By Tara Yap Iloilo City—The National Museum (NM) unveiled a collection of textiles from Panay Island at its Western Visayas Regional Museum in Iloilo City. ART OF WEAVING—Criselda Monreal from Miag-ao town, Iloilo province demonstrates how to make the fabric hablon. The National Museum unveiled the permanent exhibit “Habol Panay: The Woven Artistry of Western Visayas” at its regional branch in Iloilo City. (Tara Yap/ MANILA BULLETIN) Dubbed as “Habol Panay: The Woven Artistry of Western Visayas”, the permanent exhibit that opened December 15 showcases textiles and looms made from abaca, pineapple or silkworm found mostly in Aklan, Antique, Capiz, and Iloilo provinces. NM Assistant Director Angel Bautista said the collection is a way to honor Panay weavers, whose craft of handmade fabrics preceded Spanish colonization and infused in modern fashion designs showcased in North America and Europe. The materials are mostly from NM’s National Ethnographic Collection while some are loaned from partner institutions including the Center for West Visayan Studies (CWVS) of University of the Philippines (UP Visayas). Habol Panay is part of the Hibla ng Lahing Pilipino, a permanent textile exhibition in partnership with Senator Loren Legarda at NM of Anthropology in Manila. The textile collection is also the first exhibit at the museum that was formerly an old jail, which was restored by the provincial government under Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Sr.