By Erwin Bonifacio
Unknown to many, one of the unsung advocates for the separation of Aklan from Capiz was a Capisnon by birth, but an Aklanon by marriage.
Digno Aguiling Alba was born on June 14, 1885, to Quiterio Alba and Gregoria Aguiling, both natives of Capiz, now Roxas City. At the age of five, his mother taught him Spanish, and by eight, he was sent to a Spanish public school. Later, upon the instruction of his uncle, he worked as an office clerk under an administrator but stopped during the Revolution.
When the Americans arrived, he enrolled at San Rafael College and attended public night classes. On August 15, 1902, he transferred to Capiz High School, where he was later selected by Governor Simplicio Jugo Vidal and the division superintendent to be sent to the United States as a pensionado. He belonged to the pioneering batch of Filipino Pensionados in 1903.
In the United States, he studied at Whittier High School in California and later completed his teacher education in Trenton, New Jersey (now The College of New Jersey). Before returning to the Philippines, he also took a short summer course in 1905 at Cornell University, focusing on mechanical arts.
Upon his return, he taught at the Calibo Intermediate School. He later married Francisca Ureta, an Aklanon, further deepening his ties to Aklan.
Subsequently, Alba became actively involved in the campaign to separate Aklan from its mother province, Capiz. He was a member of the committee that drafted the manifesto of the Kalibo for Magsaysay for President Movement (K-MPM), which presented its manifesto to Ramon Magsaysay during his visit to Kalibo on September 24, 1953. Alba also served as an adviser and liaison officer of the movement.
One of his most influential contributions came in 1955, when he published a manuscript—with an introduction by eminent historian Gregorio Zaide—entitled “Fragments of the Philippine revolution (in Capiz) and a brief historical account of the separation of Aklan to be a province.”
Finally, on April 25, 1956, Don Digno’s aspirations were fulfilled when President Ramon Magsaysay signed Republic Act No. 1414, formally separating Aklan from the Ilaya section of Capiz and establishing it as a distinct province.
