By the Jal-o River

The following entry was originally written sometime in January 11, 2008 as a press release during the Higante Parade in Kalibo, Aklan to inform the public of the Baleten-on senator. Madyaas Pen later decided to publish it on its own initiative.  In 1998, the Sangguniang Bayan of the Municipality of Balete , Aklan adopted Resolution No. 98-37 requesting the National Historical Institute to set up a historical marker in memory of the late Senator Jose Cortes Altavas. Ten years after, the NHI has yet to act on such request. The LGU though would not be dithered by the intricacies of the bureaucracy. Somehow, it finds the occasion to provide it the opportunity to communicate to its constituency the richness of its history and its contribution to national and local politics. That is why, when it was invited to participate in the Higante Contest and Aklan Festivals Parade 2008 on January 16, 2008 in Kalibo, Aklan, it readily commissioned the fabrication of a higante figure of it