Pandan, Antique


', officially the ', is a of the Philippines| in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.
Pandan is also one of the Antique's industrialized towns and a major tourist destination for its cold spring, the Bugang River and white beaches along the Pandan Bay from Barangay Mag-aba to Barangay Duyong.

History

The official name of the present municipality of Pandan was adopted in the year 1654 from the Spanish noun "Pan" meaning bread, and from the demonstrative pronoun in the Visayan "Dan" which in Spanish signifies "Ese" meaning "That". The name was acquired by the natives of Pandan in 1654 when the Spanish colonialists landed in this town and asked from the natives any food they could give. One of the natives offered a basket of camote saying in the local dialect "Dan", pointing to the basket. When the Spaniards took it, one exclaimed "Pan!" So when the natives heard it, they propagated the term, from which the name of the town Pandan derived.
The town was formally established in 1752 by the Spanish Parishes in the province during the Philippines' colonization by Spain, which started in 1521 and ended with the Spanish–American War in 1899. During World War II, 1942 Japanese occupation of Panay Island saw the harassments and pandemonium in the area. The town was liberated in 1944 as part of the combined Allied forces campaign for the liberation of the Panay Island. In 1945, it was incorporated as a town under the fourth Philippine Republic.

Geography

Pandan is located at. It is from the provincial capital, San Jose de Buenavista, and is from Kalibo, the capital of Aklan.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the has a land area of constituting of the total area of Antique.
Pandan is bounded by Cuyo East Pass as part of Sulu Sea on the west; by
Libertad on the north and northwest; by Aklan province on the east and northeast; and Sebaste on the south.
Pandan Bay has coral and artificial reefs, found in barangays Patria, Tingib, Mag-aba, Botbot and Idiacacan.

Climate

Barangays

Pandan is politically subdivided into 34 barangays, of which 15 lie along the coast, 12 are inland, and 7 are upland.

Sitios

The population of Pandan in 1903 until 1948 includes that of its former barangays in northern and southern parts.
In the, had a population of. The population density was.

Language

The Philippine dialect generally spoken in the province of Antique is called Kinaray-a. The people of Pandan—called "Pandananons"—uses a version of Kinaray-a which differs somewhat with that used by most of the other Antique residents. The Pandananon version is more similar to the dialect spoken in Aklan province, which shares a boundary with Pandan. Thus, for example, the English word "No" is "Wara" in Kinaray-a but "Uwa" or "Wa" in Pandananon. E.g. "There is no electricity today" translates into "Wara ti sulo kadya" in Kinaray-a, but "Uwa it iwag kaya" in Pandananon. Pandananons also use Hiligaynon as their secondary dialect.

Economy

Pandan is a cross-road municipality in Northern Antique, making it a better area for trade and commerce. Pandananons rely on agriculture and fishing which accounts for almost 75% of the total labor force. The other percentages were made up by professionals, civil servants, workers and Overseas Filipino Workers.
The municipality began experiencing growth in tourism and development in infrastructure and commerce in late 2010. Some of the major projects that was completed in Pandan are the Pandan Public Terminal, the Pandan Arboretum project near the Malumpati Spring Resort and other infrastructure projects in the barangays. The game changer is the Talisay-Perfecta-Santa Ana Road that will connect the hinterland barangays of Pandan to the town centre. This will lessen the travel time and delivery of goods from the far-flung areas to the town. The current administration is working for more improvements in the growing tourism and commercial sectors.

Tourism

Pandan is becoming one of the top tourist destinations in the country. The town is just 23 miles away from Boracay Island, which has become one of the world’s popular beach resorts and tourist destinations. Both local and foreign tourists bound originally for Boracay have increasingly added a stop in Pandan before or after visiting Boracay.
The town's major attractions include the Malumpati Cold Spring Resort and other popular beach resorts and the Bugang River, which has been nationally awarded several times as "the cleanest inland body of water" in the Philippines; the Pandan Bay sunset, and white-sand beaches, sandwiched between the Sulu Sea to the west and, in the east, the Central Panay Mountain Range, and rice, coconut and other farms.
Acting under the Department of Education, the Pandan School District oversees the implementation of the programs and thrusts of the department. The district is composed of 33 schools—10 mono-grade elementary schools; 5 multi-grade elementary schools, and 18 primary schools—with a total of 200 classrooms.
Secondary education is provided by two private schools and four public schools. These six schools have a combined 58 classrooms.
Mag-aba National High School was founded in 1977. At first it was a Barangay High School but upon the term of President Corazon Aquino, all Barangay High Schools were renamed as National High Schools. Mag-aba National High School was relocated to the eastern part of the Barangay Mag-aba in 1992.
Founded in 1947, the PBI was formerly run by the Diocese of Antique but is now managed and operated by the Canadian Missionary Brothers of Christian Instruction. The Jinalinan Academy is operated by the Seventh-day Adventists. Located in the town proper, the PNVHS was founded in 1997 and had its first graduates at the end of the 2000-2001 school year.
On a limited basis, tertiary education is provided by the Jinalinan Academy and by the PBI.

