ANTIQUE

Antique is a province of the Philippines located in the region of Western Visayas. The province's capital, San Jose, is located in the western portion of Panay Island and borders Aklan, Capiz and Iloilo to the east, whilst facing the Sulu Sea to the west.

Antique was one of the three sakups (districts) of Panay before Spanish colonizers arrived on the islands. The province was known at that time as "Hantik", which was the name of the large red ants found on the island. The Spanish chroniclers, however, were influenced by the French when they recorded the name as "Hantique," and later established the formal name "Antique" after removing the "h."

The province of Antique is one of the six provinces comprising Western Visayas or Region VI and one of the four provinces in the island of Panay.

FISHERY

Fishing is the major source of livelihood for households in the 15 coastal municipalities. The rich fishing grounds of the Cuyo East Pass, Sulu Sea, and the municipal waters along the approximately 296.8 km coastline, make fishing a promising venture. The fishing season is year round and peaks during December to June. A total of 17,437 households are directly dependent on fishing, and 39,055 households are indirectly dependent on it.

  Museum

Historians believe that the earliest people who settled on the island of Panay were tribal Negritos or Atis. Oral history, relayed as the "Legend of Maragtas", states that in 1212, ten "datus" from Malay escaped persecution from Sri-Vishaya, a Hindu-Malay empire in Borneo and Sumatra. The ten datus, led by Datu Puti, sailed northward with their families and communities, landing on Panay after departing Borneo.

Tourism

The province has many tourist attractions, activities, points of interest, facilities and services to offer. There are tourism areas that are developing and many are still to be developed. Tourists traveling from Iloilo to Boracay can stop by Antique's tourism areas. The whole stretch of coastal areas in Antique is suited for scuba diving. Starting from the southern town of Antique tourists can drop by Sira-an Hot Spring, claimed to be a medical spring. The next destination is the capital town San Jose de Buenavista passing by Malandog Marker, site of the first Malayan Settlement.