| MUNICIPALITY OF OTON |
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| MUNICIPALITY OF OTON |
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Oton, the home progressive-minded and future-oriented people, derived from three popular theories. Many people believe that Oton is a hispanized version of the phrase "ogtong adlaw", which means noontime. According to the story, the native gave this phrase when they were asked by the Spanish exporters as to the time of the day. Many people still refer to the town as Ogtong.
Another theory is that the name of the town comes from the name of a fish, "kogtong", a very abundant kind during those days.
The third is that Oton’s name comes from a plant abundant in the river’s estuary. It was the decayed stalk of this plant that was deposited along the river banks, later forming the town’s site.
Oton was the first settlement established in Panay during the spanish Period and which later became the seat of the Alcadia de Panay from 1572 to 1581.
After the founding of Arevalo in 1581, the seat of the government was moved there, hence, Arevalo was the capital of the province from 1581 to 1688 while the province was then called Province de Iloilo.
Much earlier, Oton was also an important Malay capital. Under Datu Paiburong, the seat of the government was Katagman(now, Brgy. San Antonio) until he died of old age in 226 A.D. Only then did the chieftainship was returned back to Aklan, that was when Balingsasa, Datu Bankaya’s son became Paiburong’s successor.
The town has the great honor to be the first place in the Philippines where the temple dedicated to the Immaculate Concepcion of the Virgin Mary was built and where the Gospel was first preached.
The Municipality of Oton is a gateway to the Southern part of Iloilo. It is located 10.2 kilometers away from the City of Iloilo and only 7 kms. away from the airport of Mandurriao. It has also major road attachment as to permit greater accessibility to other places.
With thirty seven (37) barangays, Oton is a third class municipality.
Land Area
It has a total land area of 9.073 hectares, of which 6.085 hectares is devoted to intensive farming.
Land Classification Status - Agriculture
Climate
Just like most places in the country, it has two seasons, the dry and rainy. It has average annual rainfall of 261.75 per month.
Soil Types
- clay
- sandy
- clay loam
Population - 56,821 households (1995)
Major Industries
- black smitting (along Palermo Street)
- hat-making (on C.M. Recto Street)
- bakery (near the public market)
- swine raising
- swine industry (in Brgy Paklad)
- candy factory (in Brgy. Buray and Botong)
- pancit and meke factory (in Brgy. San Antonio)
- ricemills (in Brgys. Lambuyao, Buray San Nicolas and Cagbang)
Agriculture
Products
- rice
- vegetables
- corn
- mango
- banana
- watermelon
Attraction
Anhawan and Joyland Beach Resorts - its placid crystal-clear waters are open invitation to investors to take on the challenge of developing Oton as a tourism of Panay.Transportation
Many say, one never gets stranded in Oton. Plying the Oton-Iloilo city route are jeepneys. Around the poblacion and its' barangays, are tricyles and trisicads.