Elementary schools

Pandan has one district hospital, the Justice Calixto Zaldivar Memorial Hospital formerly known as Gov. Leandro Locsin Fullon General Hospital, with a 25-bed capacity located at Barangay Bagumbayan, one kilometer away from the town center. It is manned by a chief of hospital, two resident physicians, eight nurses, one midwife, one dentist, one pharmacist, one medical technologist, and one nutritionist. Attached to the hospital is the Alexander Liberman Memorial Surgical Pavilion.
There is a private Lying-In-Clinic which is located at the town center. It has a 10-bed capacity and is manned by one physician, five nurses, one midwife, one dentist, two pharmacists and one medical technologist.
The Municipal Health Office is manned by one Municipal Health Officer, two Public Health Nurses, ten Rural Health Midwives, one Rural Sanitary Inspector, four casuals, and one janitor. Each RHM has her own catchment area which is composed of 3-4 barangays. One RHM is based at the Main Health Center. Out of nine Barangay Health Stations, only three have permanent buildings and these need repair. Midwives with no permanent BHS occupy the Barangay Hall.
The programs and services implemented by the Municipal Health Office are: National Tuberculosis Control Program ; Health and Sanitation; Maternal and Child Health Care ; Nutrition; Expanded Program on Immunization ; Control of Diarrheal Disease; Leprosy Control, and Family Planning. These programs and services are implemented throughout the municipality through the efforts of the Rural Health Personnel with the help of the Barangay Health Workers, Barangay Nutrition Scholars and trained hilots in their respective barangays.

Utilities

Water supply

Pandan has a sufficient supply of water in general. It also has good sources of potable water that may not require chemical treatment. The water supply operates at three levels—the individual faucet system ; the communal faucet system and the point source system -- which are in the form of wells and springs common in the rural areas.
A Level III Water Works System operated and maintained by the Pandan Water District supplies 20 barangays in the municipality. The system was built through a joint undertaking of the Japan Asian Friendship Society and the Local Government of Pandan. The system basically draws water from a spring located in Malumpati and pumps it to a reservoir located in Santo Rosario. It then distributes water by gravity to its concessionaires. It is currently capable of supplying 540,000 liters per day, mainly for domestic consumption.
Other barangays not covered by the Pandan Water District get their water through gravity-type spring development projects, involving the installation of communal faucets at strategic locations within each barangay.
Level I systems exist in areas where other sources are not available. Prior to the operation of the Level III system, Level I systems were popularly used by most of the households in the municipality. At present, these are still maintained as a back-up source of water supply.

Power supply

The Aklan Electric Cooperative supplies electricity to the municipality. AKELCO sourced its power from the National Power Corporation. Electricity had already reached almost majority of the barangays in the municipality except those, which are located in the hinterlands. One barangay in the hinterland obtains its electricity from a mini-hydro power plant.
In Pandan, the total percentage of household served is 33.31% in the rural area while 86.13% is being served in the urban area. Even though some households can already be reached by electric supply, they choose not to get connected due mainly to its high cost. They rely instead on other means for lighting, cooking and other purposes.
Although the government with the partnership of the AKELCO is currently implementing its electrification program in the barangays, delays in the implementation can be expected because of the high cost of transmission lines and other facilities needed. There is also a low demand in electric connection because some households are not capable of paying installation expenses as well as the monthly bills.
Power outages and fluctuation can be frequently experienced in Pandan which usually occur during weather disturbances. Old and in facilities are also one of the causes.
AKELCO gets its supply of power from NAPOCOR through a 69 kV transmission line traversing the Iloilo-Capiz-Aklan area. When power from this line is cut-off due to maintenance or weather disturbances, Pandan experiences a power outage.

Notable People