Makato

Makato, officially the Municipality of Makato (Aklanon: Banwa it Makato; Hiligaynon: Banwa sang Makato; Tagalog: Bayan ng Makato), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Aklan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 29,717 people. Established in the thirteenth century, the town’s name had been acquired by accident. Thinking that the Spaniards came to ask the route along the river, the native answered “Makato” which meant “that way”. The Spaniards recorded the name Makato in 1800, thinking it was the name of the town. In 1901, the town merged with Tangalan to form the new municipality of Taft, named after the then Governor-General of the Philippines and future United States President, William Howard Taft. But in 1923, Representative Manuel Terencio of Capiz's now-obsolete 3rd district, authored a law restoring its former name. In 1948, the arrabal of Tangalan, comprising the barrios of Tondog, Jawili, Dumatad, Afga, Baybay, Dapdap, Pudyot, Tagas, Tamalagon, Panayakan, Vivo, Lanipga, Napatag and Tamoko, was separated from Makato to form the municipality of Tangalan.