New Washington, officially theMunicipality of New Washington (Aklanon:Banwa it New Washington;Hiligaynon:Banwa sang New Washington;Tagalog:Bayan ng Bagong Washington), is amunicipality in theprovince ofAklan,Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 47,955 people.^[3]

New Washington Lagatic
Municipality
Municipality of New Washington
Flag Seal
Map of Aklan with New Washington highlighted
OpenStreetMap
New Washington Location within thePhilippines
Coordinates:11°38′54″N122°26′02″E / 11.6483°N 122.4339°E /11.6483; 122.4339
Country	Philippines
Region	Western Visayas
Province	Aklan
District	1st district
Founded	January 15, 1904
Named after	George Washington
Barangays	16 (seeBarangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Jessica Regenio-Panambo
• Vice Mayor	Jesus "Molot" B. Quimpo
• Representative	Carlito S. Marquez
• Municipal Council	Members Esboy Quimpo Diosilio "Jojo" F. Malonosan Pitche Joy Alfaro Roly O. Equiña Jr. Jazel P. Bautista Janeth Dela Cruz Estrella "Neneng" Velarde Allan Bernardino
• Electorate	33,891 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	66.69 km2 (25.75 sq mi)
Elevation	13 m (43 ft)
Highest elevation	329 m (1,079 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[3]
• Total	47,955
• Density	720/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
• Households	11,933
Economy
• Income class	3rd municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	13.44 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 216.8 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 479.4 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 171.4 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 72.82 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Aklan Electric Cooperative (AKELCO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	5610
PSGC	060415000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)36
Native languages	Aklanon Hiligaynon Capisnon Tagalog

New Washington is particularly known for being the home town of CardinalJaime Sin, formerArchbishop of Manila.

Established on January 15, 1904, the municipality was named after the first president of the United States,George Washington, as a tribute to theThomasites, a group of American teachers who in the early 1900s established a new public education system in the Philippines, taught basic education, and trained Filipino teachers with English as medium of instruction. The municipality was formerly calledFonda Lagatic, which was derived from Lagatik River that stretches along some of the municipality's barangays at a length of 9.6 kilometers (6.0 mi).

New Washington is located at11°38′54″N122°26′02″E / 11.6483°N 122.4339°E /11.6483; 122.4339.

According to thePhilippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 66.69 square kilometers (25.75 sq mi) ^[5] constituting3.66% of the 1,821.42-square-kilometer- (703.25 sq mi) total area of Aklan.

New Washington is bounded byBatan in the east,Kalibo in the west and theSibuyan Sea on the north. It is 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) fromKalibo International Airport, 9 kilometers (5.6 mi) from the province's capital town of Kalibo, and one and a half (11⁄2) hours away fromBoracay Island.

The third type of climate predominates in the locality, season not pronounced. It is relatively dry from February to July and wet the rest of the year.

Of note, to deal with water supply along the long peninsula affected by salt water intrusion and related endemic amoebiasis, New Washington was the site of a unique U.S. Peace Corps-sponsored program to build over 200 low-cost circular water wells using locally produced "curved hollow blocks" made locally using custom wooden forms inspired by a local medical doctor and charismatic social activist Andronico "Andrew" Mendoza. Dr. Mendoza organized families to transport individual pre-cast custom hollow blocks to remote areas; the unique design of the locally designed wells obviated the need for expensive and unwieldy steel bar reinforcement. During the early 1980s, each of the 212 water well was dug and constructed throughout this municipality with voluntary community effort ("bayanihan") and are still in use today and exemplifies the spirit of New Washington.

New Washington is politically subdivided into 16barangays.^[7] Each barangay consists ofpuroks and some havesitios.

To some locals, the barangays are grouped into two, namely "Eanas" and "Baybay". The barangays that belong to Eanas are those involved in rice farming such as Mabilo, Puis, Jalas, Guinbaliwan, Mataphao, Candelaria, Lawa-an and Jugas. Baybay, on the other hand, covers barangays along or near the coastline, consisting of Tambac, Poblacion, Pinamuk-an, Polo, Cawayan, Ochando, Fatima and Dumaguit.

Common among municipalities in the Philippines, the seat of local government and the center of business are situated in Poblacion. It is also home to the Municipal Auditorium and Sports Complex, where major events of the town are held.

In the 2020 census, New Washington had a population of 47,955.^[3] The population density was 720 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,900/sq mi).

In the 2007 census, there were 39,656 residents, an increase by 16.7% since the year 2000 when the official count was 33,981. In the 2010 census, the population had increased to 42,112 persons.

Majority of theNew Washingtonians, as the municipality's residents are sometimes called, are ofAklanon origin. Immigration, generally, is due to marriage and employment.

New Washingtonians speak inAklanon,Hiligaynon,Tagalog, and English; the former being their primary medium. Aklanon, as a language, is often described as a cross between Bisaya, Hiligaynon, and Karay-a making it quite complex for local and foreign tourists to speak and comprehend. This is not seen as a problem, considering that residents can speak fluent Hiligaynon, Tagalog, and English.^{[citation needed]}

The people of New Washington are predominantlyChristians. Religious denominations in the municipality includeRoman Catholic Church,Philippine Independent Church,Baptist churches,Iglesia ni Cristo,Seventh-day Adventist Church,Jehovah's Witnesses andthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, among others.

Poverty incidence of New Washington

As New Washington is surrounded by bodies of water such as Sibuyan Sea and Lagatik River. Fishing has been the leading livelihood among the people, alongside rice farming. The town has the largest area of ricefields among the municipalities in Aklan.^{[citation needed]}

The municipality operates two ports: one in Dumaguit and the other in Poblacion. The port in Dumaguit caters to passenger and commercial boats, while the port in Poblacion is only for the latter.^{[clarification needed]} Both ports serve as major trade routes between the province of Aklan and Manila.

All the barangays have either an elementary or primary school. There are four secondary schools:New Washington National Comprehensive High School andMontfort Technical Institute (MTI) in Poblacion,Candelaria National High School in Candelaria andOchando National High School in Ochando.Montessori de Aklan (MDA),a primary school,is a branch ofMontessori de Zamboanga Schools which is an affiliate of AMS orAmerican Montessori Society in Polo, Tertiary education is centered atAklan State University - College of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, which is located in Poblacion. Vocational courses are also offered at MTI. Some families send their children to schools in Kalibo,Capiz,Iloilo and Manila, among others.

New Washington observes two annual fiestas as a town. One is a patronal fiesta in honor ofOur Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, which is held on the second Saturday of October and the other is a civic fiesta commemorating the heroes ofPacto de Sangre, which is held from March 1 to 3. The Pacto de Sangre, or blood compact, took place in the then Sitio Kuntang (now Barangay Ochando) on March 3, 1897.

The municipality has numerous beach resorts located near the shores from Mabilo to Dumaguit. Civic attractions include the Jaime Cardinal L. Sin Park, the Rizal Park, the Municipal Children's Park and the Municipal Auditorium and Sports Complex.

The town also hosts the Museo Kardinal, a museum dedicated to the life of CardinalJaime Sin established inside his former residence.^[20]

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code