Ibajay

Ibajay, officially known as the Municipality of Ibajay (Aklanon: Banwa it Ibajay; Hiligaynon: Banwa sang Ibajay; Bayan ng Ibajay), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Aklan, Philippines. During the creation of Aklan Province in 1956, Ibajay was its biggest municipality in terms of population. According to the 2020 census, Ibajay has a population of 52,365 people, making it the third most populated town in Aklan.

Ibajay is the birthplace of Col. Alejandro S. Melchor, whose design of the pontoon bridge contributed to the Allied Forces winning World War II.

Under the Spanish "Panay Y Bayjay"
The autonomous barangays that the Spaniards encountered in Cebu could barely provide enough food for their needs. Miguel López de Legazpi had to move his camp, sailing from Cebu to Panay Island in 1569.

Desiring to explore the island for food and spice, Legazpi ordered some of his men to move further on the island until they ran out of bread to eat. Tired and hungry, the Spaniards solicited something to eat from the natives. To their surprise, they were given a container full of brown rice. When the Spaniards asked the natives what kind of rice they passed, they politely replied, "ba-hay," meaning third-class rice. In recognition of the generosity of the natives, they named the place "Panay y bahay"—the p place in Panay where there was, and the Spaniards were given "ba-hay" rice.

The word Ibajay was initially written with the capital letter Y. It was only in 1902 that an American supervising teacher made the change from Ybajay to Ibajay because of the preference for the English alphabet and the difficulty of the Americans in spelling the word.

Spanish authorities' first seat of government was in Boboc-on, Barangay Naile, in the 17th century. The system of government the Spaniards established was the encomienda. They ruled the natives by control of a royal grant from the King of Spain. The King of Spain appointed an encomiendero as the overseer, with the Governadorcillo, Cabeza Mayores and Cabezas de Barangay as subordinates.

In the early part of the Spanish dominion, the barangay was the primary government structure in Ibajay. The Chieftain collected tributes from his sinakupan (people) and turned over the collections to the encomienderos. Later on, however, the barangay government was reorganized again into makeups. Each has to elect a governadorcillo. The governadorcillo was elected by the votes of selected married male natives called principales. The candidate must be recommended and nominated by the community or the encomiendero.

But to the eyes of the natives, the village chief was just an administrative leader. He was not an absolute ruler like the Spaniards imposed. A traditional body of customs and procedures limited the scope of his authority. Although his position had become hereditary, it was initially attained by exhibiting more excellent prowess and valour, traits useful for the community's survival.

Dismayed by the exploitative nature of the government system and their unwillingness to accept the Spanish sovereignty, Chieftains Hangoe, Sandok, and Kabatak fled to the vast mountains of Panay. Still, the Spanish continued their colonization. The natives could not do anything but accept the dictum of the Spaniards to survive and go on with their lives.

The first native to hold public office in Sitio Boboc-on as governadorcillo was Don Francisco Dalisay, elected by the principales in 1673. However, Muslim pirates and bandits from Mindanao often pestered the town. Hence, in 1786, Governor Juan Sabino moved the seat of government to Sitio Maganhup, a vast land between now Barangay Naile and Barangay San Jose. However, the new site proved unsafe from the continued beleaguering of the lawless elements. Furthermore, it was not ideal for the natives because it was far from the farms they cultivated.

Consequently, for the second time in 1792, Governor Jose Garcia transferred the seat of government to Sitio Adiango, now part of Barangay Laguinbanua. However, it only stayed there for 11 years. Captain Josef Flores moved the seat of government again to its present location. By the decree issued by the Governador of the Philippine Islands, watchtowers were fortified along the shorelines to warn and protect against bandits and crooks. A church was also erected.

Revolution and American influence
The Philippine Revolution broke out in the later part of the 19th century. Under the leadership of Gen. Ananias Diokno, the Tagalog Insurrectos defeated and drove away the Spaniards hiding behind the buttress of the Catholic Convent in Poblacion.

The Philippine flag was hoisted at the town square for the first time. In 1879, Don Ciriaco Tirol y Seneres was appointed acting Capitan Municipal until 1898. The following year, under the revolutionary government of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, Don Antonio Manikan was elected Capitan Municipal—the position he held until 1901.

In 1902, The Americans reorganized the local government of Ibajay. They changed the designation of the head of the town from Captain Municipal to Municipal President. This year, the city's official name was changed from Ybajay to Ibajay.

The first municipal President elected was Don Valintin Conanan. During his term, a cholera epidemic broke out in the Municipality of Ibajay. It snapped out so many lives. As a contingency, a new cemetery was opened near the Catholic Cemetery. It is now known as the Ibajay Municipal Cemetery.

