Aklan emigrants top 2,000
BY VENUS VILLANUEVA

KALIBO, Aklan -- The province of Aklan currently has around 2,000 emigrants found in different parts of the world as spouses of foreigners or permanent residents.
Minda Cabilao-Valencia, Director of Migrant Integration and Education Office of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), said the 2,000 Aklanons are part of the three percent of Western Visayas’ total number of emigrants.
Valencia said the total number of registered Filipino emigrants as of 2005 is 69,000. She made the revelation at a press briefing held recently at the Philippine Information Agency office with the local media.
The CFO was here as part of its Community Education Program (CEP) held yearly in various parts of the country. CFO specifically caters to the needs of Filipinos who decide to permanently reside abroad, while the Department of Foreign Affairs and the OWWA take care of the needs of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
Owing to the presence of Boracay Island where many Filipino women meet foreigners for possible marriage, two of the three CEPs conducted in Western Visayas this year were held in Aklan – one in Kalibo, the capital town, and the other one in Caticlan, Malay, the jump-off point to Boracay.
The other CEP was held in Roxas City, Capiz.
One of CFO’s functions in serving Filipino emigrants is the conduct of the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar to inform them of the different cultures and ways of the people in the countries where they have chosen to live permanently.
The CFO also offers Guidance and Counseling. As of 2005, Valencia said they have served some 21,000 counselees. Daily, they serve about 83 persons. Valencia warned those planning to work abroad never to accept tourist or visitors’ visa.
She also advised those planning to migrate to apply directly at embassies to avoid paying unnecessary and exorbitant fees to unscrupulous persons.

Solon wants 3 municipalities declared an eco-tourism zone
BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

MALAY, Aklan – The municipalities of Nabas, Malay and Buruanga are being eyed as an eco-tourism zone.
The declaration would give more opportunities for development coupled with the protection of the towns’ rich natural resources, said Cong. Florencio Miraflores, who filed House Bill No. 3300 seeking the declaration.
“The proposal, which is pending with the Committee on Tourism, will not only attract local and foreign tourists to Aklan and boost the local economy, but will also protect the natural resources of the municipalities,” he explained.
Miraflores, vice chairman of the Committee on Tourism, said the environmental attributes of the three towns show its potential as one of Aklan’s most progressive areas.
Malay, for instance, is home to pristine white sand beaches of Boracay Island, Pangihan cave, Bonbongan beach in Nabaoy and Tuhaw Hills.
Nabas, where the last remaining intact lowland rainforest is found, offers the enchanted Tulingon cave, the natural cool water mountain springs of Basang and Hurom-Hurom, and mats and hats made from baliw (Pandan) leaves which are known world-wide.
Buruanga, meanwhile, is the farthest town from any other point in the island of Panay and situated at the northwestern-most tip of Aklan. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo earlier declared as natural park the Northwest Panay Peninsula situated in the municipalities of Malay, Nabas, Buruanga in Aklan and the towns of Pandan and Libertad in Antique with an area of 12,009 hectares.Once enacted into law, the eco-tourism zone envisioned to be Aklan’s showcase similar to other developing Asian and European countries is expected to complement ongoing tourism efforts of the provincial government under Gov. Carlito Marquez.
Eco-tourism is being promoted by the government because of its dollar-earning potential.
Miraflores said, “the venture would not only benefit the ecotourism zone but will also give opportunity for the residents and the local government units once this brand of tourism will boom.”