HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

            Anini-y is one typical town of Antique that is imbued with historical facets and tourist attractions.  Various myths and legends explained how Anini-y or “place of small rivers” got its unique name. The Malayan suffix “dash I” (-Y in Spanish) for “people of” is only used for places of importance or had a degree of greatness i.e.: Hantik-i which later became Antique, the port of Dumagit-i, now Dumaguete or May-i, the legendary old Manila. Moreover, the Santaren Papers declared the Bornean datus tied their boats in Embidayan rock in Sinogbohan, while the Maragtas of Monteclaro cited the barter meeting took place under the “kadapdapan” which root word is dapdap -the old name of the last barangay of Anini-y less than a 100 meter from the rock. Maragtas also related that immediately after the barter, the Atis went to the headwaters of Igdaganas to live in Igdacoton uplands, now San Ramon.

Once upon a time, Igneini was gateway to prosperous Aninipay (old Panay) kingdom of mighty Ati King Marikudo with “sacred” Sira-an hot springs as its quarantine station and Nogas Island its “minting plant” for the abundant “baking” used as the kingdom’s currency. Its strategic functions in the early Panay civilization caused pre-Hispanic “Chinese and Malayan visitors” to Panay to stay north and a healthy distance from the king’s men in the restricted area around Nogas Island. They settled outside of Anini-y causing it to remain very sparsely populated until the coming of the Spaniards.

Anini-y started to blossom as a community with the coming of settlers from Asluman, Hamtic around 1630.  Then came people from Cagayancillo but a couple from Alimodian and Cuyo was identified to be its first non-Ati settler. Politically, Anini-y became an arabal of Dao -now T. Fornier, in 1840 with Casay, San Francisco and Sta. Magdalena included under the administration of Anini-y only in 1848. 

As a political unit, its physical and social developments started under several capitanes in 1849 up to 1854 with Dao-San Joaquin arterial road construction, Anini-y street system, schoolhouse and recruitment of teachers, and the first census of Anini-y. It was also the capitanes Catalino Magbanua, Saturnino Erispe, and Vicente Salcedo who helped Padre Vaquerin most during the construction of the baroque church from 1890-94 and the walls around the catholic cemetery. These projects affirmed the people of Anini-y can accomplish outstanding feat, only if everyone contributed to the effort as much as they could.  

Conscription of Anini-y’s youth to the army to fight the moros or other Filipinos in other places, marauding moros, locusts devouring whole harvest, intermittent poor harvest, hunger, earthquake as well as epidemics were reported in the chronicles to have troubled Anini-y in the past. But, the canonical books also indicated Anini-y did not remain entirely subservient during all those years. With their “principales” leading, they were able to expel a powerful Augustinian friar in 1875.

Americans came at the turn of the 20th century and introduced democratic form of government but it reverted the status of Anini-y as Dao arabal. This arrangement lasted beyond the World War II. The 1940’s earthquake account reported of land movements and seas retreating half a kilometer seaward still remains in the senior citizen’s psyche.

EO 205 signed by President Elpidio Quirino on August 5, 1949 separated Anini-y from its mother town. From Obaga to Rendon, various administrations after its creation struggled to keep its finances afloat. Local leaders had to depend much from its national representatives for its physical infrastructures and administrative reforms and revenue collections were instituted and intensified to pay for its personnel.   

Sectarian quarrel, which surfaces in varied forms, from time to time, has proven to affect many community relationships and processes, including rural development efforts. Periodic political exercises also polarized the communities and families, including parents and progressive children into pro and anti factions. Its distance from the capital town left Anini-y from mainstream socio-political movements ‘till the advent of modern communication facilities. All along, coops that have survived for decades and the civil society in general, had a lackluster participation in today’s local governance and rural development efforts.  

The passing of RA 1760 or the Local Government Code of 1991 granted the local officials expanded powers and additional funds through increase in the local share from internal revenue allotment. Along with it, LCEs’ responsibility and accountability   expanded and grow proportionately requiring more managerial than godfather qualities.

Let History be the sole judge of the immediate past and the incumbent LCEs’ performance, accomplishments, and idiosyncrasies.