Malay town revives cityhood proposal

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

The Sangguniang Bayan (SB) of Malay has revived talks to convert the town into a city.

                            PHOTO AKLAN FORUM JOURNAL

On June 27, SB member Floribar Bautista is supporting the move for the cityhood of Malay, Aklan, which was proposed six years ago by the legislative council. 

A technical working group, experts and consultants will be needed to restudy and facilitate the thorough dialogue with key stakeholders for the possibility of cityhood. A joint discussion with the Office of the Mayor and a working committee will also re-evaluate and review the process of the new city being formed. 

If the town passed the cityhood requirements, Bautista said they will also lobby the support of Aklan congressman Carlito Marquez to sponsor a bill for the conversion of the first-class municipality of Malay into a charter city.

Malay will be the first city formed in the province of Aklan if the bill will be enacted in Congress. The capital of Kalibo also attempted to convert the town into a component city in the 14^th Congress in 2007.

In 2014, SB member Jupiter Aelred Gallenero also filed a resolution reiterating the proposal for the cityhood of Malay. 

The town of Malay, off the northern end of Aklan, has 14 barangays in mainland Malay and three barangays in Boracay – Yapak, Manoc-Manoc and Balabag.  The town has a land area of 66.01 square kilometers and 52,973 population (2015 census). 

The article was originally published by independent online blog Aklan Forum Journal. The unrestricted use in print or radio, publication and distribution of articles are allowed provided the original author and Aklan Forum Journal are credited.