In the year 1921, Catalino Solidum was appointed Municipal President. He held the position for only a year. Moises T. Solidum replaced him the following year until 1925. Tomas Bautista became the mayor of Ibajay from 1926 to 1928, while Jose S. Conanan from 1937 to 1940.

In 1941, Dr. Jose C. Miraflores became mayor until the outbreak of World War II. Ibajay, at that time, was razed to the ground by the Japanese troops. Many Ibayhanons suffered the painful consequences of the war. Also, the Guerilla Liberation Movement helped the Philippine forces become popular among the locals. Ibayhanon women formed the Ibajay Ladies Auxiliary War Relief Association (LAWRA) to raise funds and morale for the Revolutionary Army. From 1944 to 1945, many Filipino troops of the 6th, 61st and 62nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and the 6th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary liberated the town of Ibajay, Aklan and helped Ibayhanon guerrilla groups and defeated Japanese troops at the end of World War II. Moreover, the local city government was established with Guillermo de los Reyes as acting municipal mayor. Moises T. Solidum later on, replaced him until 1946.

Geography


According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 158.90 square kilometres (61.35 sq mi), constituting  8.72% of the 1,821.42-square-kilometre- (703.25 sq mi) total area of Aklan.

Ibajay lies in the northwest section of Aklan province on Panay Island. It is bounded on the north by the Sibuyan Sea, east by Tangalan, west by Nabas, and south by Antique.

The distance from Kalibo, the capital of Aklan, is 34 kilometres (21 mi) and takes 45 minutes to one hour by road transport. Its road networks are composed of 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) of National Road, 32.918 kilometres (20.454 mi) of Provincial Roads, and 75.430 kilometres (46.870 mi) of Barangay Road.

Barangays
Ibajay is politically subdivided into 35 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Demographics
In the 2020 census, Ibajay had a population of 52,364. The population density was undefined PD/km2.

Ibajay had a total population of 39,643 in the May 2000 census, with a calculated growth rate of 0.03%. The total number of households is 7,918, with an average household size of 5. At the 2010 census, the population had increased to 45,279 persons, a 14.2% increase since 2000.

Economy
Ibajay is classified as a third municipality (based on income). Rice farming is the primary source of income. Coconut produce plays a significant article in export and processing. There are 12 stationary rice mills and 21 roving rice mills for the post-harvest needs of the farmers. There are 25 registered cooperatives, most of which are the Farmer's Multipurpose Cooperatives. Vegetable and livestock production are on a backyard scale. Fishing and fishpond production is done along the nearby coastal barangays. The Ibajay Public Market at the Poblacion is the centre of business and trade. Three barangay markets are located at Barangay Naile, Maloco and San Jose.

Government
Mayors and their dates of office:


 * Gavino C. Solidum (1946–1950)
 * Napoleon Mijares (1952–1956)
 * Maximo S. Masangcay (1957–1959)
 * Francisco Salido (1960–1963)
 * Roberto Q. Garcia (1964–1967)
 * Fidel G. Candari (1968–1971)
 * Florante M. Ascano (1971–1987)
 * Florencio T. Miraflores (1988–1995)
 * Pedro M. Garcia (1995–2001)
 * Roberto M. Garcia Jr. (2001–2007)
 * Ma. Lourdes M. Miraflores (2007–2016)
 * Jose Enrique M. Miraflores (2016–2022)
 * Jose Miguel M. Miraflores (2022–Present)

Utilities
Communication and Postal services are available through the Philippine Postal Corporation, Inc. and the Bureau of Telecommunications. A PLDT, CRUZTELCO, and PANTELCO Public Calling Office provide long-distance and domestic telecommunication needs of the Ibayhanons. The Aklan Cable TV and Kalibo Cable TV provide the cable television services of the town.

The electricity is provided by the Aklan Electric Cooperative, which serves about 3,862 households. Barangay Malindog purchased its generator to provide alternative power to its residents. Barangay Aparicio and Mina-a completed the Micro-Hydro Power Plant projects and are now operational to provide electricity to the residents.

Healthcare
Health services are provided by the Ibajay District Hospital and 11 Barangay Health Stations.

Education
There are 17 Elementary Schools, 14 Primary Schools, 5 National High Schools and Aklan State University (ASU) – Ibajay Campus for tertiary education.

There are also two (2) private secondary schools. One is Ibajay Academy, founded by Procopio Solidum, who was hailed as the "First Filipino poet to publish poems in English" or "First Filipino-English Poet." The other is Melchor Memorial School, founded by Dr Rafael S. Tumbokon in honour of the late Col. Alejandro S. Melchor, Sr.

Notable personalities

 * Col. Alejandro Melchor Sr. (1900-1947) — designed the pontoon bridge contributed to the Allied Forces winning World War II / Secretary of National Defense in President Manuel L. Quezon's Cabinet / Sergio Osmeña's Military Adviser of the war cabinet