The Municipality of Pandan, Antique, Philippines

Pandan is a town in the Province of Antique, Island of Panay in the Western Visayas Region of the Philippine Archipelago. It is located on the northern part of Antique. It is bounded by Pandan Bay, by Cuyo East Pass as part of Sulu Sea and China Sea on the west; by Libertad, Antique on the north and northwest; by Aklan on the east and northeast; and by Sebaste, Antique on the south.

The municipality of Pandan has an enviable advantage having rich agricultural land, vast and abundant marine resources, accessible geographical location, eco-tourist spots and huge mineral deposits.

» The more than 2,000 hectare of agricultural land devoted to rice are still productive and producing rice more than its local demand. Since time immemorial, Pandan had been self-sufficient in this commodity and an ever-rice-exporting municipality. Coconut is widely distributed in every barangay to the fact that Pandan is the second largest producer of copra in the province of Antique.

The sloppy agricultural land are planted to buri, bariw, hipgid, nito and other raw materials used in cottage industry like mat and hat weaving and bag making. The micro cottage industry in certain barangays markets quality bags, hats, mats and souvenir items.

» The rich coastal marine and aquatic resources are vehicles for growth of the 15 coastal barangays. Pandan as it had been in the past, is an exporting municipality supplying quality fish like yellow-finned tuna, talakitok, tangigue, and blue marlins.

Pandan declared marine sanctuaries that serve as a spawning and breeding ground of salt-water organisms.

Gearing towards sustainability of this resource, a council known as LIPASECU (LIbertad, PAndan, SEbaste, CUlasi) Bay-wide Management Council has been created to manage, utilize and conserve the coastal and marine resources.

» The municipality has adopted its own Eco-Tourism Master Plan implying the focus of tourism industry in the municipality. Eco-Tourism development is a recent consideration of the Local Government Unit Pandan taking advantage of the taxa-floral-faunal-endemism in Northwestern Panay Peninsula. The Northwestern Panay Peninsula is a natural park and the only remaining low elevation rainforest in Visayas.

Pandan boasts of its tourist attractions like Malumpati Health Spring and Tourist Resort, and Bugang River, which won the national award "Gawad ng Pangulo sa Kapaligiran" as the cleanest inland body of water in the Philippines.

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