Libacao: 'The Next Tourists Destination'

        'BANWA KO, PALANGGA KO', an Aklanon vernacular meaning "I love my hometown". It is definitely true that you really can't leave your hometown even you spent years outside the country for work and for chasing your future at the edge of the world. However, it will still chase you from wherever you are and would literally cause you homesickness, I know most of the people will agree with me. And that means, even you spent years there you will probably be missing your home, your real home. My teacher will always remind us to always go back to our grassroots because we will not be the person of today without them.

The origin of Libacao, on the other hand, Let me share with you the link that I have posted on Facebook, it is actually one of our requirements in Knowledge Management subject and fortunately, I can use it here to further support my blog. It contains the brief history of "Bueagaw" and later was named Libacao. Enjoy the video to find out and to fully understand why it was called its name now.

https://www.facebook.com/100009413645613/videos/2980396178950808/

Today, I have witnessed the fast-raising tourism and development of Libacao because of its new attraction that gives an impact on the people especially for Aklanon people and that hits even this time of the pandemic, we all know that covid-19 deprived us of having self-gratification and to breathe fresh air even better from this achin' situation. The new attraction was called Manika Viewpoint, it is located at the highlands of Libacao. Honestly speaking, it was impossible before to pass through this area due to its gigantic rocks, higgledy-piggledy slopes, and also it was difficult for the natives to export their products from the pinnacle to downtown. But today, big vehicles can go uphill because roads are even wider, the LGU is doing their part in concreting roads and building bridges that could somehow connect those areas that are near to the wild river of Libacao. The DPWH- Aklan is also planning to connect the road a highway from Manika to the area of Calinog, Iloilo.

Moreover, As I have researched the geographical area of Libacao states here, "The municipality has a land area of 254.98 square kilometers or 98.45 square miles which constitutes 14.49% of Aklan's total area. Its population as determined by the 2020 Census was 28,272. This represented 4.59% of the total population of Aklan province or 0.36% of the overall population of the Western Visayas region. Based on these figures, the population density is computed at 111 inhabitants per square kilometer or 287 inhabitants per square mile." That actively demonstrates that Libacao is one of the big towns in Aklan and perhaps one of the most virgin forests in the Philippines.

The dialect spoken in this area is called "Kunta" which is mainly spoken by lowlanders and "Binisaya" spoken by highlanders. They have different intonation, pronunciation, and meaning for every word, so it is quite difficult sometimes even for us Libacaonons to understand. For instance, "Sadi Tana" in Binisaya but in Kunta it's "Siin" meaning "where". What's unique is that in 24 Barangays of Libacao not to mention its sitios, has different speeds and tones. But apart from that, still, an honor to preserve our own language.

Libacaonon people, on the other hand, are known for being hospitable like when you visit especially in the highlands they would serve you chicken from the bamboo shoots and the 'Inubaran' also made of chicken and banana piths and of course, you would probably take home native chickens, exotic animals, and anything that they could hand to you.

Libacao is still not so technologically advanced though we are all familiar with social media but, the internet connection is like a punch to the moon by now. According to the data of Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index Libacao was categorized as third-class municipality ranking from 2015 until 2020.

Nonetheless, The world-class celebration of Libacao especially the fiesta which was celebrated every 24th day of November to honor the patron Saint Catherine of Alexandria. One of the best activities was the parade of the bamboo rafting or what we called in our vernacular term "Baesa Parada". It is the showcase of different bamboo raft designs and a variety of products including fruits and vegetables.

Photo Credit: Libacao Eco Adventures

Moreover, the Facts about Libacao is that it is the top producer of Abaca fiber in the country, 70 to 80 percent of the province's Abaca produce comes from this town. These have been found in government studies of the Department of Agriculture- Fiber Industry Development Authority (DA- FIDA)- Region 6.

Notwithstanding, what really shaped me to be the person who I am today being a Libacaonon is that being contented and thankful for the things that you have, never complaining about life because we are not born rich, and acquiring something you really need to work hard for it. We are not so uncivilized and technologically advanced but WE ARE NOT NAIVE not to understand the innovation of the world.