Antique Province, Visayas, Philippines
Antique is a province in the Western Visayas Region of the Philippines. (Region VI)
It is known for the only rice terrace clusters in the Visayas.
Cities of Antique Province.
None
Municipalities of Antique Province.
Anini-y
Barbaza
Belison
Bugasong
Caluya
Culasi
Hamtic
Laua-an
Libertad
Pandan
Patnongon
San Jose de Buenavista (Provincial capital)
San Remigio
Sebaste
Sibalom
Tibiao
Tobias Fornier
Valderrama
Airports in Antique Province.
Evelio Javier Airport, (Antique Airport and San Jose Airport) EUQ. San Jose de Buenavista, Antique, Philippines
Hotels in Antique Province.
Check HotelsCombined for Holiday Accomodation in Antique, Visayas
Special Events in Antique Province.
- March: Madia-as Festival, celebrated on March 3-7 in Culasi, it focuses on the beautiful ladies of Culasi competing for the title “Diwata ng Madia-as”. It also represents the highest mountain of Panay, Mt. Madia-as.
- March: The Banigan Festival in Libertad, celebrated on March 14-16, showcases the creative weaving of Banig. The term “Banigan” derived from the word banig or mat which served as their primary source of income.
- April: Tiringbanay Festival is on April 30 – May 1 in remembrance of its patron saint, St. Joseph the Worker. Tiringbanay Festival depicts the culture, beliefs and unity of the people in San Jose.
- December: Binirayan Festival is a remembrance of the ten bornean datus who settled there in the early 15th century. “Binirayan” literally means “where they sailed to”.
Government Website for Antique Province.
Recent Antique Posts:
History of Antique (from wikipedia.org)
Historians believe that the earliest people who settled on the island of Panay were tribal Negritos or Atis. Oral history, relayed as the “Maragtas”, states that ten “datus” or minor tribal Malay chieftains escaped persecution from a city called Odtohan from Borneo due to a tyrant ruler called Makatunaw. The ten datus, led by Datu Puti, sailed northward with their families and communities, landing on Panay after departing Borneo. There are claims that the narrative of the Maragtas is dated to 1212 to fit with the transition of the Srivijayan Empire to Majapahit but there are no written evidence about this, nor there are any existing claims that links the datus to Borneo. Nevertheless, the Maragtas narrative is to be considered as part of the local history of the people.
Upon arrival, the Malay datus met the Ati chieftain Datu Marikudo and his wife Maniwantiwan. They offered the chieftain a salakot (wide-brimmed hat) (out of exaggeration, the present day locals believed to be of pure gold) which includes a golden necklace, earrings, bracelets and trinkets they wore when they fled Borneo among other gifts of pearls and fine clothes as a display of respect and to buy the land for them to live. Datu Marikudo responded to the datus’ generosity by giving the Malayans the lowlands and moving to the mountains with his Ati tribe as the mountains are sacred to them. The legacy of this landing is commemorated annually in Antique during the Binirayan festival.
The island of Panay was then divided into three sakups: Hantik, Akean and Irong-Irong. Irong-Irong became Iloilo, Akean became the present-day Aklan and Capiz, and Hantik (also called Hamtik or Hamtic) became Antique. Hantik was named for the large black ants found on the island called “hantik-hantik”.
The sakup of Hantik was given to Datu Sumakwel, one of the ten datus, and who, according to tradition, was a sword master and wisest of them. The three sakups were later governed as a political unit called the Kedatuan of Madja-as, also under Datu Sumakwel. Datu Sumakwel founded the town of Malandog, considered to be the first Malay settlement in the country. Malandog is now a barangay in the present-day municipality of Hamtic, which was named after the historic sakup.
During the Spanish colonial period, the coastal province was vulnerable to attacks by Moro raiders. Under the direction of the Spanish friars, a series of watchtowers, like the ‘Old Watchtower’ in Libertad and Estaca Hill in Bugasong, were built to guard Antique.
In 1942, the Imperial Japanese Army landed in Antique and occupied the province during the Second World War.
During the Japanese Insurgencies and Occupation (1942-1944), the military general headquarters and camp bases of the 6th and 62nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army was active from January 3, 1942 to June 30, 1946 and the military general headquarters and camp bases of the 6th Constabulary Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary was re-activated between October 28, 1944 and June 30, 1946. Additionally, during the implementation of the anti-imperial Japanese military operations on Panay Island between 1942 and 1945 in the Antique province, Filipino military forces aided the local guerrilla resistance against the Imperial Japanese Army.
Between 1944 and 1945, Philippine Commonwealth forces of the 6th Constabulary Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary and the 6th and 62nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army defeated the Japanese troops and liberated the province.[further explanation needed] The liberation was achieved with the active support of recognized local guerrillas.
In 2014, the first ever Philippine rice terraces found outside the Cordilleras was discovered in Antique through satellite and a team of scientists and locals. The heritage site, known as the Antique Rice Terraces of the Panay-Bukidnon people, is believed to be at least 200 years old. In 2017, the province hosted the Palarong Pambansa for the very first time.