49. PANAY ATOP

PANAY ATOP

Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano

07 October 2017

I was in Iloilo City last May 24 to 27, 2017 to attend the national convention of the League of Local Planning and Development Coordinators of the Philippines, Inc. or LLPDCPI which I am a member being the head of the Provincial Planning and Development Office of Isabela. Now I’m back in Iloilo City after over four months to attend another national convention. This time it’s the Association of Tourism Officer of the Philippines or ATOP from October 4 to 7 which I am also a member being the Provincial Tourism Officer of Isabela.  Topics discussed during the convention were: Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions/Events (MICE) 101 – Benefits of MICE to Local Economies as tool for development; Integrating the Three Tourism Sector as One Power Brand Product for Sustainable Tourism (Eco-Farm-Faith); and The 5As of Tourism Security and Safety as elements for Sustainable Growth on Tourism (Arrival, Access, Accommodation, Activities, Attraction). The convention was highlighted with the 2017 ATOP-DOT Pearl Awards with the City of Ilagan receiving two awards: 1^st Runner-up Best Oriented LGU and 1^st Runner-up Best Sports Tourism Event.

Iloilo City is situated in Panay Island. It is the only island in the Visayas whose provinces don't have the name of the island, instead a municipality has the name of the island. The Municipality of Panay situated near Roxas City in Capiz province has its own version how the name “Panay” came to be while the Island of Panay has another etymology of the name.

The sixth-largest and fourth most-populous island in the Philippines, Panay has a total land area of 12,011 square kilometres and a total population of 4,477,247 scattered in the four provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Iloilo in Western Visayas region. It is located southeast of the island of Mindoro and northwest of Negros, separated by the Guimaras Strait. To the north and northeast is the Sibuyan Sea and the islands of Romblon; to the west and southwest is the Sulu Sea and to the south is Panay Gulf.

Wikipedia narrates that before the year 1212, Panay was called “Simsiman”. The community is located at the shores of the Ulian River and was linked by a creek. The creek provided salt to the Ati (Negrito) people as well as animals which lick the salt out of the salty water. Coming from the root word "simsim", "simsimin" means "to lick something to eat or to drink", thus the place was called “Simsiman”.

During the time of Datu Pulpulan, father of the Ati chief Marikudo, the island was called “Aninipay” from the words "ani" which means to harvest and "nipay", a hairy grass abundant in the whole of Panay. The hair of this grass though short is very sharp and can easily prick the skin as barbs and is very difficult to remove. Once the barbs stick to the skin, it can cause an extreme skin irritation. For this reason, Datu Pulpulan enacted a law that whoever among the Atis will use the nipay grass to endanger others will face death as punishment.

When the Malay settlers arrived, they called the island Madia-as or Madja-as after the highest mountain in Panay, which was thought to be the sacred dwellings of the deities Bulalakaw, Kaptan, Sidapa and where the dead were believed to be judged. The picturesque mountain which stood majestically in the area was considered to be the sacred place of Bululakaw, their supreme god or bathala. The island was so named by the Malay settlers due to the splendid beauty and allure of Mount Madiaas / Madja-as.

During the Spanish colonization, a Spaniard named Gonzalo Ronquillo reached the island and also gave the name “Pan hay” which means "there's a bread (pan)" in the island. The place was then called “Pan-hay” which eventually evolved to Panay.

The Municipality of Panay in Capiz province which was originally named “Bamban” was rechristened with the name “Panay” which means “mouth of the river” referring to its geographical location at the delta of the river with the same name. Panay town was the location of a fortress built by Juan de la Isla in late 1570. The Paseo de Evangelizacion 1566 can be found in the town plaza and was erected through the efforts of Rev. Msgr. Benjamin F. Advincula. 1566 was the year the Spaniards arrived in the island of Panay and became the second Spanish settlement in the country next to Cebu.

The town was formally founded in 1572 although in some accounts it was 1581. A prosperous town due to trade, Pan-ay became capital of Capiz province for two centuries, until Capiz town was named capital. The town name was eventually was given to the whole island. In the 18th century, Pan-ay was famous for its textile industry which produced a cloth called suerte and exported to Europe. In the 19th century, Don Antonio Roxas, grandfather of President Manuel Roxas, opened one of the largest rum and wine distilleries in the town. The Augustinians held the Santa Monica Parish Church until 1898 when administration transferred to the seculars.

According to the publication “Angels in Stone: Architecture of Augustinian Churches in the Philippines” by Pedro G. Galende, the first church was built before 1698, rebuilt in 1774 and 1875 after it was twice ruined by a typhoon and restored in 1884. The church is best known for its 10.4 ton bell popularly called dakong lingganay (big bell). The bell was cast by Don Juan Reina who settled in Iloilo in 1868. Reina who was town dentist was also noted as a metal caster and smith. The bell was cast at Pan-ay from 70 sacks of coins donated by the townspeople. The bell was completed in 1878. It bears an inspiring inscription which translated reads: “I am God’s voice which shall echo praise from one end of the town of Pan-ay to the other, so that Christ’s faithful followers may enter this house of God to receive heavenly graces.”

During the 90s, when I was still residing in the metropolis, the only “Panay” I knew was Panay Avenue, a road stretching from Scout Chuatoco Street to Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Quezon City. I used to stay at my classmate’s house (Jerome Legua) in Scout Rallos and my kababayan’s apartment (Rowena Padron) along A. Roces Avenue. After classes, we roamed around the “Scouts Area” in our BMX and the new invented mountain bikes criss-crossing Panay Avenue. I got the chance to actually set foot on Panay Island during my service years in DENR in 2002. What really amazed me with the Island are the numerous centuries-old Spanish Catholic Churches. We have our own old religious edifice in Isabela: the Churches of San Pablo, Tumauini, Ilagan, Gamu, Cauayan and Alicia. Aside from being the bastion of our faith and a venue where we could communicate with the Almighty, these heritage structures are the best places to visit in line with province’ Faith Tourism program.