concept are Iloilo's Dinagyang and Cebu's Sinulog and the Sto. Niño in Manila.

Aside from Ati-atihan, other places of interest in Kalibo is the Bakhawan Eco-Park, dubbed as the Philippines most successful mangrove reforestation project and the Kalibo Museum which serves as a repository of the town's history and heritage.

Aside from above, there's a municipality named Ibajay which have the beautiful river in the province and the beautiful forest.

Being the business center of the province including the neighboring provinces, both small- and large-scale establishments sprouted like mushroom in the municipality.

Ati-Atihan is making one's self like the Ati or Aeta or pretending to be one. Kalibo's "frenzied and raucous" historical and religious festivity observed every second week and culminating on the 3rd Sunday of January came from that intent. Citizens, tourist and pilgrims in this town smear themselves with soot or any blackening substance to look like an Aeta-queer, but true.

Ati-Atihan is believed to have started in the year 1212 when Borneans led by the ten Datus packed themselves in several boats or "baeangays," (barangay) and crossed the seas to escape the unpopular regime of Sultan Makatunaw, Then landed in Panay Island and established the first community of the brown race in this country and the first union of states in Southeast Asia - the Confederation of Madyaas.

Few have the knowledge that the first Ati-Atihan was celebrated to seal a peace pact that united two races and peoples - the Aetas and the Malays with totally different cultures and spiritual creeds to embrace each other and give way to an enduring legacy of reconciliation that gave birth to the Philippine Nation. The commemoration of the Ati-Atihan Festivals in essence has become significant at this point in time when the entire nation is being swept with social, economic and political crises.

The saga od this great migration told and related for generation started in the Court of Brunei under the regime of Sultan Makatunaw whose insecurity and greed for power transformed him into tyrant after the collapse of the Sri-Visayan Empire and the remnants of its vast territory were at the mercy of the conquering hordes of Madjapahit warriors. The widespread discontent under Makatunaw's rule reached the point of a popular uprising and Datu Puti, his chief minister, together with his followers decided to leave and seek for peace in a new land.

One night the rebels under the leadership of Datu Puti, stealthily their "baeangays" and faced the seas for distant unknown destiny. Guided by the stars and favored by tropical winds, they reached the islands of Sugbu (Cebu). Parawan (Palawan) and Buglas (Negros), but the topography and the nearness of this islands to the island where they came from, discouraged their settling down. They were already bound in their direction of the islands of Romren (Romblon) when they were attracted by a silhouette of a mountain summit shaped like a salakot ("mangkusarok") in the horizon. The group that was already plagued by big waves, strong current, diseases, hunger and thirst in the high seas and whose most valued treasure in their possession they brought in their ecape was a "saruk nga bug-os nga bueawan" (golden salakot), interpreted the sighting as a good omen. They changed course and headed towards the beacon of the mountain and landed at the sunrise of the first "Tigueak" in 1212 A.D. in the island of Panay then called Aninipay - (named after a plant that abound in the place and whose fine unwashable bristles causes skin eruption and irritation which could not be easily cured). They named the Island Madyaas or paradise in contrast to the land they left behind.

Freedom Shrine

Located within the town proper of Kalibo. Accessible by pirvate cars, tricycles and motorcycles. The town's famous landmark where fierce battles ensued between the combined Filipino and American troops together with the Aklanon guerrillas during World War II. A Monument was built to signify the heroic stand of Aklanons. Mortar and other fragments of armaments can be found at the vicinity.