FESTIVAL

Tugbong Festival, Pandan, Antique, Philippines

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tugbong Festival, held every 21st to 25th of April, is a yearly Joint Municipal and Religious Fiesta Celebration of Pandan, Antique, Philippines. Tugbong Festival is a Pandananon way of coming together to showcase the best of its cultural heritage in all aspects of life from the height, length and breadth of its geographic location.

EVENTS                                       

• Basketball Tournaments
• Amateur Singing Contest
• Disco Derby Competition
• Bikini open
• Battle of the Bands
• Talentadong Pandananon
• Gay Olympics
• Miss Gay
• Lin-ay Kang Pandan
• Dasigay Bugsay Boat Rowing Competition
• Mardi Gras Exhibition
• Float Parade

ECONOMY

Economic Development

 

Pandan is primarily a fishing and farming community. Pandan is situated in a strategic location being a cross-road municipality in Northern Antique. As such, it is open for potential investments for trade, commerce and industry being 22 kilometers south of Libertad, 33 kilometers north of Culasi and 127 kilometers north of San Jose de Buenavista, the capital town of Antique. On the other hand, it is 54 kilometers east of Kalibo and 32 kilometers south of Caticlan, Malay, a jump-off point to Boracay.
Geographically speaking, Pandan is a “voca calle” (junction) to travelers and traders to and from Mindoro, Aklan, Capiz, Iloilo and Boracay Island. This geographical advantage plays a role in trade, commerce, industry and tourism.
Considering the rich fishing ground of Pandan – the Pandan Bay – which could be found on NAMRIA MAP No. 4414 under coordinates 11°21.50′N and 122°5.5′E to 11°45.8′N and 121°50′E Pandan, as it had been in the past, is an exporting municipality of quality fishes like yellow-finned tuna, talakitok, tangigue and blue marlins.
Pandan is a supplier of rice to Boracay and Cebu as it has 2,216 hectares of land devoted to rice. Its sloppy areas are producing raw materials like bariw, buri, hipgid, and nito, among others for cottage industry in the municipality with quality handicraft supplied to SM Mall, Iloilo City.
Pandan has been identified as a District Agri Industrial Center (DAIC) in Northern Antique for its resources and potentials but needs more infra support facilities, entrepreneurs and investors, and most of all, financial resources for capitalization and sustainability.
During the multi-sectoral participatory visioning and strategic planning conducted by the Gerry Roxas Foundation (GRF) under its PAGER Project, eco-tourism was included as a major thrust of the municipality. A Tourism Development Plan was prepared with Malumpati and its surrounding area as the project core. Industries/industrial activities supportive of eco-tourism are encouraged.
Presently, a resort is operating in Barangay Tingib and part of Duyong Golden Beach with an air-conditioned residential villa open for lease to both local and foreign tourists.

Protective Services

Peace and Order

 

Peace and Order

The Pandan Police Station is situated in the poblacion, beside the Town Hall and fronting the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) USP Branch. The building occupies an area of 112 square meters.
There are several police personnel in the station. There are police outposts located at Barangays Patria and Zaldivar, both outposts assisted by barangay tanods for immediate response during emergency situations. The station have activated barangay tanods, volunteers for Barangay Intelligence Network (BIN), junior police, and volunteers for crime and drug watch. They are tasked with the maintenance of peace and order in the 34 barangays of the municipality.
Insurgency problems on the other hand, are being taken cared of by the "C" Company of 12th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army based at Barangay Sta. Cruz. They have a detachment at Barangay San Joaquin in the hinterlands manned by enlisted men and assisted by CAFGUs. Army personnel are armed with high caliber and heavy weapons in their counter-insurgency operations.

Fire Protection

The Bureau of Fire Protection is manning the occurrence of fire at any opportune time. Fire incidents in Pandan are seldom and rare but there are buildings, houses and edifices that are hazardous and easily razed by fire. The active Mountain Tigers and Barangay Disaster Brigades have undergone seminars, trainings, drills and demonstrations for immediate response to fire incidence including natural and man-made disasters.

 

 

Transportation Services

Road Networks

Pandan is connected to adjacent municipalities of Sebaste in the south, Libertad on the northwest, and Nabas on the north by a twenty-six kilometer National Highway. The stretch of the National Highway is a concrete paved road except from Barangay Bagumbayan to Libertad Town which at present is under construction. Pandan is significant in terms of transportation as it is the passage-way of buses plying the Libertad-San Jose-Iloilo route and San-Jose-Kalibo-Iloilo route. As in most municipalities, the public market has become the transportation center of Pandan. Public utility vehicles going to and from Pandan could be seen crowding the limited parking spaces in the town market.
Provincial roads have a total length of 18.132 Km with a concrete paved road. Municipal roads all of which located in the urban area are all concrete. Barangay roads which has a total length of 74.007 Km has only 1.190 Km of concrete pavement and the rest are unpaved.
Based on the inventory, the total length of road in the Municipality of Pandan is 121.426 Km.

Land Transportation Vehicle and Facilities

  
A total of 481 motorized land transport vehicles were accounted for in the municipality of Pandan. Public utility vehicles are used to transport commuters to nearby municipalities and provinces. Tricycles are the commonly used mode of transportation within the municipality.
The municipality has no terminal for buses, jeepneys and other transport vehicles. Temporary parking area is designated around the public market which will become inadequate later on.

