Banga, Aklan

The history of Banga dates back to the 15th century upon arrival in Panay Island of the ten datus from Borneo. While some skeptics considered this information a legend, still, Banganhons believed that Datu Manduyog ruled over the place with his seat of government located in Bakan, the ancient name of Banga. The site was at the foot of the Manduyog Hill that was named after Datu Manduyog. Being a legitimate successor to Datu Dangandanan who ruled what was called Akean in the late 1390s, Datu Manduyog became the ruler of Akean in 1437 and made Bakan the capital of Akean.

Another account of Banga’s history, as cited in *Panublion*, states that the town’s original site was located in what is now the Municipality of Malinao. In 1792, the town center was relocated across the Aklan River to the foot of Manduyog Hill. However, several prominent families chose to remain in the former settlement, which later became a barrio and was named Malinao, after a calm tributary of the Aklan River.

The families of Bernabe Teodosio, Diego Eulalio Teodosio, Esteban Masigon and the Muntuyas established a settlement in 1676 in what is now Sitio Opong-opong of Barrio Cupang. However, these families moved to a higher ground due to its closeness to the Aklan River that overflowed annually. In 1781 they settled in sitio Agbueakan in Barrio Tabayon.

Due to the clayish soil conditions of the sitio, they again decided to resettle in 1783 in what is now the location of Banga poblacion. They named the place Banga after the Banga palm trees that were in abundance. Because of their growing families they had to cut down most of the trees to give way to their layout plans to establish a town close to their farmlands for residential purposes. The 1818 Spanish census showed that there were 1,579 native families and 8 Spanish-Filipino families flourishing here.^[6]: 606

American sovereignty over the country started on August 13, 1898. With the natives resisting foreign domination, a revolutionary association was organized. Hostilities between the natives and the Americans began but did not take long since the natives were ill-equipped.

A year after, Francisco Lachica was elected the first Municipal President.

The American hostilities ended upon the signing on March 29, 1901, of the "Pas de Aklan", a historical document in the Aklan Section of the Province of Capiz. The signing was done at the present municipal park at the corner of Rizal and San Jose Streets.

From January 1, 1904, to December 31, 1911, Banga was merged with Numancia and Lezo to form an "arabal" of the Municipality of Kalibo. Through the efforts of Don Baltazar Teodosio, Banga was separated from Kalibo on January 1, 1912.

On April 17, 1942, at 2:00 o’clock in the morning, the Japanese Imperial Forces landed at Culasi, Capiz. An hour later the 5th Capiz Cadre at Libas, Banga, Aklan (now Camp Jizmundo) was burned down by the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). Six hours later the Banga Rural High School, Banga Elementary School Building and Home Economics Building were likewise burned. About 95% of all the permanent structures in the Municipality of Banga were burned down both by the USAFFE and the Filipino guerrillas to prevent the Japanese Forces from occupying the buildings.

During the Japanese occupation, Banga was the site of a tragic and widely remembered incident. On October 21, 1942, at around 10:00 a.m., civilians were massacred at the junction of Rizal and Mabini Streets—now the Rotunda—and along the national road in front of the 5th Capiz Cadre in Libas, Banga. Many of the victims had gathered with the intention of welcoming the Japanese forces but were instead ordered to squat and were subsequently killed. Approximately 70 people died in the initial attack. This was followed by a four-day operation by Japanese troops, during which an estimated 200 more civilians were killed in an effort to suppress growing guerrilla resistance in the area.

On March 18, 1945, after the landing of the American Liberation Forces in Panay, the Philippine Civil Affairs Unit appointed Dr. Boanerjes Venturanza as the first Municipal Mayor.

Banga is 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from Kalibo, the provincial capital.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 84.53 square kilometres (32.64 sq mi) ^[7] constituting 4.64% of the 1,821.42-square-kilometre- (703.25 sq mi) total area of Aklan.

In the 2024 census, Banga had a population of 41,188.^[16] The population density was 490 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,300/sq mi).

Poverty incidence of Banga

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]}

At the religious sanctuary of Manduyog Hill, an annual pilgrimage is conducted on Good Friday. Devotees practise the 14 Stations of the Cross, pray the rosary, and light candles at each stop while climbing towards the peak where a 40m cross, sometimes lighted, is visible from due north to Kalibo and the nearby sea.

The Banga Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.^[26]

• Maragtas
• Aklan