Banate

Banate, officially the Municipality of Banate, is a municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 33,790 people. The town's economy is primarily based on fishing and agriculture, with extensive areas devoted to rice, sugarcane, vegetables, beans, coconut and bananas. Banate is well known for Kasag (crabs), krill or shrimp paste called ginamos, and fresh fish, which local entrepreneurs distribute not only to the provincial capital and nearby inland towns but also as far as Manila. The settlement in Banate is of ancient origin, and it was among the ancient organized territories of the Confederation of Madja-as in Panay. It was known to Spanish missionaries during the earliest dates of colonization as Bobog. Banate was formally established as a municipality in 1763. The town's modern name is commonly attributed to the presence of many Bangate trees in the area. Today, Banate operates as a local government unit with its official website providing access to services and information.

The settlement in Banate is of ancient origin. It was among the ancient organized territories of the Confederation of Madja-as in Panay, which the Spaniards found when they came to the island. It was known to Spanish missionaries during the earliest dates of the colonization as Bobog. The Spanish Augustinian historian, Fray Gaspar de San Agustin, mentions it in an account about Dumangas and other coastal towns of the island, where in ancient times there was a principality and trade center that had the most illustrious nobility in the whole island of Panay. Bobog (Banate), Araut, Anilao, and Hapitan were among the ancient coastal civilizations in Panay. There are theories that settlers from the powerful ancient thalassocratic Malay empire based on the island of Sumatra, modern-day Indonesia, arrived in Banate in around 600 A.D., during the second wave of migration from the Sulawesi Island. The Maragtas of Pedro Alcantara Monteclaro mentions that the area near the Alakaygan River was among the first areas to be exploited by the early Malay settlers for agriculture. At the beginning of the Christianisation of Panay, Bobog was a visita of the Augustinian parish and monastery of Dumangas. Gaspar de San Agustin mentioned the existence of the town in his book Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas (1565–1615). Another Augustinian historian Fray Juan Fernandez, in his Monografias de los pueblos de la isla de Panay, affirms that Banate was known in the ancient times as Bobog or Bog-og. The Augustinian friar says that the modern name Banate might have been derived from some flora that abundantly thrive in the town. One possibility is the Butacea, named by Carl Linnaeus as Murraya exotica. If the spelling and the pronunciation are corrupted, and instead of Banate what is written or pronounced is Bangate, it would therefore be the leguminous papilionácea called in botany as Abrus praecatorius. To the inhabitants, the town's modern name is commonly attributed to the presence of many Bangate trees in the area. According to a local legend, when the Spaniards arrived, all the inhabitants of Banate fled away for safety. An old man, however, failed to escape because he was of advanced age and was already so weak. It was raining then. So, the old man took shelter under the Bangate tree where a Spanish officer found him later on. The white man asked the native; "Come se llama esto pueblo?", The old man, uncertain what to say, merely said "Bangate" thinking that the Spaniard was asking him about the name of the tree. Unable to understand clearly what the old man mumbled, the Spaniard thought the native had said "Banate". While such legend sounds too absurd to be true, it is the only explanation often given by people when asked why their town is called Banate. Indeed, 'Bangate' trees still abound within the territorial limits of the municipality. Bobog, in the early part of its history as a Christian settlement and a Visita of Dumangas, was placed under the advocation of St. John the Evangelist. In the early part of the 1700s, it was called "Banate Viejo" by the Spaniards. A map of the Philippines, made by the Jesuit priest Fr. Murillo Velarde and published in Manila in 1734, shows Banate Viejo among the ancient towns of the island. The appellative "Viejo", which the Spaniards attached to the early hispanized name of the town, indicates the ancient origin of Banate. Fr. Juan Fernandez says that Banate was formally established as a municipality in 1763. By then, it acquired as its Visita the settlement of Sinaba-an. In a private definitory of the Augustinian Order, on 31 October 1763, Fr. Alejandro Arias was appointed as Vicar for the town. Being a coastal village with a rich fishing ground, Banate is naturally inclined to flo...

• 1763

  Banate was formally established as a municipality; Fr. Alejandro Arias was appointed as Vicar on 31 October 1763.

• 1734

  A map of the Philippines by Fr. Murillo Velarde shows Banate Viejo among the ancient towns of the island.

• 1565

  Gaspar de San Agustin mentioned the existence of the town in his book Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas (1565–1615).

• Settlers from the ancient Malay empire based on Sumatra arrived in Banate during the second wave of migration.

A coastal municipality with a rich fishing ground and agricultural base, known for local seafood delicacies.

Product categories. Kasag (crabs) · Ginamos (shrimp paste) · Fresh fish · Rice · Sugarcane · Vegetables · Beans · Coconut · Bananas

1. 1LGU Banatebanate.gov.ph
2. 2Services | LGU Banatebanate.gov.ph
3. 3Banatewikidata.org
4. 4Banate, Iloiloen.wikipedia.org