History of Passi City

During the early days in Panay, a group of Spanish Conquistadores under Legaspi managed to find their way into the mouth of what is known as Jalaur river at Talaugis near Barotac known as the Nuevo on a mission of exploring the hinterlands of Iloilo. They rode on a unique flatboat “Sciata” (yatch) that could float and move easily on any kind of up or down stream travel. That trip took them to as far as the sitio of Calinog, northwest of Passi.

One day, a bunch of these Spanish explorers came downstream. They anchored a place farther west at the mouth of Lamunan River called Ansig. They stumbled on a small hut by the river’s bank where an old woman was fond winnowing pounded palay. One of them asked her, “Como se Llama Este Lugar” not knowing the native language of course.

Much to the old woman’s surprise and perhaps excitement, she replied without much ado “Pasi” which means some of the unhusked rice on her basket held in both hands. She must have thought that they were eager to know what was in the basket and what she was dong, because she could not understand their language.

From that time on, the Spanish begun to call the place “Pasi” at first. The word later evolved to be known by its present “Passi.”

Since then the settlement founded by Dig-on, Tokiab, and Umawang became known as Passi.

Here's some videos taken from Passi City





Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/