·
Balete was
founded as a “pueblo” or Municipality in 1804[i] during
the Spanish time. Then one of the 33 pueblos of the Province of Capiz. It had
3,089 souls. Well-loved tales of the past tell us that Balete got its name from
the Balete tree growing at the heart of the town.
·
The
Municipality of Balete is a 4th class municipality located in the
eastern part of the Province of Aklan. It is
located 21 kilometers (km) southeast of the capital town of Kalibo where an international
airport is located. It is 106 km southeast of Caticlan, the gateway to Boracay;
35 km away from Dumaguit, New Washington, the commercial seaport of the
Province of Aklan; 65 km north of Roxas City, the capital of the province of
Capiz where an airport is also located and 155 km north of Iloilo City, the
regional capital of Western Visayas. The road arteries connecting these places
to Balete are well paved and part of the Philippine Nautical Highway.
Transportation is serviced by bus and other public utility vehicles with daily
trips from Cubao to Iloilo and vice versa via the roll on-roll off scheme
transportation facilities.
·
The Municipality has a total land area of
11,760 hectares and made up of ten (10) barangays from which nine (9) are
situated in a mountainous area. It is thus considered a Geographically Isolated and Depressed Area (GIDA) by DOH with a poverty incidence of 56%.
Physical
Characteristics Per Barangay[ii]
|
Name of Barangay
|
Land Area
(hectares)
|
Topography
|
Distance from the Poblacion (kms)
|
|||
|
Coastal
|
Plain
|
Hilly
|
Mountainous
|
|||
|
1. Aranas
|
1,227.46
|
10%
|
12%
|
50%
|
28%
|
3.5
|
|
2. Arcangel
|
854.26
|
|
25&
|
70%
|
5%
|
5.5
|
|
3. Calizo
|
1,623.76
|
10%
|
30%
|
58%
|
2%
|
6.5
|
|
4. Cortes
|
1,394.95
|
|
30%
|
40%
|
30%
|
4.0
|
|
5.Feliciano
|
777.51
|
|
40%
|
60%
|
|
6.0
|
|
6. Fulgencio
|
889.35
|
|
37%
|
50%
|
13%
|
6.0
|
|
7. Guanko
|
2,715.34
|
|
15%
|
45%
|
40%
|
12.0
|
|
8. Morales
|
901.79
|
|
50%
|
40%
|
10%
|
3.5
|
|
9. Oquendo
|
1,368.11
|
|
25%
|
20%
|
55%
|
15
|
|
10. Poblacion.
|
7.47
|
|
100%
|
|
|
-
|
|
TOTAL
|
11,760.00
|
|
|
|
|
|
·
It has a
population of 27, 197[iii] per
2010 Census of Population and Housing. Its density ratio is 3 persons for every
1 hectare of land. It has a projected labor force of
10.70 thousand as against child-dependent of 9.11 thousand by 2016
Development Plans of the LGU
Our lack in financial
resources enables us to maximize all the potential of pro-active governance
through quality legislations and harmonizing our existing plans and codes with
budgeting and utilization of our resources. To date, the municipality has
already complied with the following development plans to serve as our roadmap
to good governance:
·
Comprehensive
Development Plan (2010-2016)
·
Comprehensive
Land Use Plan (2004)
·
Ecological
Profile
·
Solid Waste
Management Plan (10 Year Plan)
·
Executive and
Legislative Agenda (ELA) 2010-2013
·
Environment Code
(2004)
·
Gender and
Development Code (2006)
·
Children and
Youth Welfare Code (2010)
·
Balete Citizen’s Charter (2010)
·
Annual Report
·
Local Investment
Incentive Code (2009)
·
Revenue Code
(Revised-2008)
·
Code of Administrative Ordinances (Revised-2012)
·
Code of General Ordinances (2011)
·
Poverty Reduction
Plan
·
Compliance on
Full Disclosure of Local Budget and Finances
and Bids and Public Offerings
·
Apart from this,
we take pride in backing up our dreams and aspirations with the involvement of
Balete’s human resources who are cordial, facilitative, productive and
professionalized through the establishment of our People’s Booth. This is
bringing local governance to the people through streamlining and making readily
accessible service it mandated to extend.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS:
·
Recipient of the 2010
and the 2011 Seal of Good Housekeeping and Performance Challenge Fund (PCF) conferred by DILG
·
2012 Best
Performing Sanggunian, Local Legislative Award conferred by the Philippine
Councilors League (PCL-Aklan)
·
Exemplary
Practice of Birthing Clinic for RHU Balete – DOH Rergion VI
·
First Runner up –
Outstanding Sanggunian, Region VI (EXCELL 2009-2010)
·
Special Award –
Best in Barangay Mobilization & Award Performance (Given by the Aklan
Provincial Government)
·
Provincial Winner
– Outstanding Sanggunian EXCELL 2008-2010
·
Provincial Winner
– Excellence in Administrative Governance, Social Service, Economic Development
and Environmental Management – EXCELL 2008
·
Regional Finalist
– EXCELL 2009
·
Sentrong Sigla
Awardee – DOH 1999
[i]
de la Cavada, Don Agustin y Mendez de Vigo Historia
Geografica, Geologica y Estadistica con Datos
Geograficos, Geologicos y Estadisticas de las Islas de Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao
y Jolo, y los que Corresponden a las Islas Batanes, Calamianes, Balabac,
Mindoro, Masbate, Tigao y Burias, situadas al n.so. y s. de Luzon. 1876:Manila, Imprinta de Ramirez y
Giraudier
[ii]
Cf. Barangay Profile
[iii]
Cf 2010 Census of Population and
Housing, NSO