Health Services

Health Resources, Facilities and Services

Pandan has one District Hospital, the Gov. Leandro Locsin Fullon General Hospital with 25-bed capacity located at Brgy. Bagumbayan, one kilometer away from the Poblacion. It is manned by a chief of hospital, two (2) resident physicians, eight (8) nurses, one (1) midwife, one (1) dentist, one (1) pharmacist, one (1) medical technologist and one (1) nutritionist. Attached to the hospital is the Alexander Liberman Memorial Surgical Pavilion.

There is a private Lying-In-Clinic (Tugon Medical Clinic) which is located at the poblacion with 10-bed capacity and manned by one (1) physician, five (5) nurses, one (1) midwife, one (1) dentist, two (2) pharmacists and one (1) medical technologist.

The Municipal Health Office is manned by one (1) Municipal Health Officer (MHO), two (2) Public Health Nurses (PHN), 10 Rural Health Midwives (RHM), one (1) Rural Sanitary Inspector (RSI), 4 casuals and 1 janitor. Each RHM have their own catchment area which is composed of three (3) to four (4) barangays. One (1) RHM is assigned in the Main Health Center. Sad to say that out of nine (9) Barangay Health Stations (BHS), only three (3) have permanent buildings but at present they also need repair. Midwives with no permanent BHS occupy the Barangay Hall. Despite these difficulties, the health personnel delivers health services regularly to their constituents.

The programs and services implemented by the Municipal Health Office are: National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTP), Health and Sanitation, Maternal and Child Health Care (MCHC), Nutrition, Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), Control of Diarrheal Disease, Leprosy Control and Family Planning. These programs and services are implemented throughout the municipality through the effort of the Rural Health Personnel with the help of the Barangay Health Workers (BHW), Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS) and trained hilots in their respective barangays.

Ecotourism of Pandan Antique

 

BUGANG RIVER

Bugang River ranked first among the cleanest inland bodies of water in the region for three consecutive years and eventually won the “Gawad Pangulo sa Kapiligiran” as the cleanest river in the Philippines.
The river is supported by several springs, one of which is the major source of the municipality’s water supply. Moreover, the same river serves as the municipality’s tourist resort whose cool and fresh water provides a soothing and relaxing sensation to many local excursionist and tourists.

MALUMPATI HEALTH SPRING 

Malumpati is a natural haven for peace, swimming and relaxation or even solitude for the Pandananons. Used as a place to beat the summer heat, it is also an ideal hide-away from the hustle and bustle of a busy life. It is a natural swimming pool 20 meters width, 40 meters in length and about 3 to 4 meters deep at the center, crystal-clear water and free flowing from upstream to the shallow end, going down the famous Bugang River. It is a natural pool fed with cool and clear water from the different natural springs of the river. The resort is bounded by lush green vegetation, nature trippers will surely enjoy.

PHAIDON BEACH RESORT

This establishment is a joint venture of Filipino and Austrian investors to promote Pandan eco-tourism. PHAIDON is a Greek language meaning “the soul and roots of every life” and it is also an acronym for Philippine – Austrian Investment Duyong Offenberger – Network.
A white sand beach resort located in Barangay Tingib and a part of Duyong Golden Beach. The resort has a picnic ground and beach volleyball area which is open to the public but with entrance fee.

 BRGY. DUYONG GOLDEN BEACH 

A long stretch of white sand beach from where one could see the panorama of the Duyong Mountain Ranges on the east, the spectacular view of Batbatan Island and the beautiful golden rays of the setting sun on the west.
A part of Duyong Golden Beach is where Phaidon Villas and Resort, a white sand beach resort, is located.
A quiet, wonderful rainforest of the Northwest Panay Peninsula could be viewed at the background of the resort.

History of Pandan Antique

Pandan was founded in 1654 by three pioneers namely Agustin Togon, Agustin Lomayas, and Francisco Javier. They first founded the village at Dalipi, a hilly place north of the present town because there they could see the raiding vintas of the Moros. But as time went on, they found out that the place was not secure for it is far from a thick forest where they could hide in case of the raid. So they transferred the village site to Laguinbanua. There they built a watchtower.

When the more depredations subsided, the people decided to transfer the site near the seacoast, the place where Pandan now stands. Still apprehensive of possible more attacks, the people built another watchtower near the beach. The ruins of the tower are still there today.

During the march of centuries, the town has been the birthplace of illustrious men. Not to exaggerate and to brag on the contributions of Pandan to the social and political make-up of the province, it is safe to say that this little town cannot be behind in culture.

During the Occupation, Pandan Bay had been the focal point in the attack of Japanese forces because it had been the landing place of submarines that brought war supplies to the guerilla forces of Panay, Negros, Luzon and Mindanao. Thus the bay has been known not only in the whole Philippines but in America and Japan just as well, and presumably it is known throughout the world.

The official name of the present municipality of PANDAN, Province of Antique, Panay, Philippine Island 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 native offered a basket of camote (sweet potato) saying in the local dialect “Dan” (that), pointing to the basket. When the Spaniards took it, he exclaimed “Pan!” So when the natives heard it, they propagated the term, from which the name of the town PANDAN derived.