The Revised Municipal Seal of Balete




Above is the revised Municipal Seal of Balete, Aklan. Hon. Cipriano Lachica, with the technical help of his son, Patrick, recomposed his previous design minus the canon which once was the center piece of the composition. The Sangguniang Bayan has subsequently enacted Ord. No. 016-09, an ordinance adopting such revision, during its regular session last September 10, 2009.

I tried to interpret Hon. Lachica's composition as follows, which the Sanggunian likewise adopted:
  • a meandering Jal-o River flows into the heart of a vast field, to symbolize the historicity for which every Baleten-on takes an active part;
  • on the foreground are batches of pineapple (of Spanish Red variety, popularly known as native piña)--they stand to encapsulate the tradition as well as the future of the Baleten-on community;
  • the backdrop is the Agtawagon Hill which is met on the horizon by a vast ricefield cut by a winding body of water. They represent the varying topographies and the resources of our town. Taken as a whole, it connotes the ways of life of our people;
  • amidst the field rises the Balete tree; sturdy and reaching out in to the sky. It epitomizes everything that is Baleten-on. Its roots penetrating deeply into the earth, its shade sheltering us from the elements, its lush leaves nurturing our hopes and dreams for a better Balete than yesterdays. The Balete tree stands as the source of our identity;
  • the rays (in white) shining through behind the representations are the ten constituent barangays of Balete. They also symbolizes the history of the Baleten-on people which ought to be brought to light for all to apprehend;
  • The label which encompasses and envelops all of these representations asserts the Baleten-on identity while it reaffirms the commitment and the role of the Baleten-on community as part of the Aklan province in its quest of approximating its vision and mission for the Aklanon people.
It may help to see the light behind these symbolism if we take them in the context of the vision-mission statement of the Municipality of Balete encompassing its social, political, economic, cultural, spiritual and environmental dimensions.



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