The name Passi was evolved from the word “Pasi” which means unhusked rice. Differences in languages were allegedly the reason how places got their names. How Passi got its name was told by tradition during the arrival of Spanish conquistadores.
One day, a bunch of these Spanish explorers aboard a flatboat “Sciata” (yacht) came downstream and anchored at Sitio Ansig. They stumbled on a small hut by the river bank where an old woman was found winnowing pounded palay. One of them asked her,” Como se llama este lugar?” not knowing the native language, of course.
The old woman thought that they were eager to know what was in her basket and what she was doing so without much ado, she replied with excitement “Pasi” because she could not understand their language.
Passi is considered as one of the oldest towns in the Province of Iloilo. From 1766 to the present, 132 mayors had served Passi. Each one of them had his own strategy in making Passi more progressive. The rapid pace of development had made it the primer town.
On January 30, 1998, Passi became the only component City in the Island of Panay by virtue of the Republic Act 8469 under the administration of the former City Mayor Jesry T. Palmares.
The present administration under the leadership of City Mayor Elyzer C. Chavez is continuing the development of Passi City and implementing the different programs of the government, one of which is the Clean and Green Program.
